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Summary: Let's talk DVD
Review: Thank you to the 2 or 3 below who actually described the DVD version and features. People coming to this site - like me - most likely have seen the movie at least once and read the book. We know why it's an incredible film. Most of us are looking for information to help us decide if we want to buy the DVD version. So, please, if you love the movie, tell your friends and let's save this space for practical information of use to DVD shoppers.
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Summary: An Awesome Film
Review: To Kill a Mockingbird To Kill a Mockingbird, starring Gregory Peck, Mary Badham, Phillip Alford, Brock Peters, Robert Duvall, and James Anderson, and directed by Robert Mulligan, is a pretty faithful adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Harper Lee, a relative of Robert E. Lee. It is the story of a wise and kind man, Atticus Finch (Peck) raising a 10-year-old boy, Jem (Alford) and a 6-year-old girl, Scout (Badham) in a small Alabama town in 1932, during the Great Depression with their friend Dill Harris, played by John Megna. Atticus, a lawyer, defends a black man named Tom Robinson (Peters), accused of raping a white woman, just as he defends his children from racism as personified by Bob Ewell (Anderson) and from fear of the unknown, as personified by their mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley (Duvall) I think To Kill a Mockingbird is a great film. It also helps me learn what it was like back in the Great Depression. The theme is walking in somebody else's shoes, a figure of speech asking for tolerance. Part of the reason I liked it was because it centered on kids. The kids may have just been spectators in the balcony and victims in the woods, but I think their body language helped show their feelings. They looked unhappy and tired in the balcony and scared in the woods. I think the acting was excellent. The children often seemed natural to me. I am glad Gregory Peck earned an Academy Award, as Robert Duvall would in the future. I liked and admired Atticus, especially during his closing argument. Boo Radley looked just like I imagined. James Anderson was good as a bigot, but I think his role could have been made more subtle. Brock Peters impressed me with his emotional acting, but I think his role, too, could have been written to be more complex. It's like in a way he was too perfect.
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Summary: A classic whose reprocussions are still felt
Review: I am a professor emeritus at a university in eastern Australia. I have taught this book in my class for over 15 years. Each time I see the movie, I am reminded of how this book echoed through the minds of readers and publishers when it was published in 1960. Then, something magical happened. A movie. This movie steals the very heart and soul of every human being that watches it. I can still see the moist eyes and cheeks of my students as they exit my classes. This movie is a timeless classic that will never die. Please, make yourself feel good, and purchase this movie- or even rent it for a night. You will never forget it. Gregory Peck crowns himself king of the era.
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Summary: bad movie
Review: This movie stunk I had to watch it in school. Talk about a bad movie i would only buy it if someone paid me twice it's value to.
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Summary: A Reflection of Our Own Lives
Review: "To Kill a Mockingbird" is a timeless classic, displayed in breathtaking imaginative and visual beauty whether you read the book or watch the movie. Either genre brings to life the old south, its charm, its bigotry, its fear of the unknown, and ultimately its triumph of the human soul. There is a beauty to the book and the movie which seems to change as one grows older. The timelessness of the movie/book is evidenced on two different levels. Both are appreciated today as much as when they were originally released. Perhaps more importantly, children under the age of 10 love the book or movie as only a child can. As one grows older, you see the movie/book through the eyes of an adult and from a different perspective. A parent can also appreciate the movie, reliving it through their own children's eyes. The BOOK is essentially the 'coming of age' of Jem as he slowly leaves his childhood behind and begins to understand the harsh realities of life in the deep South. The MOVIE more represents the 'coming of age' of Scout as she views the black and white realities which slowly surround her. Scout's innocence reminds adults of their moral code and conduct in the movie, the book, and (surprisingly) in real life. She is able to center us on our own humanity as is witnessed in many scenes, chiefly in the jail scene where she single handedly (and unknowingly) stops a lynching by simply saying hello to someone she recognizes in the lynch mob. Ultimately, I suppose, the movie represents Our 'coming of age', as a child as an adult, as individuals, and as a society. Each of us must decide whether we will take up the hangman's noose or drop the rope in favor of the child within each of us. On a different level, Boo Radley represents all of these same fears, prejudices, and bigotry ingrained within America, North and South. Only when we finally meet Boo for the first time, do we recognize a human face, a protector, a neighbor, rather than the devil himself. Scout and Jem's journey is our journey, one in which we all make. Some choose to see the fearful murderer who lives in the Radley house. Some choose to see the human being and ultimately reach out and say "Hey Boo..." In this black and white book, in this black and white movie, in this black and white world, there will always be a Boo, an Atticus, a Tom, a Jem, or a Scout. Hopefully they will be there for us when each of us waked up in the morning...
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Summary: A Tenderly Moving Film Experience!
Review: The new Collector's Edition dvd for Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird is truly fantastic, filled with many extras like a captivating behind-the-scene documentary that is about an hour and a half long with fascinating interviews with the wondrous actors who brought the characters to life such as the Mary Badham(Scout),Phillip Alford(Jem), Brock Peters(Tom), Collin Wicox(Mayella), and many more. The audio commentary is also particularly interesting which allows a more in-depth look at this film adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. After watching the dvd, I just had to grab my copy of Lee's great book and reread it over again. The film is one of those rare gems which is able to capture the true beauty and essence that the novel exudes. Please watch this inspirational film and read the novel which brought this film to life. Thanks.
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Summary: To Kill a Mockingbird
Review: Brilliant! The story is compelling and truly haunting. It brings to life the best and the worst of which society and individuals are capable. Atticus is an amazing character of courage, integrity and modesty. Gregory Peck IS Atticus Finch. His portrayal is so convincing that he is exactly the phenomenal gentleman Harper Lee wrote of. His conviction to justice and respect for all people is unwavering and the epitome of character we all should possess. The movie is haunting. I saw it first as a child and never forgot it. I saw it again in my teens and was overwhelmed. As an adult I have a full appreciation for its perfection and a great admiration for the broad spectrum of life's lessons it brought to the screen. A must see movie, a must read book. Be sure to do both. You won't be dissapointed. Bravo!
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Summary: A HAUNTING AND BEAUTIFUL FILM
Review: "TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD" is one of my favourite books and a favourite movie of mine. This is one of the few books I read where I really felt that I knew the characters; it was as if the town of Maycomb came alive in my head! Gregory Peck's portrayal of Atticus is inspired and brilliant. I thought Colin Wilcox was exceptional as Violet Ewell. My favourite performer and character, however is Scout (as I'm sure author Harper Lee intended). Mary Badham is just phenomenonal as Scout! (Badham still receives fan mail from all over the world from fans of her portrayal) She was perfect for the role as she was a real - life Southerner and, having never acted in films before, a complete natural. I loved the character of Scout in the book and I love her in the movie. I've known and heard of girls who empathised and related to her so much that they nicknamed themselves "Scout". Harper Lee must have been pleased with Mary Badham's performance which I think is a classic of it's kind. Philip Alford is almost as good as Jem; together they are quite believable as brother and sister. Here comes my one disappointment in the casting :why did they chose John Megna to play Dill? In the book he was a towhead and not at all like the actor portraying him (he was really Truman Capote, you know) The kids want to catch a glimpse of Boo Radley and instead they are intruded upon by a great shadow of an unknown hulk of man - it's one of the truly scary scenes. Aunt Alexandria is totally omitted from the film which I'm not sure is advantageous or not. Ruth White is great as the crotchety Mrs. Dubose, however she too, had more to do in the book, where it was revealed that she was a morphine addict. Alice Ghostley is funny as Dill's Aunt Stephanie who warns sternly about the dangers of hanging around the Radley place. Brock Peters is terrific as Tom Robinson, and Estelle Evans is wonderful as the much-loved Calpurnia. I firmly believe that the score by Elmer Bernstein is one of the most beautifully haunting of ANY score done for a film and totally appropriate to the movie.(The original AVA label soundtrack record is a much sought after collector's item). The scene where Scout says "Hey,Boo" still makes the tears flow freely, be forewarned and keep the kleenex handy!
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Summary: Another Classic!
Review: This movie definitely makes my top ten of the greatest movies ever made.This wide screen version not only has fantastic picture quality, but also has the original trailer and a short "making of the movie" at the end. If you still have doubts about this movie, rent it. You won't be sorry!
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Summary: A Children's Movie
Review: Suffice to say that I made my 11 year old son watch this movie. He balked. And then he was silent and glued to the screen and full of endless questions afterward. Make your children read the book and watch this film. Create some true courage and watchfulness in their hearts. The finest theme of this film is that a father is willing to sacrifice everything--his career, his standing in the community--for his quiet belief that a man has been wronged. Most important, he is willing to and knowingly puts his own children's safety at risk to do what must be done.
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