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Whenever a new format of home video is introduced, it’s met with mixed reactions. After all, while the new high-definitely picture of Blu-ray is remarkable (and, to be honest, I’ve already become an HD snob), the thought of upgrading all those old DVDs to Blu-ray can be overwhelming. For critics like me, meanwhile, it comes with another set of mixed emotions. On one hand, the Blu-ray release of classic films gives us a good excuse to catch up on the golden oldies—whether it means watching them for the first time or for the first time in years. But it also means trying to find something new to say about them—which, let me tell you, is often a daunting task.
Take 1962’s To Kill a Mockingbird, for example. The triple Oscar winner is as classic and familiar as the novel on which it’s based. Most of us read the book in school, and many of us saw the movie then, too. But, in case it’s been a while (as it had been for me), it’s my job to provide a little refresher.
To Kill a Mockingbird stars Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch, a small-town Southern lawyer who’s assigned to defend Tom Robinson (Brock Peters), a black man who’s been accused of raping a white woman.
The story, however, is told through the eyes of Finch’s six-year-old daughter, Scout (Mary Badham), a precocious little troublemaker who spends her summers exploring the town with her older brother, Jem (Phillip Alford), and their plucky neighbor, Dill (John Megna). Throughout the case, the children witness the town’s hatred and prejudice—while learning a lot about their kind and courageous father in the process.
To Kill a Mockingbird is truly an unforgettable film, filled with moving performances and valuable lessons about prejudice and tolerance. And telling the story through a child’s point of view makes it all the more moving, perfectly balancing the innocence and imagination of youth with the close-minded suspicion of the town’s adults.
At the same time, it also carefully balances the drama of the Tom Robinson case with the slightly more playful spookiness of the children’s own mystery: the mysterious case of Boo Radley, the Finches’ reclusive neighbor, who’s rumored to roam the streets at night. While Atticus prepares his case, the children dare each other to race over to the Radley house, to try to get a look at the troubled young man. And their childish games offer a light-hearted contrast to the natural heaviness of the monumental court case.
Meanwhile, director Robert Mulligan’s adaptation makes author Harper Lee’s beloved characters come to life on the screen—from strong, reliable Atticus, who treats everyone he meets with kindness and respect, to fiercely loyal tomboy Scout, who will gladly put up a fight to defend those she cares about. Thanks to noteworthy performances by actors of all ages, the film is populated with characters (and scenes) that will permanently ingrain themselves in your memory. There’s just no forgetting the moving testimony of Brock Peters’s Tom Robinson—or the riveting closing arguments by Peck’s Atticus. These are the kind of moments that make you hold your breath and pay attention—and the film is packed with them.
Dramatic and playful, both lovably childlike and undeniably mature, To Kill a Mockingbird is beautifully balanced and skillfully acted. If you haven’t seen it since it played somewhere in the background as you passed notes to your friends in English class, this unforgettable classic is well worth another look.
Blu-ray Review:
The 50th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray release of To Kill a Mockingbird comes with several hours of special features—including the full, feature-length 1998 making-of documentary, Fearful Symmetry. There’s also a commentary with director Robert Mulligan and producer Alan Pakula, as well as Scout Remembers, a number of excerpts from a 1999 interview with Mary Badham, who looks back on her experiences as Scout.
Oscar winner Gregory Peck also takes the spotlight in the special features menu—with everything from tributes and acceptance speeches to the 18-part, 97-minute interview, A Conversation with Gregory Peck, which gives some fascinating insights into the legendary actor’s career and the making of To Kill a Mockingbird. The extras bring out Peck’s charm and his light-hearted sense of humor—and any fan of classic film will be captivated by each moment and each recollection.
The Blu-ray release of this legendary film is so loaded with fascinating extras that you won’t want to miss any of them. So be sure to set aside several hours of your time, so you can enjoy them all.
