taylorhammons This is my very favorite book. Cliched, I know, but it's a classic for a reason. I read it freshman year of high school and immediately fell in love with the story and the characters. We were meant to watch the movie after reading the book, but we didn't get around to it, and at the time, I was glad. At the time, my experience had led me to believe that movie adaptations of good books are rarely good enough to live up to my expectations, and nearly 10 years later, I still believe that when it comes to most books. But after having to watch this movie in a film class in college, I was forced to admit that this is not always the case. This movie is flawless. It perfectly captures the tone and spirit of the book, the casting was absolutely perfect, the score is amazing and well timed, the emotions are real and vivid. This deserves all the accolades it gets and many many more. I only wish I had seen it earlier. While the book continues to be something I come back to time and time again, this is a rare case when I actually feel comfortable watching the movie instead of rereading the book if I want to save time. It's (almost) just as good. It certainly comes closer than any other movie ever did to capturing the subtle perfection of a novel. There's a reason that this is one of the few movies that is this old and Hollywood hasn't yet tried to remake it. I hope they never do.

dany-horses-19998 There have been several instances in my life where I am in dire need of something to soothe my soul, I normally recur to the usual things, like going for a walk or perhaps even writing. Other times I simply watch To Kill a Mockingbird. It will draw a smile in me with the first note, and at the last scene a tear. The reason why to Kill a Mockingbird cures my inside is mainly because of a single word: Innocence. In this day and age, these dark times. Like the ones we see in the movie, I believe we all need a drop of innocence on us, but we also need to be strong, we need to be resilient, but above all, we must have justice.In the movie and book, To Kill a Mockingbird means that it is a sin to kill someones innocence/inner peace, because all they do is ''sing'' for us. In a way I have always thought of this as not just that there is a mockingbird in all of us, but that to shoot the beauty and uniqueness of all people on earth has been the one and only sin that we have all committed. This sin may come across in the manifestation of simple thoughts of judgement against peoples actions, personalities or simply physical attributes. Boo Radley is the personification of this situation in the instance of the Novel/Movie. I am applying the situations in this movie to our present day counterparts and situation to explain my most important opinion about the movie: It is Timeless.The historical context of the movie is one of desperation, racism and injustice. But also at times: innocent, playful and hopeful. There is an Atticus Finch, Scout Finch and even Boo Radley in all of us. But the Bob Ewell we all have is also at risk of falling in the desperation and injustice, prejudice and a hate for ourselves and the world that sorrounds us.Atticus Finch brought to life by the one and only Gregory Peck was named AFI's number 1 hero in movie history. A man who will be timeless. His speech at the court is one of the best movie moments in history. Gregory Peck WAS Atticus Finch. All the actors in this movie are completely the way you would imagine them while reading the novel. The compositions by Elmer Bernstein are one of the most beautiful to ever touch the silver screen, and delight our ears. It fills the air with beauty, tension and makes us cry.To Kill a Mockingbird is the greatest film of all time because it isn't perfect, but the message is completely timeless, the world will always go through dire situations because humans tend to be complicated creatures. But there will always be a Mockingbird in all of us, and this movie reminds us of that. I always turn to this movie to find my inner Mockingbird, and to remind me that sometimes, injustice will be present, but the innocence of creatures and the good in mankind will prevail.

johnvondohren Absolutely perfect movie with a powerful theme of racial tolerance Best movie I've ever seen told from a child's perspective. Thank goodness this was done in black and white; color would have ruined it. The most faithful adaptation of a book I can remember. I cannot say enough good things about it. Watch this movie!

EBJ ​'TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD' - 1962Directed by Robert MulliganStarring Gregory Peck, Mary Badham and Phillip AlfordPlot Overview: ​Scout Finch (Mary Badham), 6,and her older brother, Jem (Phillip Alford), live in sleepy Maycomb, Ala., spending much of their time with their friend Dill (John Megna) and spying on their reclusive and mysterious neighbour, Boo Radley (Robert Duvall). When Atticus (Gregory Peck), their widowed father and a respected lawyer, defends a black man named Tom Robinson (Brock Peters) against fabricated rape charges, the trial and tangent events expose the children to evils of racism and stereotyping.This might be a movie that I am just not understanding in the slightest. It may genuinely be a testament of cinematic perfection. But, as it stands, I was immensely disappointed by this movie. Is it a poor movie? No. Not at all. In fact, there is a portion of this movie that could stand as one of the greatest 'Acts' in Film history. But the meat surrounding this Act was very lacklustre and poor for me. I am very sad to say that 'To Kill A Mockingbird' disappointed me.But what do I actually like about it? The portion between the first half and last 20 minutes was cinematic perfection. I am serious. I won't specifically say what happens but I will say that it is literally perfect. As for the film surrounding that part, that is a different story for me, but that does not detract from the masterful film making shown my the actors and Mulligan during that sweet, sweet 40 or so minutes.I also loved Gregory Peck in this film. He delivers a heartfelt, slow and meaningful performance as Articus. You can really see a passion and intelligence lurking beneath his calm, steady and articulate demeanour. Peck well and truly deserved his Oscar for this outstanding performance.Brock Peters was also incredible in his, unfortunately, minute role as Tom Robinson. Peters and the writers do excellent jobs in creating sympathy for this character and truly showing the injustice of the situation he finds himself in. I was very disappointed that he did not at least receive an Oscar nomination for this role; it was truly excellent. Phillip Aldford was good as Jem. The character wasn't exactly likable or interesting but I do admire their attempt at giving him an arc. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Mary Badham's Scout for me. It baffles me as to how she earned an Oscar Nomination because I found her performance to be bland and very poor. And Scout as a character was also very disappointing. I mean, she wasn't likable, interesting and I fail to see a true arc for her. Another flaw that I have with this film is the very mediocre beginning and end. The middle is, as stated prior, true cinematic gold. The remainder of the film is a dull, bland, uninteresting, monotonous mess. I fail to see the brilliance in it and, while the message of the film is strong and prosperous, the execution of it was not. Then there is the very annoying ending. Maybe I am an idiot but I did not understand what was happening in the ending of this film. It was very confusing. I understand WHAT happened but I cannot fathom as to why. Perhaps my attention merely lapsed for those precious couple of seconds for the grand reveal but that doesn't change my distaste for it. That, and that man was absurdly creepy.In conclusion, I was unfortunately disappointed by 'To Kill A Mockingbird'. It's not a bad movie by any means, and when it gets it right, it gets it right. But the overall package did not live up to the expectations I had. It was a little over average and the middle on its own would achieve an easy 10/10. Despite that claim, the middle was the middle, and it had the beginning and end bogging it down. Do see this film, though. The message is very important and it features an impeccable middle and performance from Gregory Peck. Aside from that though, it was not that great. I'll rate 'To Kill A Mockingbird' 7 'Creepy Men in the Corner' out of 10.