To Kill a Mockingbird (Collector's Edition)

Rating:
Summary: The point is....
Review: This is one of the all time classics. There is a reason schools use it in their classes!! It is an illustration of good vs. evil, the innocence of the young, courage, discrimination, prejudice and many more themes that have been missed by some of its critics. If you want to know what life was like in the 30's this is it. Ms. Lee's writing is a wonderful blend of child like innocence and the intelligent pen of a mature woman. Some people will never understand but for those who do, you will never forget your sojourn with Scout and Jem.


Rating:
Summary: Just Like the Book...
Review: Boring! Why do so many people like the book and movie? I had to read the it in three weeks (three chapters every weekday), and it was not good at all. My teacher then gave us the choice to watch To Kill a Mockingbird or All Quiet on the Western Front (another classic we read prior to To Kill...) for our final. And lucky me, I'm in a class with students who not only voted for To Kill... but they didn't even watch it. But that's beside the point. To Kill... seemed to have no plot whatsoever. Not only that but it was not fun to watch/read. The little conflicts Scout and Jem find themselves in are outrageously dumb. Do not watch, do not read... stay ignorant of Harper Lee.

Rating:
Summary: The best movie that Hollywood has ever made.....
Review: "To Kill a Mockingbird" is, in my opinion, absolutely the finest film ever made. Filmed in timeless black and white and perfectly cast, this motion picture is a work of art. As for the "politically correct" reviewer who panned the film because of perceived "black stereotyping", and suggested it not be shown to anyone under 21 years of age, all I can say is sad.....very sad. "To Kill a Mockingbird" should be required viewing for every child in public school in America, it might actually help to counter the influences of Darwinism and Secular Humanism that are destroying American culture and civility.

The performance of Robert Duvall as "Boo" Radley is, alone, worth the price of admission, but John Megna, as young "Dill" Harris, steals the film as far as I'm concerned. Megna, the brother of actress Connie Stevens, passed away in 1995 but will always be remembered for his role as "Dill".

Everyone should, in my opinion, own a copy of "To Kill a Mockingbird". And if you watch it.....and aren't moved by it.....well, maybe you should have a close family member call the undertaker.

Rating:
Summary: Don't Bother!
Review: I must agree with a previous reviewer in which he/she stated that this film is dated and precious. It's a difficult film not only to watch but enjoy because the blacks in the film are all stereotypes of "decent, hard-working, god-fearing Black Folk." Calpurnia, the housekeeper in the Finch household, best represents the film's black stereotype. As a previous reviewer stated, she is the least outspoken black in all of film history and consequently the least interesting. The role is so offensive that this film is immediately disqualified from being shown to anyone under the age of 21.

I too wondered about Atticus being at home when his children were performing in a school play after dark. Was his day at the office sooooo fatiguing that he couldn't drag himself off the couch to accompany his children to school? Yes, it's okay for a good dad to impart important life lessons over the breakfast and dinner tables but shouldn't a good dad be concerned about his children's physical safety?

Why does Atticus let his 6 year old daughter run around the neighborhood - after dark? The Finches appear not to live in the best of neighborhoods: once, a mad dog is seen loping along the street and another time, a neighbor fires a gun at a "prowler" in his vegetable garden, (the prowler is actually one of the Finch kids.) And then there's a dark, spooky old house that harbors a hulking, reclusive man who - like the Finch children - sneaks around the neighborhood after dark. Once again I ask: why does Atticus let his 6 year old daughter run about their dangerous and questionable neighborhood after dark? In my opinion, Atticus is truly over-rated as the Good Dad.

In the end, the entire film is just too precious as stated. It's the sort of film that appeals to those with very select tastes - like high school English teachers. This film is just the sort of fare I remember being bored with during my school days.

You can safely pass on this one - but if you've dedicated your life to seeing every Gregory Peck film, or every film based on Pulitzer prize-winning novels, or every black and white film, you're duty-bound to take a look at it. The film is very dated and very precious - don't take it too seriously.

Rating:
Summary: Integrity is timeless
Review: I show this movie in its entirety to my business classes. I wheel it out when we deal with 'leadership' and the need to be willing to stand up for certain principles. We all won't be given the chance Attorney Atticus Finch is given to defend Tom Robinson 70 years after slavery ended in segregationist Alabama, but Gregory Peck in the defining role of his career points us in the right direction.

That it is a 45 year old film doesn't really matter. The ideas are timeless. Atticus says to his son upon being asked why he took the Tom Robinson case, 'because I couldn't hold my head up if I said no.'

Timeless stuff. Great family film. Pretty good for teenagers too if you can tie them down. 5 stars. Larry Scantlebury

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Films Ever Made
Review: This is, in my opinion, my favorite movie. It is perfect film...directing, acting, cinematography, editing and yes, music. The music is how scores should be...a part of the story and characters.

The children are outstanding (hard to find in a movie). You really get the sense of viewing this world through the eyes of a child.

The courtroom scene is by far the best ever made. I get angry every time the verdict is read. Gregory Peck's closing argument shows just how perfect he was for the role of Atticus Finch.

"To Kill a Mockingbird" is one of those movies that have these great moments that stay with me: Atticus shooting the dog, Scout looking at the watch, Jem and Scout running to defend Atticus from the mob, Tom Robinson in tears when he states his innocence, Reverend Sykes asking Scount to "stand up", Atticus inching forward when he is spit upon, Scout saying, "Hey, Boo"...the list of these moments could go on and on.

And this DVD had one of the best commentary tracks about making films you will ever hear. It is great to hear two filmmakers actually talk about making films. Modern day producers should listen carefully to the late Alan J. Pakula as he explains what a "real" producer should do on a film. Brilliant.

Rating:
Summary: A slow-moving classic...
Review: This film is beautiful in its intent; how a white lawyer defends a black man wrongly accused of rape. Also, Atticus' relationship with his children (played wonderfully by the two young actors in the film) is precious to see. That said, I find the film too slow-moving for my taste. I am a big Gregory Peck fan, but the pacing of this gem cannot sustain my interest. I've seen it a number of times (more recently, this evening, in fact)..and while some parts of the film cause me to stop what I'm doing and take notice, other parts do not. In addition, the courtroom scene is too painful to watch..not because I am bored to tears, necessarily, but because I cannot stand hearing the testimony of the woman who claims to have been assaulted by an innocent black man. I find her blatant lies unnerving to hear and her whole testimony highly irritating. Either the actress who plays her can't act, or she's so good it makes me want to clobber her, but I hate that scene.

To me, the best part of the film is simply watching Gregory Peck and the two young actors who play his children..but as for the story itself..though moral and good, it seems rather disjointed and you wonder what's the point. Great film in what it tries to accomplish, but clumsy and convoluted (imo) in its execution.

Rating:
Summary: too Dated, Too Precious
Review: I've seen this film several times since its release and having just viewed it once again I marvel at its patronizing approach to Black Americans and its skewed concept of the "good dad."

Calpurnia, the black housekeeper in the Finch household, is cut from the same cloth as all the other Hollywood black maids. She is shown waiting table, cooking, polishing the glassware, and tending the massa's children. She is the least independently-minded, outspoken black housekeeper in all of film history. The role is a disgrace.

The finale of the film is curious. One night, the Finch children (Scout and Jem) are performing in a school pageant. Both children are the last to leave the school after the pageant ends and the lights are turned out. The children are attacked by a thug as they walk through a wooded area. Boo Radley - a mute, mentally-challenged adult male neighbor of the Finches with a queer interest in the Finch children - stabs and kills the attacker then rushes the unconscious Jem to the Finch home. Scout follows at a distance and is met on the front porch by her frantic father.

Now ... I'm asking myself why on earth is Atticus home when his children are performing in a school play? Why has dad let his children go to school and return from school through a wooded area after dark? Why are the two children the last to leave the school as the lights are being turned off? Why have no neighbors offered to accompany the children to their home or to offer them a ride? Has Atticus's day at the office been soooooo fatiguing that he can't pick up his feet and accompany his 6 year old daughter to a school play? As far as I'm concerned the whole finale is too contrived.

Atticus has been kudoed here and there for being a good dad but he fails in the film as a good dad. Sure, it's OK to impart life lessons over the breakfast table but a good dad has some concern over his children's physical safety and their whereabouts - especially after dark. Atticus has nothing to do with saving his children's lives - it is a reclusive idiot neighbor who saves the children. Atticus' only chore in the finale is to worry, fuss, and phone the doctor. Atticus is emasculated in the finale and given a woman's tasks to do.

And worst of all (in a film about justice) the sheriff decides in the final moments of the film that Boo Radley - the idiot who stabbed and killed the children's attacker, you remember - shouldn't be brought to justice because he did a good thing in ridding the community of a troublesome, drunken citizen. And of all things, Atticus - the great lawyer - concurs! Most of us feel that Boo should be brought to justice - just like anyone else would - and that the sheriff and Atticus shouldn't be taking justice into their own hands and skewing the truth for sentimental reasons. This moment in the film is truly appalling.

The Finch children and their playmate Dil are queer little birds and the least interesting children in film history. The author indicated she based Dil upon her friend Truman Capote. (That should tell you something about where Harper Lee is coming from. Hmm.) Gregory Peck in his role as Atticus Finch presents himself as something of an alien; he's stiffish and one never feels he belongs here or anywhere else. Robert Duvall is fine in the role that shot him to stardom (the idiot, Boo Radley) - thankfully, he appears on the screen for less than 2 minutes.

The entire film is a queer production for those with very select tastes - like high school English teachers. It's very dated, very precious, very manipulative, very melodramatic in its presentation but, as it's been hailed as a classic, one should dutifully take the time to give it a look-see. Good luck.

Rating:
Summary: A Classic But Boring
Review: I love classics, Black and White Films and even slow paced Hitchcock films. I agree they dont make films like they used to. I agree the golden era of cinema has long since passed.
This film, and i can see how it is considered a classic, is descent but boring. Especially now in 2004.
WIth all the great reviews (due mainly because its a classic) will have you thinking this must be an amazing black and white film!
Well if you expect that, especially with todays fast paced films where the camera cant stand still for seconds on a character, you will find this film unbelievably boring.
Give me Hitchcock, James Dean, Marlon Brando's black and white films, Bogart, James Stewart
BUt this film will bore u
and the kids-- u will want to kill them