How I never watched this is still beyond me, especially as I have read and loved Harper Lee's novel and know of this film's reputation. Guess it just never happened.

Harper Lee's novel was written in a time when the Civil Rights movement in the States was given a new impulse because one Mrs. Parks refused to give up her seat and when the so called Jim Crow Laws, laws that completely segregated black people from white people, were slowly disappearing from the country. Lee wrote a stunning, layered bildungsroman about a small town in the South of America in the 30s, a time when segregation was an inescapable fact in society. Lee's novel dealt not only with that, but…

You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.
-Atticus Finch

The acclaimed film by director Robert Mulligan, based on the acclaimed novel by Harper Lee, has had everything possible said about it already. Mulligan directed To Kill a Mockingbird early in his feature film career and was never able to surpass it even though he continued making films for almost another 30 years. With that said however, some directors never make a single masterpiece, Mulligan simply made his early in his career.

While Gregory Peck won the Academy Award for his portrayal of the now iconic Atticus Finch, it's actually the…

Before I started watching this I wasn't really sure what to expect. I have not read the book (oh, trust me, I'm going to now) I only knew the touchy subject material the film dealt with and that it was told from the perspective of a young child. Quite honestly, despite it's status as a classic, I had fairly low expectations. Turns out I was really surprised, and I can't believe I've waited until now to see this.

From what I've been told, the novel is narrated and shown from the eyes of Scout, and while she does narrate (or rather, her older self does) the movie is actually seen almost entirely from the perspective of her brother Jem. That's…

As poignant today as when I first saw it in the mid sixties.

Many films that try to directly translate the original work without adding an original voice fail. Not here. While Harper Lee's novel couldn't be completely captured, Horton Foote did a remarkable job. Probably the best book to film adaption I have ever seen.

Acting? Whew! Greqory Peck's quintessential role. Who wouldn't want Atticus Finch as their Dad? While Peck was the backbone of the film, the star was film was first time child actress Mary Badham. Her portrayal of Scout was pivotal on making this story work. Her masterful performance playing a precocious character, but not coming off as precocious herself is amazing. Phillip Alford as Jem…

I know I'm in the minority here, but I feel manipulated. Maybe I'm just having a hard time deciphering between watching a film that's somewhat dated, and a film that's merely tackling a serious subject and wanted to hammer the point home.

Set in the 1930s southern-US, Gregory Peck is Atticus Finch, a well respected lawyer who faces much scrutiny upon defending Tom Robinson (Brock Peters), a black man accused of rape by a white woman. It's a good performance from Peck and the rest of the cast pales in comparison. The film is best when he's the focus, but this isn't always the case. Along with this defence case are the lives of Atticus' children Jem (Phillip Alford) and…

I don't like this movie very much.

First of all, it's probably the weakest courtroom drama I have ever seen, weaker even than A Few Good Men. If my recollection is correct, there isn't even a single objection raised during the entire trial! The questioning of the witnesses is done very sloppily—while a good movie wants to avoid excessive repetition, no one ever hammers in the points that they make, which wouldn't help a juror to recall them. The closing argument made by Peck, though it may have been taken from the book, is nevertheless garbage—I'm fairly sure that he refers to the white family as "guilty" at least as often as he refers to his client as "not guilty,"…

One of the strongest messages to me is the cold and bitter truth. The truth that justice isn't always just, especially in the prejudice times of the past. Adapted from Harper Lee's acclaimed modern masterpiece, To Kill A Mockingbird nearly perfectly captures the world of the novel, as told by young and innocent Scout's eyes.

This is one of those films that never gets old either in its message or its style, and probably only gets more and more true as time goes on. Unlike many other films that rely too heavily on voiceover narration, the film uses just enough of the poetry of Harper Lee's first-person tale to set the stage and bookend her poetic fable. And the characters…

I know I'm in the minority here, but I feel manipulated. Maybe I'm just having a hard time deciphering between watching a film that's somewhat dated, and a film that's merely tackling a serious subject and wanted to hammer the point home.

Set in the 1930s southern-US, Gregory Peck is Atticus Finch, a well respected lawyer who faces much scrutiny upon defending Tom Robinson (Brock Peters), a black man accused of rape by a white woman. It's a good performance from Peck and the rest of the cast pales in comparison. The film is best when he's the focus, but this isn't always the case. Along with this defence case are the lives of Atticus' children Jem (Phillip Alford) and…