The moment I finished Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, I knew it was tome to check out the cinematic version, another hole in my viewing category.

Gregory Peck headlines as Atticus, a role that garnered him an Academy Award. The film garnered two more wins, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Set/Art Dec. It received eight nominations altogether.

There are a number of things to watch and listen for in this solid adaptation of the novel (though I felt it could have had a three hour runtime and let the narrative breath a little more). There’s Brock Peters as Tom Robinson, the convicted man, and Robert Duvall, in his first screen appearance, takes on the role of Boo Radley.

In the roles of Scout and Jem are Mary Badham and Phillip Alford, and there’s a real nice sense of siblings about them. There are some beautiful moments brought to life from the book, but the best is Scout’s greeting to Boo (hey Boo), which sounded exactly as it did in my head when I read it.

It’s a masterfully made film, and Peck’s summation speech, which runs over six minutes, was scored in one take!

I won’t rehash the plot, I just spoke about it on Wednesday. But the screenplay, written by Horton Foote did a fantastic job of catching the spirit of the book, and a lot of the dialogue were direct lifts. That doesn’t mean I hadn’t wished it was longer, that moments in the book had made it to the film. Heck, Atticus’ sister doesn’t even make it into the film!

Still, it’s a great film, features a fantastic score by Elmer Bernstein, with piano work by John Williams.

Peck is nothing short of fantastic. A part he was born to play. And while both Badham and Alford are great, I once again wish there was more from the book to let their characters breathe and live a little more. Not that they aren’t good, they are very good, but I wanted to stay with them longer than the film runtime.

I liked putting the book down and knowing there was still more to come. That we would be together for a while longer. Two hours wasn’t enough. I loved the production design, despite the fact that the film was very obviously not shot on location, but done in California. Imagine some Roger Deakins cinematography on location for this film! Not to mention actual location work.

Still the story is amazing and powerful.

But what a film. Much like the book, it’s important, powerful, and deliveries a commentary about society, neighbors, and the prejudices that too many carry.

I loved this film, but if you have a chance to read the book, do that too.