Wednesday, April 04, 2012

The best translation of a book to film ever made?

A “digitally remastered and fully restored” version of the 1962 classic film To Kill a Mockingbird based on Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel will air on the USA Network on Saturday, April 7th at 8 PM eastern time. President Obama will introduce the film.

“I’m deeply honored that President Obama will be celebrating the 50th Anniversary of ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ by introducing it to a national audience,” Harper Lee said in a statement released by USA, Universal Pictures and the American Film Institute. “I believe it remains the best translation of a book to film ever made, and I'm proud to know that Gregory Peck's portrayal of Atticus Finch lives on – in a world that needs him now more than ever.”

To Kill a Mockingbird made Kathryn Erskine's top ten list of first person narratives, Julia Donaldson's six best books list, TIME magazine's top 10 list of books you were forced to read in school, John Mullan's list of ten of the best lawyers in literature, John Cusack's list of books that made a difference to him, Lisa Scottoline's top ten list of books about justice, and Luke Leitch's list of ten literary one-hit wonders. It is one of Sanjeev Bhaskar's six best books and one of Alexandra Styron's five best stories of fathers and daughters.

Also see: Top 25 book to film adaptations.

Serious Mockingbird enthusiasts and architectural history buffs should track down the Summer 2003 issue of Alabama Heritage (the contents, sadly, not available online) which includes a fascinating article, "The 'Mockingbird' Courthouse," by Delos Hughes.

--Marshal Zeringue