NICOLE wcta's List: To Kill a Mockingbird Movie (1962)

• Review by Guido Henkel
• producer Alan Pakula and director Robert Mulligan
• What makes this movie so special  - apart from its touching upon a taboo of the time - is the fact that we witness the story’s evolution through the eyes of children. The threats, the injustice, the pain, the fears, the hopes - everything takes on new proportions when seen through the eyes of Scout and Jem. It highly enhances the movie’s impact and, while dealing with a melodramatic subject, it never feels clichéd at all. The racial prejudices and the blatant stupidity that come with the times are greatly amplified by the children’s natural impartiality and innocence. This view also introduces some interesting themes on the side, such as the haunted house next door and the old lady that supposedly eats children, that could only be sparked by the imagination of a child.

  • Just like the book
•   

  It is very hard to imagine the adaptation of this movie without Gregory Peck’s fantastic, award-winning (an Oscar and a Golden Globe) performance as Atticus Finch. He is intelligent, strong, charismatic, eloquent, sympathetic, pensive, responsible, compassionate, and very human. His acting is so natural and his interaction with the children so authentic that it seems the movie is taken from his own life. The portrayals of his children are completely stunning, too. Both were “original” Southern kids with no previous acting experience. Still, they behave so naturally in front of the camera that it truly surprises me that neither of them has furthered their acting careers, aside from one or two additional supporting parts. The movie also features a very young Robert Duvall in his first movie role. His enigmatic, somewhat disturbed, yet still

        

  sympathetic portrayal of Boo caught everyone’s eyes, building the foundation for a lasting, fruitful career.

  • Actors reviews
• “To Kill A Mockingbird” is a masterpiece that belongs in every serious movie collection. It features a number of memorable visuals and story elements, as well as outstanding performances by both actors and contributors. Universal’s release of the movie on DVD is superb, with a stunning transfer and first-class supplemental material on the disc, so don’t miss it.

  • author's opinion

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• By BOSLEY  CROWTHER