To Kill a Mockingbird (Collector's Edition)
by Robert Mulligan
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Actor: Frank Overton, Gregory Peck, John Megna, Rosemary Murphy, Ruth WhiteDirector: Robert Mulligan
Brand: NBC Universal
Cinematographer: Russell Harlan
Editor: Aaron Stell
Producer: Alan J. Pakula
Writer: Harper Lee
Writer: Horton Foote
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Dolby, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 129 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1998-04-29
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Universal Studios
DVD Reviews of To Kill a Mockingbird (Collector's Edition)
DVD Review: One of the greatest Treasures in film
Summary: 5 Stars
Harper Lee wrote a semi-autobiographical novel about memories she made growing up in small town Alabama during that time between the Civil War and World War II, when blacks had been emancipated, but many whites, especially in the South, were reluctant to acknowledge blacks as equals. The setting of this story preceded Martin Luther King, Jr's work by two decades. The novel "To Kill A Mockingbird" is one of the most important, passionate, beloved, spiritual and moral works in the English language. It rightfully was awarded a Pulitzer Prize, and if only one had been awarded for the entire 20th century, it would still get my vote.
Rightfully so, Harper Lee was hesitant to see her beloved story turned over to "Hollywood". She needn't have worried.
"To Kill a Mockingbird", the film, has become as beloved as Harper Lee's book. When the American Film Institute came out with their many "100 Greatest..." lists at the turn of the century Gregory Peck's performance as Atticus Finch came out at #1 on the list of "Greatest Screen Heroes", ahead of such screen icons as Indiana Jones, James Bond and Rick from "Casablanca". The film itself ranked as #34 of Greatest Films of history. I would personally rank it in the top 2.
The story is relatively simple. A black man, Tom Robinson (in a noble performance by Brock Peters) is accused of raping a young woman from a "white trash" family. The guilt of the black man is a foregone conclusion in this predominantly white southern town, but the Judge knows the only man in town with a chance to defend Tom. The Judge asks Atticus Finch. Atticus Finch is a widower, raising his two children on the salary of a small-town southern lawyer, frequently taking livestock and vegetables in trade for his services. Atticus has many friends in town, and everyone who knows Mr. Finch knows that he is a man of saint-like honor. Atticus never brags and much of what his own children learn about him comes from other adults who have known him for years.
Wisely approaching the movie from the same perspective as Harper Lee's original narrative, Robert Mulligan tells the story from the perspective of the Finch children: Mary Badham as daughter Scout (who seems about 10) and slightly older brother Phillip Alford as Jem. Scout and Jem do the things that children do. They play hide and seek. They tell ghost stories. They roll tires down the street. And, most importantly, they watch their father defend an innocent man who is sometimes an inch away from being lynched.
The courtroom scenes are taut, with racial conflict simmering away like a pot threatening to boil over at any moment. Atticus Finch keeps the lid on that pot. The courtroom scenes here have not been matched by any film before or since. Gregory Peck confided to Director Mulligan that he had won the Academy Award for him in just the scene at the end of the trial where Atticus silently packs up his papers and walks out of the courtroom. If you haven't seen the film before - watch for this moment and you'll know what he meant.
Supporting performances perfectly compliment the transcendant one by Mr. Peck. Robert Duvall makes an impressive screen debut in an important role that doesn't appear until the final moments. Collin Wilcox Paxton captures the pitiful "victim" of the alleged rape, Mayella Ewell. James Anderson is terrifying as Mayella's spitefully prejudiced father, Bob Ewell. Estelle Evans plays Calpurnia, who mothers the motherless Finch children when Atticus must be away. Frank Overton is authoritative and one of the only professional friends Atticus has as Sheriff Tate. Paul Fix presides over the famous courtroom scenes, in addition to asking Atticus to carry the unbearable load of defending the case that can't be defended in that town at that time.
In America (and, dare I say, other parts of the world) issues of prejudice and racism have not completely subsided. But the days of Emmitt Till seem long ago and far away. It took something to change the minds or racist Southerners not that many generations away from slavery. "To Kill A Mockingbird" has done as much to advance the principles of fairness and justice as any single work of history. It's that important.
Description of To Kill a Mockingbird (Collector's Edition)
Gregory Peck won an Oscar for his brilliant performance as the Southern lawyer who defends a black man accused of rape in this film version of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. The way in which it captures a time, a place, and above all, a mood, makes this film a masterpiece. The setting is a dusty Southern town during the Depression. A white woman accuses a black man of rape. Though he is obviously innocent, the outcome of his trial is such a foregone conclusion that no lawyer will step forward to defend him - except Peck, the town's most distinguished citizen. His compassionate defense costs him many friendships but earns him the respect and admiration of his two motherless children. Starring: Gregory Peck, Mary Badham, Phillip Alford, John Megna, Frank Overton, Brock Peters, Rosemary Murphy, Collin Wilcox, James Anderson, Robert Duvall Directed by: Robert MulliganRanked 34 on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 Greatest American Films, To Kill a Mockingbird is quite simply one of the finest family-oriented dramas ever made. A beautiful and deeply affecting adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Harper Lee, the film retains a timeless quality that transcends its historically dated subject matter (racism in the Depression-era South) and remains powerfully resonant in present-day America with its advocacy of tolerance, justice, integrity, and loving, responsible parenthood. It's tempting to call this an important "message" movie that should be required viewing for children and adults alike, but this riveting courtroom drama is anything but stodgy or pedantic. As Atticus Finch, the small-town Alabama lawyer and widower father of two, Gregory Peck gives one of his finest performances with his impassioned defense of a black man (Brock Peters) wrongfully accused of the rape and assault of a young white woman. While his children, Scout (Mary Badham) and Jem (Philip Alford), learn the realities of racial prejudice and irrational hatred, they also learn to overcome their fear of the unknown as personified by their mysterious, mostly unseen neighbor Boo Radley (Robert Duvall, in his brilliant, almost completely nonverbal screen debut). What emerges from this evocative, exquisitely filmed drama is a pure distillation of the themes of Harper Lee's enduring novel, a showcase for some of the finest American acting ever assembled in one film, and a rare quality of humanitarian artistry (including Horton Foote's splendid screenplay and Elmer Bernstein's outstanding score) that seems all but lost in the chaotic morass of modern cinema. --Jeff Shannon
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