Cheap To Kill a Mockingbird (Collector's Edition) (DVD) (Gregory Peck) (Robert Mulligan) Price

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Customer Reviews of To Kill a Mockingbird (Collector's Edition)

You just cannot go wrong with this movie. It shows how kids adapt to very serious situations around them but manage to keep the innocence. Gregory Peck should be a role model for us all. He shows us to stand true to our convictions no matter how hard that may seem. Winning the approval of others does not take the place of following what's in your heart. I give him a standing ovation and 5 stars.

A magnificent adaptation of a timeless classic
Alan Pakula, Robert Mulligan and Horton Foote have made an absolutely terrific movie of one of the greatest books in contemporary fiction. The three years covered in the book are compressed into one year in the movie, and almost everything of importance is kept in the film version. Shooting the movie in black and white was inspired. It symbolizes the stark reality of black vs. white that is at the core of the novel. The acting is extraordinary across the board. Of Gregory Peck, so much has been said that further praise is redundant; suffice to say that after Peck's performance, no one else will ever be able to play Atticus Finch. The children are wonderful, so real that they hardly seem to be acting at all. Mary Badham is absolutely perfect as Scout. Phillip Alford is excellent as Jem, and John Megna is fine as Dill. The lesser actors live up to the lead roles. I especially liked Collin Wilcox as Mayella Ewell; James Anderson brings out all the ugliness and cowardice in Bob Ewell, and Alice Ghostley is a funny and wacky Stephanie Crawford. The three characters who didn't live up to their counterparts in the book were Miss Maudie, Calpurnia, and Tom Robinson. Ms. Maudie is a very intriguing character in the novel, a ditzy, wise, funny woman of bedrock integrity; in the movie, she comes across as just another next door neighbor. Calpurnia's part was far too small in the movie; in the book she plays a major role in the family, almost like a surrogate parent. Estelle Evans is a fine actress and deserved a bigger role to give her talent more scope. And Tom Robinson is almost too saintly to be believed in the film version, over-acted by Brock Peters. But Robert Duvall in a non-speaking movie debut is just right as Boo Radley, and Scout's recognition of her formerly scary neighbor, with her tentative smile followed by 'Hey Boo', is one of the most affecting moments in the picture. I still remember when Peck won the Oscar for best actor; in his acceptance speech, his first words were 'Thank you, Harper Lee.' The movie 'To Kill A Mockingbird' is a labor of love of bringing a timeless classic to the screen, and Harper Lee must have been very gratified at the results.

Destruction of the innocent by the evils of the society
Destruction of the innocent by the evils of the society
Kuldip Kumar Garhwal

"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but... sing their heart out for us. That's why it is a sin to kill a mockingbird." The movie 'To kill a mockingbird' depicts the destruction of the innocent by the evils of the society. Mockingbird is a symbol of innocence, characterized by Tom Robinson and Arthur Radley (Boo) where racial prejudice and ignorance are the symbol of evils in the society.

Tom Robinson, an African-American is accused by Mayela, a white woman, of sexual molestation. Atticus, a prominent lawyer of the town Maycomb, has proved that Tom Robinson is innocent but still the "all-white jury" convicts Robinson of the guilt. Tom Robinson, a "quite humble respectable Negro", becomes the victim of racial prejudice. Arthur Radley (Boo) has been emotionally destroyed by his father, as his father did not let him step outside the house. Boo is one of the "mockingbirds" in the story, who is the victim of ignorance; evil of the society which is trying to kill the good. Boo had a deep affection for children, which is later displayed in the story, when Boo saves Jim and Scout from Bob Ewells.

"There are some men in the world who are born to do unpleasant jobs for us; your father is one of them", said Maudie to Jim after his father (Atticus) lost the case of Tom Robinson. Atticus helped his children to learn values of life and he showed them how to live life by the values; preaching by practicing. Atticus allowed his children to call him by his name instead of 'father'. He wanted his children to explore freedom, but also taught them to stay in limits. Jim is brave, intelligent, and caring. He learns courage, dignity, and value of life from his father. He is transforming into adulthood.

Scout is still a kid; she does not know anything about the existence of evil in the society. She is learning about evils from the real life example of the victims (Tom and Boo) of the evils in the society. By the end of the story Scout's perspective on life develops from that of an innocent child into that of a near grown up. "Mr. Tate was right", said Scout to Atticus, after Mr. Tate, the town Sheriff explained Atticus indirectly that whatever Boo did was correct and he is not supposed to be punished for that. "It would be like shooting the mockingbird, wouldn't it." Scout shows a high level of ability to comprehend at the age of five, and understands the whole situation and judges what is right and what is wrong.

The Music Director of the movie has done an excellent job. Music plays an important role in the movie, by setting the mood for what is been screened. The movie starts with a musical note, which seems like it is played by a kid, one note at a time. The movie also has gothic music to create the horrifying or thrilling environment, when Jim and Scout were walking home after the Halloween Party and they had an encounter with Bob Ewells. Most of the places the movie has melancholy music to produce the feeling of thoughtful sadness. The pleasant arrangements of musical notes in the movie create an atmosphere where we feel that we are a part of the movie, and we go back into our nostalgic memories and look back into our childhood. The movie itself seems like a mockingbird song.

My favorite scene in the movie is when Atticus is walking out of the courtroom after the trial is over and all the "colored" people sitting in the balcony stands up to pay respect to Atticus, a white man, who tried his level best to save a "Negro." The Reverend says to Scout who was sitting, "Stand up Jean Louise. Your father is passing." The scene says it all, there is not much dialogue but the expressions on the faces of the black people was marvelous, with a slow melancholy music at the background. As it this situation there is nothing left to say, because everyone knows in the courtroom that Tom Robinson is not guilty but still the jury has convicted him of the rape, just because of racial prejudice.

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Kuldip Kumar Garhwal(...)