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    • WSR Detailed LaserDisc Review

    To Kill A Mockingbird
    Genre:Drama

    Reviewed In Issue 30 Of Widescreen Review® Stars:
    Mary Badham, Philip Alford, John Megna, Ruth White, Paul Fix, Brock Peters, Frank Overton, Rosemary Murphy, Collin Wilcox

    WSR Review Scores
    Picture Rating: 3.5
    Sound Rating: 2
    Download WSR Review
    Reference Systems
    Critics' Composite Score:
    Internet Links

    Supplementals
    The LaserDisc includes audio commentary, the theatrical trailer and a documentary.

    DVD General Information
    (Studio/Distributor): Universal Studios Home Video
    (Catalog Number): 43239
    (MPAA Rating): Not Rated
    (Retail Price): $39.98
    (Running Time In Minutes): 130
    (Color Type): Black & White
    (Chaptered/Scene Access): Yes
    (Closed Captioned): Yes
    (Theatrical Release): 1962
    (LD Release Date): 5/98
    (THX® Digitally Mastered): No

    Credits Information
    (Director): Robert Mulligan
    (Screenplay/Written By): Horton Foote
    (Story):
    (Music): Elmer Bernstein
    (Director Of Photography):
    (Production Designer): Alexander Golitzen & Henry Bumstead
    (Visual Effects):
    (Costume Designer):
    (Editor): Aaron Stell, ACE
    (Supervising Sound Editors):
    (Re-Recording Mixers):
    (Executive Producers):
    (Co-Producers):
    (Producers): Alan Pakula

    DVD Picture Information
    (Principal Photography): Academy Standard Flat
    (Theatrical Aspect Ratio): 1.85:1
    (Measured LaserDisc Aspect Ratio): 1.85:1

    DVD Sound Information
    (DVD Soundtrack): Mono Sound
    (Theatrical Sound): Optical Mono
    (Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
    (Remastered Dolby Digital): No
    (Remastered DTS Digital Surround): No
    (Additional Languages):

    WSR Narrative Review
    Story Synopsis:
    Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird received three Academy Awards®, including Best Actor for Gregory Peck’s brilliant performance as the upstanding southern lawyer Atticus Finch. The film’s nostalgic perspective and well presented child’s viewpoint of a racially charged rape trial during the 1930s struck a chord with audiences just as the Civil Rights movement was gaining momentum in the early 1960s. As Finch strives to minimalize the traits of hatred and prejudice in his two small children (Mary Badham and Phillip Alford), their lives are disrupted when he is assigned to defend Tom Robinson (Brock Peters), a Negro farmworker accused of raping a white woman. Confronted by intimidating threats, increasing malice by the woman’s bigoted father, Bob Ewell (James Anderson), and a guilty verdict by the all-white jury, Finch’s courtroom actions inflame the murderous wrath of Ewell—a vengeance that places his children’s lives in danger.

    LaserDisc Picture:


    LaserDisc Soundtrack:
    (Surround Bass Below 50Hz): No
    (Aggressive System Surround): No
    (Intense 25Hz Bass): No
    (Deep Bass Challenging): No
    (Aggressive 0.1 LFE):
    (Holosonic Soundfield): No
    (Aggressive Split Surround): No
    (Center Back Surround Imaging): No
    (Directionalized Dialogue): No
    Superb Sound Effects Recording Quality:
    Superb Music Score Recording Quality:
    		 No
    Superb Special Visual Effects Quality:
    		 No
    Superb Color Fidelity:
    		 No
    Superb Cinematography:
    		 -
    Reference LaserDisc:
    		 No
    Collector Edition:
    		 No
    DVD To LaserDisc Comparison:
    The black and white picture, matted at 1.85:1, is wonderfully rendered on both LaserDisc and dual-layered DVD, with an exceptional gray scale. Images are sharp and detailed, with slightly more fine detail and definition on the DVD. Contrast and shadow delineation are excellent on both versions. The DVD is preferred for its clarity, but the LaserDisc version is quite pleasing as well. The soundtrack on the DVD is undistinguished monaural spread to the two front channels with poor center imaging, while the LaserDisc is true monaural, but still undistinguished.