To Kill a Mockingbird: Universal Legacy Collection
Studio: Universal Studios Home Video
Year: 1962 (2005 Release)
Rated: Not Rated
Aspect Ratio: 1.85x1, enhanced for 16x9 displays
Audio: English DD 5.1, 2.0 (mono), DTS 5.1; French DD 2.0 (mono)
Captions/Subtitles: English SDH; French and Spanish Subtitles
Time: 2:09:04
Disc Format: Disc 1: SS/DL; Disc 2: SS/DL
Case Style: Sturdy, Tri-Fold, Book-Style Digipak
Fairness. Courage. Stubborness. Love.
- Hand-written by Gregory Peck on the last page of his shooting script for
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Feature:
To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favorite books. I know that's an odd way to start a DVD review, but it puts into perspective just how seriously I take the story and how it is treated on-screen. It is on required reading lists for a reason; while some may say that the book is a good companion to the movie, I am going to switch that around and say that the movie is a nice supplement to the book. But we're here to talk about the DVD, so I'll get off my book crate and proceed!
To Kill a Mockingbird is set in the early 1930's in a poor Alabama town, where attorney Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck) is raising his two children: Jeremy a.k.a. "Jem" (Phillip Alford) and his younger sister Jean Louise a.k.a. "Scout" (Mary Badham). Widowed for the past four years, Atticus has help from his servant Calpurnia (Estelle Evans), who is really more a surrogate mother to the children. Atticus is a decent man and a caring father (it is no wonder his character was at the top of AFI's list of 100 Heroes). Scout loves Atticus, as any 6-year-old would, but 10-year-old Jem is resentful because his father won't play tackle football. (As across-the-street neighbor Miss. Maudie points out, Atticus
could put together an airtight will--but this is no consolation to the boy.)
It's near the end of summer and Jem and Scout meet Charles Baker "Dill" Harris (John Megna), who is visiting his aunt next-door. Dill, who is Scout's age, can read. He also tells fanciful (false) stories about his parents. (The Dill character, by the way, is based on Truman Capote.) And so the adventures begin. We see the world through the eyes of the children. It is filled with mystery and intrigue, but none so enticing as the horror stories surrounding their mysterious, unseen neighbor "Boo" Radley. Radley, so it's told, attacked his father and is now locked up inside the house. Is it any wonder that the kids would want to find out more?
Against the innocent backdrop of youthful play, a more sinister story unfolds. Atticus is retained to defend a black man, Tom Robinson (the late Brock Peters), from an unjust charge of raping a white woman. In the racially tense deep south, guilt is presumed, and lynching is prescribed. Atticus, who believes that Robinson is innocent, stands alone among his peers, but stands respected by the black community and his children.
As the story continues, the children's perspective begins to shift. Scout, who is a tom-boy to begin with, gets into fights at school because of taunts relating to her father (I won't use the term here...). Jem is shocked to learn that Atticus has a talent at something he can respect (actually, be in-awe). The next summer comes (as does Dill) and the Finch children are able to stand up for their father (both before, and after Tom Robinson's trial). And, unbeknownst to their father, they attend the trial and see a great defense attorney in action.
Gregory Peck
is Atticus Finch. He epitomized those four words he wrote on the back page of his shooting script. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor. He was always known for this performance from that point on and he cited
Mockingbird as his favorite movie. In addition to the Oscar for Best Actor,
To Kill a Mockingbird won the Oscars for Art Direction-Set Direction, Black-and-White, and Adapted Screenplay (Horton Foote).
But what cements
To Kill a Mockingbird as a true classic is the believability and performances of its young cast. They are amazing.
My only gripe about the movie is that many details of the story are left out. That can be rectified by reading the book, of course! But the story told in the movie is still powerful and moving.
The Feature: 5 / 5
Video:
To Kill a Mockingbird has not only received a new 1.85x1 transfer that is enhanced for 16x9 displays, the source material has undergone significant restoration that started in 2001. As noted restoration expert, and favorite HTF contributor Robert Harris stated
in this other thread:
Quote:
Most people would make the assumption that a film of the importance of Mockingbird would be protected with redundancy. But much of its original negative no longer survives. Master fine grain elements are missing, damaged or problematic. Like other black and white releases of the era, many prints were struck directly off the original camera negative, essentially wearing it out.
The most recent work, both photochemical and digital has restored it to a position nearing its original look.
|
As a rank amateur when it comes to discussing film in this company, I'll keep my remarks brief. This is a clear improvement over the 1998 DVD edition, that itself was a port of the laserdisc transfer. The detail is impressive: look at the seams of the suit jackets, or the cracks on painted walls inside the Finch residence to see what I mean. Black level and contrast are fine. You'll notice a couple of scenes where the picture is off--a reaction shot of Scout, and a scene on the porch towards the end. This must be source-material related because, honestly, I can find no flaws in the actual DVD transfer.
Video: 4.5 / 5
Sound:
Once again, we are given a number of options for sound that are not usually expected of a film of this age. In addition to monophonic tracks in Dolby Digital 2.0 English and French, there are newly remixed Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 tracks. Now don't expect explosions, helicopters, or exploding helicopters. About the only difference in the mono mix versus 5.1 is that Elmer Bernstein's haunting score spreads across the front channels instead of being focused on the center channel. In either mix, dialogue is firmly planted on the center speaker. I also detected some occasional chirping birds. While I'm not into the gimmicky placement of sound effects, I'll just say no harm, no fowl.
Sound: 4 / 5
Extras:
There are some nice extras in this edition of
To Kill a Mockingbird, starting with eleven mini-poster reproductions on card stock, and a letter from author Harper Lee. These fit in an envelope that slides into a panel on the sturdy tri-fold Digipak case.
Disc 1 supplements include:
[*]A feature-length commentary with director Robert Mulligan and Producer Alan Pakula.[*]The 0:2:52 theatrical trailer--with Peck narrating (very cool)[*]11 pages of production notes[*]The 0:01:28 clip of Peck's Oscar acceptance speech[*]A 0:10:01 clip of Peck's AFI Lifetime Achievement Award acceptance speech[*]A 0:10:08 excerpt from an Academy tribute to Gregory Peck, given by his daughter. This does not appear to have been from a broadcast, rather video footage. Harper Lee is in that audience, and gets a standing ovation.[*]Scout Remembers, a 12-minute 1999 NBC News interview with Mary Badham, who played Scout. It is interesting how Badham says that Atticus was always there for her. (One recent report on CNN said that Badham always referred to Peck as Atticus--even as the years went by.)[/list]
Disc 2 supplements include:
[*]A Conversation with Gregory Peck (1:37:24) a 1999 documentary produced by Peck's daughter. I have not had time to get through this, but so far it is fascinating--from question and answer sessions, to scenes of Peck's family life, and more. By focusing on Peck alone, we don't get into the difficulties I had with the next supplement...[*]Fearful Symmetry: The Making of To Kill a Mockingbird (1:30:07) is an all-encompassing making-of documentary from the original 1998 video release. When I first reviewed this documentary back in 1998, I noted the grating narration, and seemingly unrelated interviews with experts about the era which provide no additional understanding of the story. Fortunately, this is offset by interviews with all of the principles, including Gregory Peck, Mary Badham, Phillip Alford, Horton Foote, Robert Mulligan, Alan J. Pakula, and Elmer Bernstein. The documentary includes production photos of the movie, and even photos of the town in which Harper Lee grew up.[/list]
Extras: 5 / 5
In Conclusion:
If you've not read this Pulitzer-prize winning novel, you should. I am overdue to rediscover the beauty of Harper Lee's prose and the world inhabited by Scout, Jem, and their father. If you've not seen the movie, you are in for a treat.
Overall Rating: 4.5 / 5
Highly Recommended
Release Date: September 6, 2005
Display calibrated by Steve Martin at http://www.lionav.com/
) actually fared much better in his post-TKAM acting career, appearing in several additional movies and TV shows -- including the films Smokey And The Bandit 2, The Cannonball Run, The Boy In The Plastic Bubble, and the Bette Davis flick Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte.