DVD : To Kill a Mockingbird (Collector's Edition)

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Rating:

- I AM SO GLAD I WATCHED THIS MOVIE
I FINALLY HAD THE CHANCE TO WATCH THIS MOVIE IN IT'S ENTIRETY. OVER THE YEARS I HAD SEEN ONLY BITS AND PIECES. IT WAS SO MOVING AND SOUL STIRRING.
I ABSOLUTLEY LOVED IT!

Rating:

- Movie Review
EXCELLENT Film and a timeless novel. The movie is very close to the book and I actually use it with the novel for 8th graders. It's a great way to wrap up the unit after reading the novel.

Rating:

- "And little things in between"
It says a lot that "To Kill a Mockingbird" was made in 1962, at a time when Hollywood was finally able to address the civil rights issue and congratulate itself on its courage for doing so, while not actually presenting material that would be truly challenging to American audiences. If a film like this had been made even ten years earlier, it would have constituted an act of true artistic courage. Made in 1962, "To Kill a Mockingbird" is a work of great artistry, but there is nothing overwhelmingly courageous about it.

Critical response to the film version of "To Kill a Mockingbird" seems to fall into two categories. The majority of reviewers have praised the film's beauty and simplicity, its wonderfully natural and understated performances, and its loving evocation of a long-gone place and time. A minority of commentators, including Roger Ebert, have criticized the film's lapses of believability and its use of African-American characters as symbols rather than individuals.

I think that both views are clearly correct. The performances of the entire cast -- in particular, Gregory Peck, Mary Badham and Brock Peters -- bring the story to life so naturally that the viewer seems to be watching the lives of real people rather than a movie. As Mulligan and Pakula point out on their DVD commentary, the entire film is handled with a dignity and restraint that would be unthinkable in later eras of the history of motion pictures.

On the other hand, the film features less meaningful interaction between the black and white characters than one might have hoped -- less, indeed, than takes place in Harper Lee's novel. Tom Robinson, the African-American character most central to the plot, never comes into direct contact with Scout, the viewpoint character. She witnesses his tragedy like a spectator at a play, never seeming to grapple with it personally. When the repercussions of Tom Robinson's story finally threaten Scout and Jem in the film's third act, it is a white character who endangers them and another white character who saves them.

The only African-American character who walks through the movie as a regular person rather than a tragic symbol is Calpurnia, Atticus' household employee, excellently played by Estelle Evans. In earlier Hollywood eras, few black characters could have interacted with whites so naturally and straightforwardly, or been presented as strong and intelligent individuals in their own right without any trace of comedy. But even Calpurnia seems to fade out of the story as it proceeds, and we never see her reaction to the fate of Tom Robinson.

"To Kill a Mockingbird" is a treasurable movie, in particular for its depiction of the unusual relationship of mutual respect between Atticus and his children and for Elmer Bernstein's score, featuring one of the loveliest main themes ever to come out of Hollywood. But it probably does not deserve to be regarded as one of America's greatest films. Most mockingbirds are gray, but there are two mockingbirds in this movie: one white and one black. Only the white mockingbird perches on the heroine's shoulder to sing his song, and that's a bit disappointing.

Rating:

- must have for serious video collection
a classic, so well done, beautifully acted and Peck coes accross like you thought he actually lived his life....

Rating:

- Gregory Peck's greatest role!
2008 marks 45 years when this movie came to theatres everywhere. 45 years later the movie still stands the test of time for its acting, its story and proving once and for all there are lots of great movies and TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD is one of them! Gregory Peck delivered a first class role as Atticus Finch. The DVD also has some wonderful extras including Mary Badham with her relationship with Gregory Peck during the filming. This movie is definitely a classic for everyone to watch!!

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