News

DVD Playhouse—February 2012

By Allen Gardner

To Kill A Mockingbird 50th Anniversary Edition (Universal) Robert Mulligan’s film of Harper Lee’s landmark novel pits a liberal-minded lawyer (Gregory Peck) against a small Southern town’s racism when defending a black man (Brock Peters) on trumped-up rape charges. One of the 1960s’ first landmark films, a truly stirring human drama that hits all the right notes and isn’t dated a bit. Robert Duvall makes his screen debut (sans dialogue) as the enigmatic Boo Radley. DVD and Blu-ray double edition. Bonuses: Two feature-length documentaries: Fearful Symmetry and A Conversation with Gregory Peck; Featurettes; Excerpts and film clips from Gregory Peck’s Oscar acceptance speech and AFI Lifetime Achievement Award; Commentary by Mulligan and producer Alan J. Pakula; Trailer. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS 2.0 mono.

Outrage: Way Of The Yakuza (Magnolia) After a brief hiatus from his signature oeuvre of Japanese gangster flicks,...

Chicago – Do kids still read Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” in school? Or do they just watch the movie now? When I was growing up it may have been the most canonical book of a growing child’s formative years. If I had to look back on the books that most influenced the way I look at fiction, it would certainly be on the list. And the timeless film would be right there with it, forever impacting the way I look at the art of movies.

Rating: 5.0/5.0

Universal is doing something incredible this year. They’re going back through their archives and releasing special editions of some of their most beloved films in a collection called “Universal 100th Anniversary Collector’s Series.” Future titles will include “Jaws,” “All Quiet on the Western Front,” “Parenthood,” and “E.T.- The Extra-Terrestrial.” among many others. It’s going to be...

Few 20th century novels have been as warmly regarded as Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Currently a perennial work taught in high schools around the nation, it was an acclaimed, award-winning work when released in 1961 as the southern author tried to recapture her childhood life in a small Southern town. I enjoyed the book as a student, then a parent, and now that I’m studying to become a teacher, recognize it as a great piece of literature and great teaching tool.

She wrote in 1964, “I would like to leave some record of the kind of life that existed in a very small world. I hope…to chronicle something that seems to be very quickly going down the drain. This is small-town middle-class southern life as opposed to Gothic, as opposed to Tobacco Road, as opposed to plantation life.”

It was a story of rights and responsibilities, tolerance,...

To Kill a Mockingbird Blu-ray Contest Giveaway Sweepstakes. This To Kill a Mockingbird: 50th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray contest, giveaway, sweepstakes illustrates To Kill a Mockingbird‘s release by Universal Studios Home Entertainment on Blu-ray and one (1) lucky winner will win it.

Robert Mulligan‘s To Kill a Mockingbird stars Gregory Peck, John Megna, Frank Overton, Rosemary Murphy, Ruth White, Brock Peters, Robert Duvall, and Richard Hale.

To Kill a Mockingbird‘s plot synopsis: “Atticus Finch, a lawyer in the Depression-era South, defends a black man against a rape charge, and his kids against prejudice.”

For more To Kill a Mockingbird‘ photos, videos, and information, visit our To Kill a Mockingbird Page.

Win a Blu-ray copy of To Kill A Mockingbird

50th Anniversary Edition

To Kill A Mockingbird: Top Ten American Classics of Our Time

Digitally Remastered and Fully Restored with Over Three Hours of Bonus Materials Including Two...

Universal Studios Home Entertainment will release the 1962 classic To Kill a Mockingbird in new 50th Anniversary editions on Blu-ray and DVD January 31. We have a contest running and we're giving away copies of this Blu-ray set to our readers. These prizes will surely go fast, so enter this contest today.

Winners Receive:

To Kill a Mockingbird Blu-ray

Here's How To Win!

Just "Like" (fan) the MovieWeb Facebook page (below) and then leave a comment below telling us why these prizes must be yours!

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Experience one of the most significant milestones in film history like never before with To Kill a Mockingbird 50th Anniversary Edition. Screen legend Gregory Peck stars as courageous Southern lawyer Atticus Finch - the Academy Award-winning performance hailed by the American Film Institute as the Greatest Movie Hero of All Time.

Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Jan. 31, 2012

Price: DVD $19.98, Blu-ray $26.98, Collector’s Series Blu-ray $39.99

Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment

The high-definition Blu-ray debut of classic Academy Award-winning film To Kill a Mockingbird is a 50th Anniversary Edition.

Originally released in theaters in 1962, To Kill a Mockingbird is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Harper Lee. The movie stars Gregory Peck (The Guns of Navarone) as Atticus Finch, a lawyer in Depression-era Alabama who defends a black man (Brock Peters, Soylent Green) against an undeserved rape charge and deals with prejudice against his own children.

To Kill a Mockingbird also stars Robert Duvall (Crazy Heart) in his first feature film role.

Nominated for eight Oscars, the drama movie won statues for Best Actor (Peck), Best Art Direction and Best Adapted Screenplay. It also was up for supporting actress Mary Badham (Our Very Own), Russell Harlan’s (Hawaii) cinematography, Robert Mulligan’s (Same Time,...

Announcements on a few films coming to blu-ray have recently come out so, and rather than slam you with several quick news updates, I thought it'd be easier to digest in this quick little News Bits style format.

* First up, Fox has announced that What's Your Number, starring Anna Farris and Chris Evans, will be hitting blu-ray and DVD, on January 10th, 2012, and will include an all new uncensored and extended cut of the film. Here's the synopsis:

After reading a magazine article that insists if a woman has slept with at least 20 people that they have already missed Mr. Right, marketing executive Ally Darling (Anna Faris) begins to panic, thinking that she will be alone forever. With the help of her hunky new neighbor (Chris Evans), Ally starts tracking down all her ex-boyfriends, hoping to find her real true love while she helps him escape his latest fling. Hilarious...

Digitally Remastered and Fully Restored with Over Three Hours

of Bonus Materials Including Two Full Length Documentaries

To Kill a Mockingbird, one of the screen.s most beloved and critically acclaimed films, celebrates its 50th anniversary with a commemorative Limited Edition Collector.s Series Blu-ray. Combo Pack as well as on Blu-ray. Combo Pack and DVD from Universal Studios Home Entertainment on January 31, 2012. The powerful and poignant adaptation of Harper Lee.s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel hits the half-century mark, digitally remastered and fully restored from high resolution 35Mm original film elements, plus more than three-and-a-half hours of bonus features chronicling the making of the cinematic masterpiece.

The Limited Edition Collector.s Series Combo Pack of To Kill a Mockingbird: 50th Anniversary Edition will include a Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Copy of the film, packaged in a hardcover book featuring exclusive movie memorabilia including script pages with Gregory Peck.s handwritten notes,...

Universal Studios Home Entertainment has announced To Kill a Mockingbird will be released in new Blu-ray and DVD editions on January 31, 2012. The studio has also released the Blu-ray trailer for To Kill a Mockingbird, which you can watch below. You can also read the full press release with official details on these special editions below the trailer.

Click to watch To Kill a Mockingbird Blu-ray Trailer!

To Kill a Mockingbird, one of the screen's most beloved and critically acclaimed films, celebrates its 50th anniversary with a commemorative Limited Edition Collector's Series Blu-ray Combo Pack as well as on Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD from Universal Studios Home Entertainment on January 31, 2012. The powerful and poignant adaptation of Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel hits the half-century mark, digitally remastered and fully restored from high resolution 35Mm original film elements, plus more than three-and-a-half hours of bonus features chronicling the making of the cinematic masterpiece.