To Kill a Mockingbird (Collector's Edition) |  | Director: Robert Mulligan
Actors: Gregory Peck, John Megna, Frank Overton, Rosemary Murphy, Ruth White
Studio: Universal Studios
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
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Rating:  393 reviews
Sales Rank: 569
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Widescreen, Dolby, NTSC
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Dubbed)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 129 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5.3 x 0.4
MPN: D20252D
ISBN: 0783225857
UPC: 025192025228
EAN: 9780783225852
ASIN: 0783225857
Theatrical Release Date: December 25, 1962
Release Date: April 29, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Contains: feature commentary with director robert mulligan fearful symmetry featuring interviews with cast members plus historic stills of the town of monroeville original location footage and interviews with residents and theatrical trailer. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 01/23/2007 Starring: Gregory Peck Mary Badham Run time: 130 minutes Rating: Nr Director: Robert Mulligan
Amazon.com essential video
Ranked 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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Showing reviews 1-5 of 393
 A favorite movie February 6, 2010
M. Casey (PA)
I teach this novel to a 10th grade class and showing the movie is an integral part of the unit. To Kill a Mockingbird is my very favorite book and the movie is one of my favorites.
Mockingbird February 5, 2010
Anthony
1962's To Kill A Mockingbird spreads its wings to great lengths with seamless effort in underlining the trials and tribulations of a society suffering from social prejudices. Its narrator, the overall-wearing, lovable tomboy Scout Finch (Mary Badham), describes the challenges she and her family face when her father decides to defend a black man charged with a serious crime. Through her eyes, you see the clear divide that begins to grow in Maycomb County.
Originally adapted from the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Harper Lee, director Robert Mulligan reveals his vision of the classic when the picture opens with a monologue from a seemingly grown-up Scout. The introduction presents us with information on the somewhat artificial and judgmental Maycomb. The frame is focused on an all-American, southern neighborhood where citizens open their homes to all, except for the Radleys. Mystery constantly surrounds their dilapidated home as gossip and tall tales run high in the town; it does not help that the youngest of the family, Boo (Robert Duvall), constantly hides from the outside world in the security of his rundown haven.
In the movie's beginnings, we are introduced to Scout, Jem, and Atticus Finch, a prominent family in the southern town. Played by Gregory Peck, Atticus serves as the county's best defense lawyer. Peck brilliantly portrays the classy, respectable single parent described in the Harper Lee original. Atticus is a character that demands respect both on paper and on screen, and the multi-talented Peck delivers this attitude. His calm demeanor and noble ways add to the character development in the film.
Controversy surrounds the family when Atticus chooses to take the case of and defend Tom Robinson (Brock Peters), who Mayella Ewell (Collin Wilcox Paxton) claims assaulted her. The tension between the word of a black person versus the word of a white person is depicted perfectly by Mulligan when the controversial case goes to court. The small courthouse not equipped for many people is suddenly packed with eager onlookers. When the case begins, Atticus asks Tom Robinson subtle, honest questions and receives truthful answers in return. When Mayella takes the stand, however, her over dramatic shrieks and tearful sobs take away from the validity of her testimony as well as that of her emotions. Nonetheless, it is well known throughout the movie that the jury still favors Mayella because of the color of her skin. The verdict of the case has nothing to do with the facts being brought up by the prosecution and defense; the verdict is solely based on social injustices.
Furthermore, under the black and white color pictures lie common events within a family that make the movie relatable to all; Atticus tries avidly to do the right thing, Jem strives to make his father proud, and most evidently, Scout endures the difficult process of becoming and understanding what it means to be a lady. Not everything is as perfect and plain as it seems though. The movie packs its share of tragedies; however, it remains inspirationally uplifting in the simplicity of its message. Atticus's plans for the trial come to an unexpected halt, but his positive, sensible mind helps him come to terms with the outcomes of the whole debacle.
All of the characters come to a climactic clash at the end of the film when Boo Radley makes an unanticipated appearance, Mayella's father Bob goes after the Finch children, and Jem breaks his arm. The sensation from the film's conclusion fills audiences everywhere with content and motivates them to be as noble as Atticus Finch in their daily lives. In this intense yet satisfying ending, we see the invariable nature of humans to disagree, but the positive consequences for those who rise above.
 A Treasure of a Movie February 4, 2010
Pauline M. Wilson
This is a poignant and heart warming story told from the point of view of a little tomboy, Scout, & her older brother, Jem, of growing up in the South during the depression. It is fairly faithful to the book although much has been omitted as one would expect. Their father, Atticus Finch, a widowed attorney, takes on a the defense of a Negro wrongly accused of raping a white girl. The colorful neighbors, their antics and their opinions, show the audience just what stuff this family, especially Atticus trying to raise his children alone, is made of.
TIMES ARE A-CHANGIN' January 17, 2010
Joseph H. Race (SAIPAN, MP United States)
It's a wonderful, dramatic movie version of Lee's award-winning novel. It won three academy awards and was quite daring and innovative for 1962 to talk about rape by a black man of a white teenager. The story takes place in a small Southern town in 1935, and highlights the relationships of children with the town, and the events are seen through their eyes, and of course, the white town's view of the black people. The young girl tomboy Scout (the narrator)is a hoot, but probably will have real behavior problems in adulthood. The other children are her brother Jem and the neighbor boy Dill. The plot has been repeated in the South many times, black man falsely accused and covicted, and then eventually killed while "trying to escape." The real white suspect in this story is later killed when the mentally handicapped neighbor stops him from harming the children. Gregory Peck was deserving of an academy award for playing the conversative lawyer Atticus Finch, the father of Scout and Jem, a part different than his typical role as a war/cowboy hero. A fine review of what some of America's problems were in the past. It seems appropriate that I watched and reviewed the movie on MLK Day.
 Her Childhood Memories December 31, 2009
Acute Observer (North Jersey Shore)
1 out of 10 found this review helpful
The film begins with a child opening a box with toys that dates this story to the 1930s. The lawyer takes his payment in goods, cash is scarce. This little girl seems to be a tomboy. The kids are warned about the local maniac chained in his house. There is an old lady who is cranky. We hear the family history. People don't dress for the hot weather. The Judge asks Atticus Finch to represent a defendant. These kids just wander around (to present a view of life). Does anyone watch them? That lady does not wear a hat and gloves. "Scout" seems to have a behavior problem. Atticus tells about his first gun. He tells "Scout" about the need for proper deportment in school.
Then a mad dog appears in the street. Atticus returns to shoot it, he is known as a good shot. Later he meets the wife of the defendant. A man shows up for a scary scene. Jem finds a trinket. "Scout" has more behavior problems. Atticus explains his legal work. A man patches a hole in a tree. Jem found things in that hole. At night some cars arrive at the jail. Atticus bars the door, he defends it with moral strength. His daughter's presence turns the men back. [Believable?] The courtroom is packed solid, but there is room on the second floor. The trial begins with testimony from Sheriff Tait. Mr. Ewell tells what he saw. Lawyer Finch shows Ewell is left-handed. May Ellen testifies about what happened. Finch questions her.
Defendant Robinson tells how his left arm was lamed due to an accident on the job when he was twelve years old. [No child labor laws?] May Ellen repeats he claim. [You can judge her credibility.] Mr Robinson takes the stand and tells what happened. Will he be believed? He felt sorry for her? Lawyer Finch said there was no physical evidence for the crime. The defendant has a lame left arm. Was this crime due to the violation of society's rules. Can the word of a Negro be taken against two white people? Finch asks for justice for his client. The jury takes two hours to decide on guilty. Later Finch learns that Robinson was shot while trying to escape.
Jem and Tina May walk home in the dark for a final dramatic scene. They are attacked by a strange man. Jem is hurt. Mr. Ewell is found dead. Who rescued Jem? [Is the ending believable?] Sheriff Tait decides that Ewell fell on his knife. This case is closed. An example of poetic justice? [Would Atticus want his child to be friends with a grown man who has emotional problems? This ending damages the story.] I wonder if "Scout" will have problems as an adult?
Showing reviews 1-5 of 393
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