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Infamous | 
 enlarge | Director: Douglas Mcgrath
Actors: Sigourney Weaver, Toby Jones, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mark Rubin, Steve Schwelling
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
Buy Used: $2.94
You Save: $17.04 (85%)
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Rating:  68 reviews
Sales Rank: 17678
Format: Ac-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), French (Dubbed), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 118 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: WARD113738D
UPC: 085391137382
EAN: 0085391137382
ASIN: B000M341SC
Theatrical Release Date: October 13, 2006
Release Date: February 13, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
While researching his book in cold blood writer truman capote develops a close friendship with convicted murderers dick hickock & perry smith. Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 04/15/2008 Starring: Sigourney Weaver Sandra Bullock Run time: 118 minutes Rating: R
Amazon.com
Infamous is inevitably compared to Capote, since it also chronicles author Truman Capote's spiral into chaos while composing his masterpiece, In Cold Blood, a breakthrough non-fictional tale told as fiction. It's a shame that Capote's critical acclaim eclipsed this film's, as Toby Jones is perfectly convincing as Capote, with his small stature and eccentric manner. Infamous mimics the novel's fictionalized non-fiction, opening on "interviews" with Capote's New York friends like Diana Vreeland (Juliet Stevenson) and Babe Paley (Sigourney Weaver). The film, set in 1959, begins with Capote's discovery of the farm family murder story and his trek out to Kansas with confidant, Nelle Harper Lee (Sandra Bullock). Stressing Capote's relationships with Lee, the film justifies Capote's marginal behavior by Lee's speaking about Capote's childhood neglect, which she also wrote into To Kill A Mockingbird. Capote's own description of his rough childhood then serves as a barrier breaker between himself and Perry Smith (Daniel Craig), the half of the Perry Smith-Dick Hickock killing team who is at first unwilling to talk. Infamous makes much of the sexual tension between Capote and Smith, implying that Capote persevered through his project for Smith's love. Based on George Plimpton's oral biography, Infamous deserves a stellar place in Capote-lore, as there is ample room for both competing films. --Trinie Dalton
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| Customer Reviews: Read 63 more reviews...
 A - M - A - Z - I - N - G December 12, 2008
Marc Poirier (Montreal, Quebec, CAN)
This infamous movie should have been
more publicised then it was accorded credit for.
The entire cast is just amazing,
performances topping Oscar nominations
that were never given.
Very touching and fun.
Should not be missed by anyone
(With an opened mind, of course,
some machos will drop dead when
they will see Daniel Craig performing here.
Be advised...)
 The Tiny Terror and a Sensitive Bogeyman November 27, 2008
B. Wells (Florida)
Released nearly a year after Philip Seymour Hoffman's Oscar-winning turn in "Capote", Douglas McGrath's overlooked "Infamous" (based on George Plimpton's bestseller) covers, essentially, the same territory while remaining uniquey different from its predecessor.
Star Toby Jones has the right look for the late author, and certainly has his mannerisms down pat. More spritely, less acerbic, and less dissipated than the Capote inhabited by Hoffman, Jones has an almost wholesome winsomness that seems to be counter to most of what I've read about the real-life Capote. And while Hoffman's performance seemed to come from some dark and painful place deep within (and may, thus, seem more genuine), Jones' Capote is much more fun to watch. I think his portrayal comes closer to humanizing the fascinating "tiny terror", whose association with a notorious murder case and its perpetrators helped lead to his own downward spiral into disgrace and notoriety. As best friend and fellow author, Nell Harper Lee, Sandra Bullock continues to refine her acting skills, proving that her outstanding performance in "Crash" was no fluke. Alternately disapproving and supportive, her Nell is Truman's rock, his anchor in the often turbulent waters of his own life; she's strong and sensible, with the only problem being a Southern accent that is sorely unconvincing. As Truman's high-society "swans" from New York, Sigourney Weaver (Babe Paley), Hope Davis (Slim Keith), and Isabella Rosellini (Marella Agnelli) provide a Greek chorus of tea and sympathy for Truman's ongoing dramas. The delightful Juliet Stevenson delivers a nice turn as the fabulous Diana Vreeland, and Peter Bogdanovich is also fine as publisher and Capote confidante, Bennet Cerf. Character actor John Benjamin Hickey, as Capote's partner, Jack Dunphy, brings a lost and bittersweet edge to the film's goings-on, while Jeff Daniels, as lawman Alvin Dewey, lends the movie an element of strength and steadiness.
Of course, it is the killers of "In Cold Blood" who amp up the element of drama in both "Capote" and in "Infamous". Lee Pace (of "Pushing Daisies") is suitably scary as cold and matter-of-fact Dick Hickock, who killed without remorse, and then never shut up talking about it. But, conveying both the chilling barbarism and wounded sensitivity of murderous Perry Smith, while noting his similarities to Truman, is essential to successfully presenting a certain dichotomy that has probably rarely existed between an author and his interview subject. Robert Blake (in Richard Brooks' "In Cold Blood") epitomized the limping, pathetic Smith, humanizing him yet presenting him in a very real, warts-and-all way; Clifton Collins, in "Capote", though prettied-up, was also believable in the same role. In "Infamous", no less than 007 actor, Daniel Craig, assays the role of Perry Smith, with, I think, less successful results. He's an outstanding actor but too much of a movie star for this role; his glamour surrounds the Smith character with an aura that ultimately glamourizes the killer, imbuing him with an artificiality that dashes any hopes of bringing honesty or any real level of understanding to this most complex of characters. The physicality between the two men and the suggestion of a jailhouse affair between Capote and Smith also strains credulity, and the sexual dynamics seem false and forced. This brings an air of dishonesty to the Capote/Smith scenes, which, ultimately doesn't play well. The Clutters themselves--the Kansas farm family slain by Hickock and Smith in a bungled robbery attempt--are barely shown, and I was thankful for that. While the killings are briefly covered, the brutality of the crimes is not as much in evidence as it was in the previous films.
Except for the slaughter of the innocent family, there is nothing subtle about "Infamous". From its weirdly flaky opening (with Gwyneth Paltrow as a lounge singer) to the flambuoyant lead character to the fluttering socialites, everything seems designed to SHOUT to the viewer, to PROJECT to the audience sitting in the rafters. At times, "Infamous" seems much more like a stage play than a movie, and all this accomplishes is to make the film seem more rough than its predecessors. While there are problems with this movie, I still like it, mostly for Toby Jones' winning performance, however broad it may be.
Infamous November 19, 2008
Emily Castleman (Houston)
Interesting movie, Toby Jones is an actor to be compared with Anthony Hopkins in talent and most any movie he is in will be great. Also the movie A Harlot's Progress is just riveting.
Better than the other one October 16, 2008
Bradley F. Smith (Miami Beach, FL)
I couldn't get through the more highly acclaimed "Capote" the first time I tried. But I had no trouble with this one which nicely tells the "In Cold Blood" story. Nice cinematography. This actor as Capote is every bit the equal of Philip Seymour Hoffman's, I think. Watch it if you are into literary bio-pics. Compare it to its rival. It's worth watching both, and I did.
And the winner is... September 7, 2008
JackOfMostTrades (Washington, DC)
I'll just add my voice to those who found this a superior film to the earlier 'Capote.' It is more robust, well-rounded, and more interesting than the latter. This film is truly a 'film' and does not pretend to 'document' the story of Capote and the writing of the famous book. There is more opportunity to see the range of dynamics at work intrapsychically as Capote displays contradictory and complex feelings toward his subject. It is also aesethetically more original--one can see the artist/writer/director at work here, shaping the story, rather than allowing the original story, i.e., that of Capote researching and writing the book, shape it.
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