The Gregory Peck Film Collection – DVD Review

By Jeff Swindoll Nov 6, 2008, 12:26 GMT

"The Gregory Peck Film Collection" includes "To Kill A Mockingbird", "Cape Fear" (1962), "Arabesque", "Mirage", "Captain Newman, M.D." and "The World In His Arms". ...more

Universal lets a fine selection of Gregory Peck films out of their vaults.  However, two of them have long been on DVD and if you want any of the new ones in this set you’re going to have to buy the set.  

The World in his Arms (1952): A swaggering sea captain (Gregory Peck) sets sail – amid gale force winds and treacherous seas – on a harrowing race to rescue his lady love and beat his longtime rival (Anthony Quinn).  

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962): Gregory Peck received an Academy Award for his brilliant portrayal of the courageous Atticus Finch, a white Southern lawyer who puts his career on the line to defend a black man.

Cape Fear (1962): The worst nightmare of a small-town lawyer (Peck) comes true when a criminal (Robert Mitchum) he helped put in jail returns to stalk his beautiful young wife and teenage daughter.

Captain Newman, M.D. (1963): Gregory Peck leads an all-star cast (Tony Curtis, Angie Dickinson, Eddie Albert, and Bobby Darin) in a realistic look at life and love inside a military hospital’s psychiatric ward during World War II.

Mirage (1965): A bewildered accountant (Peck) struggles to recover his memory with the help of a detective (Walter Matthau) and to understand why he’s surrounded by danger, deception, and murder.  

Arabesque (1966): Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren star in this high-speed, high-class romantic thriller about a professor who finds himself in a race for his life after deciphering a mysterious secret message.

Gregory Peck was a masterful actor as well as a great human being.  This set does feature one of his finest performances – Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, but it’s been on DVD before as well as Cape Fear – both excellent films though. 

The new films are making their DVD debuts but if you’re a fan of any of them you’re going to have to buy this entire set to get the one title.  This could be a problem depending on your demeanor, but the way I see it you just get some more great performances. 

Arabesque was made by Stanley Donen who also made Charade (1963) and this film feels like a slim copy of it.  Peck and Loren try, but they lack the chemistry of Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn that made Charade gel so well.  It’s still a fun 60s flavored romp with the Peck and Loren, just not the classic that Charade was. 

Mirage features a fine performance by Peck, but Walter Matthau steals the show, as he was apt to do.  The World in his Arms is a fun romp as well with some support from Anthony Quinn.  Captain Newman is also a great comedy/drama and has the most star wattage since it features Tony Curtis, Angie Dickinson, and Bobby Darin.  

The films are presented in their original aspect ratios (Mockingbird, Cape Fear, Mirage, Newman – 1.85:1, Arabesque – 2.35:1, and Arms in fullscreen) and enhanced for 16x9 televisions when need be. 

Special features are seemingly abundant until you realize that they’re from the films that have already been on DVD.  The World in his Arms is the only new title with anything and it’s the 2-minute theatrical trailer.  The rest have the special features the stuff from the previous releases.  Cape Fear has “The Making of Cape Fear” (28 minutes), production photographs (5 minutes, with music and scenes from the film), and the theatrical trailer (2 minutes). 

To Kill a Mockingbird is a two-disc set.  Disc one has an audio commentary with director Robert Mulligan and producer Alan Pakula, Academy Award best actor acceptance speech (90 seconds), Peck accepting the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award (10 minutes), An excerpt from the Academy Tribute to Gregory Peck (10 minutes), Scout Remembers (12 minutes) in which Mary Badham recalls working with Peck, the theatrical trailer (3 minutes), and textual production notes.  Disc two has the documentaries “A Conversation with Gregory Peck” (96 minutes) and “Fearful Symmetry: The Making of To Kill a Mockingbird” (90 minutes).  

Even middling Gregory Peck is worth a look and all of the films on this set are interesting and entertaining.  Fans will be happy to have them, but if you just want one of the titles then you’re going to have to buy the whole thing. 

It might’ve been better if Universal would’ve looked in the vaults and came up with two more Peck films that haven’t been on DVD, but I’m still elated with the set and the actor.  

The Gregory Peck Film Collection is now available at Amazon. As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.