New Movie Releases DVD

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• Charles W. Adams "Charles W. Adams"

  February 2nd, 2012 at 1:53 pm

  83 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

  
  Exceptional extra feature documentary…, March 26, 2001

  By 

  Charles W. Adams “Charles W. Adams” (Adel, Iowa USA) –
  
    

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  This review is from: To Kill a Mockingbird (Collector’s Edition) (DVD)

  Like so many teachers, I’ve used the VHS version of “To Kill A Mockingbird” to teach the Elements of Literature to high school students.

  Today, the internet has a wealth of resources to assist teachers and students using this classic adaptation of Harper Lee’s novel. The documentary, “Fearful Symmetry” produced in 1998 to be included on this DVD Collector’s Edition, is great resource for teachers, students and all those who love and have been touched by “Mockingbird.”

  The 130 minute documentary, written and directed Charles Kiselyak, both discusses how the film was made and it’s general literary elements. The film is one of the most effectively edited documentaries I have seen, linking key scenes from “Mockingbird” with talking heads, still photos and black and white film taken in various localities across the south.

  The documentary narration, written by Charles Kiselyak and read with great emotion by Mary Williams, is literary and quite sophisticated.

  The talking heads include: screenwriter Horton Foote, director Robert Mulligan, producer Allan J. Pakula and composer Elmer Bernstein. Members of the cast appearing in the film: Gregory Peck (Atticus Finch), Phillip Alford (Jem), Mary Badham (Scout), Collin Wilcox (Maybella Ewell), Brock Peters (Tom Robinson) and Robert Duvall (Boo Radley).

  Director Charles Kiselyak with the help of Harper Lee was able to get three residents to discuss their lives in Monroeville, Alabama. A.B. Blass and Norman Barnett recall life in the small town during the depression, and Ida Gaillard, a retired high school teacher, brings an interesting perspective to what life was (may have been) like in the town Harper Lee used as the model for Maycomb.

  The literary and social significance of the “Mockingbird” are discussed by black attorney, Cleophis Thomas, Jr., and Claudia Durst Johnson, author of “Threatening Boundries.”

  In the DVD’s printed supplement, Charles Kiselyak indicates that while Harper Lee was not willing to appear in the documentary, she was very helpful in the production. She was thrilled with the director’s plan to open the documentary with the first verse one of her favorite poems, William Blake’s, “Tyger:”

  Tyger, Tyger burning bright, In the forests of the night; What immoral hand or eye, Could frame they fearful symmetry,

  Kiselyak’s film discusses Lee’s novel as both a way of life and a passage from innocence into experience and then back toward innocence — “Fearful Symmetry.”

  “Mockingbird” and it’s DVD documentary will touch your soul.

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• Bruce Kendall "BEK"

  February 2nd, 2012 at 12:59 pm

  200 of 214 people found the following review helpful:

  
  Loving Treatment of A True American Classic, March 11, 2003

  By 

  Bruce Kendall “BEK” (Southern Pines, NC) –
  
    
  
    
  
    

  This review is from: To Kill a Mockingbird (Collector’s Edition) (DVD)

  Everyone who has ever taken high school English classes will no doubt be familiar with Harper Lee’s time honored story. As is mentioned in the accompanying DVD, Fearfull Symmetry, it is second only to the Bible in the hearts and minds of U.S. readers. This is probably also the most often-shown film in said classrooms. No need to reshash the story-line, then.

  This DVD set offers an excellent transfer of the famed black and white cinematography of the prolific Russel Harlan. It’s a real treat to hear from so many of the people who were involved in the production, from the producer, Alan J. Pakula, to the now grown actors who played Scout and Jim. The audience gains great insights into what made this film so special, not only to the legions of its admiring fans, but to everyone involved in creating it. We learn the scenes that Horton Foote, the screenwriter added from the book to advance character development (the scene showing Atticus putting Scout to bed and her questioning Jim about their mother as Atticus overhears them from the porch, was not in the book, for instance). We get to hear from Elmer Bernstein talk about the genesis of his unforgettable soundtrack. Due credit is also given to Stephen Frankfurt, for his highly creative and original title design, which sets the tone so beatifully for the rest of the film.

  There is no question that this is director Robert Mulligan’s greatest film, nor that in his portrayal of Atticus Finch, Gregory Peck found the role most perfectly suited to his character and rock-solid persona. This is a film about integrity, essentially, and there is not a false moment in the film. This compilation should be included in any film collector’s library. I hope it continues to be shown in English classes until time immemorial. It’s message and its relevance to the human condition will never go out of style, one hopes. Major Praise to Universal Studios and to all those involved in assembling this perfect DVD special edition.

  BEK

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