Universal Re-Releases ‘Mockingbird’ On Video

Mon., March 2, 1998

Martie Zad The Washington Post

A special edition of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” marking the 35th anniversary of the 1962 drama that sent its message of human rights without preaching, was re-released on home video last week.

Universal’s special wide-screen edition, featuring THX sound, includes 20 minutes of interviews with actors Gregory Peck, Mary Badham, Philip Alford, Robert Duvall, Brock Peters and Collin Wilcox.

Also included are the views of director Robert Mulligan, producer Alan Pakula, composer Elmer Bernstein and screenwriter Horton Foote, who adapted Harper Lee’s now-classic autobiographical novel.

Peck won an Oscar for his brilliant performance as the upstanding Southern lawyer Atticus Finch, a widower striving to minimize the traits of hatred and prejudice in his two small children in Alabama in the 1930s.

His low-key earnestness won wide acclaim, and he won the Academy Award over fellow nominees Peter O’Toole (the star of “Lawrence of Arabia”), Burt Lancaster (“Birdman of Alcatraz”), Jack Lemmon (“Days of Wine and Roses”) and Marcello Mastroianni (“Divorce-Italian Style”).

Brock Peters played the role of Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman.

Robert Duvall made his film debut as Boo Radley, a mentally retarded adult who lives shut away in a “haunted house.”

The movie was released for a limited theatrical run on Christmas Day 1962 and was immediately deemed a success by critics.

The novel, Lee’s first, won her the 1960 Pulitzer Prize. It was based on experiences in the life of the author, who was born in Monroe, Ala., in 1926. She had attended segregated schools and graduated from Huntington College. She also studied law at Alabama State but did not complete her studies there. Lee moved to New York where she became an airline reservation supervisor.

In addition to winning Peck’s Oscar, the movie won for best screenplay based on material from another medium (to Foote) and for best art direction in black and white.

In addition, “To Kill a Mockingbird” was nominated for five other 1962 Academy Awards: best picture, best supporting actress, best director, best music score and best cinematography in black and white.

Local journalism is essential.

Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are tax deductible.

Meet Our Journalists

Jesse Tinsley

Meet Jesse Tinsley. As a certified drone pilot, this veteran Spokesman-Review photographer often can be seen capturing beautiful aerial photographs of our region. Sometimes though, the job requires getting down with the dogs.
Jim Meehan

Jim Meehan is no stranger to Zag Nation. As the lead writer covering the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, he tells the stories behind the game and gets fans a bit closer to their favorite players.
Molly Quinn

There is no artist in Spokane like Molly Quinn. Her whimsical style is instantly recognizable to readers of The Spokesman-Review. She has painted gorgeous illustrations that instantly elevate the journalism accompanying it. She brings to life the stories that defy photography. She makes our pages better.
Rob Curley

Spokesman-Review editor Rob Curley loves to talk with people and learn about their lives, whether it's a best-selling author or a stranger he meets downtown on his walk to lunch. It's that inquisitive nature combined with a playful sense of storytelling that helps make our newspaper different than most.