LINCOLN Arrives on Blu-ray (TM) and DVD March 26th – Review
The widely acclaimed film Lincoln comes out on March 26th, 2013 in a Combo Pack Super Set (Blu-ray (TM), DVD, Digital Copy) as well as on DVD. We received a preview copy, which offers some wonderful bonus features in addition to the film that took Steven Spielberg more than 10 years to get made. I hadn't seen the film yet, so I'm adding a review of the film here.
This is the first time I've written a review where it contains no spoilers. The fact that Abraham Lincoln died at the hands of John Wilkes Booth is well known, though the way it is handled in the film is unexpected.
Lincoln portrays the 16th President of the United States in a much more human and complex way than the history books and classes I grew up with. Daniel Day Lewis is simply superb in the role for which he won an Oscar, I was riveted by his performance throughout. It was only recently that I learned that Abraham Lincoln went to such great lengths personally to get the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution passed to abolish slavery, and Lincoln focuses on that span of time in January, 1965.
Abraham Lincoln is presented as a family man, in a often difficult marriage to Mary Todd Lincoln (Sally Field). Sally Field is significantly older than Mary Todd Lincoln – by about 20 years – but Field embodies the strong-willed character so well, that I can't imagine anyone else in the role. She is vehemently against their son Robert (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) going into the military, but Lincoln cannot stop him – it's irony I guess that Robert was the only of their sons to make it into adulthood.
Along with his struggles with Mary over their son, Abraham Lincoln battled with congress over the abolition of slavery. He had a very limited amount of time to pass the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, and a lot of politicians opposing him. Slavery was such an ingrained institution in the South, and many early U.S. Presidents had been slave owners themselves.
Lincoln is not an action film. There are some combat scenes that are not terribly bloody, bringing the film it's PG-13 rating. The main war here is the war of words being fought between politicians who are on polar opposite sides of the debate. But with the heavy words comes levity, I laughed quite a few times through the film – even at the uproar of the notion of a women's right to vote, though it'd not have been funny at the time. It took another 50 years for that to happen!
Abraham Lincoln himself comes across as a thoughtful man, a very determined individual, but a storyteller who sometimes enjoyed some off-color humor.
What really stuck out for me was the lack of technology – Abraham Lincoln wasn't there for the vote, and there were no phones to notify him, no television to watch the vote. Of course I knew all that, but technology is such a part of our lives now, that it's absence is more noticeable. Even during the special features when Joseph Gordon-Levitt said he learned he'd won the role in a text, I thought about how that wouldn't have happened 20 years ago, let alone in 1865.
The death of Abraham Lincoln is shown from an unexpected viewpoint, and I appreciated that the shooting itself was off-stage, so to speak. His life and death were handled with dignity.
Other notable performances include Tommy Lee Jones, who earned an Academy Award nomination for his role as Thaddeus Stevens, Hal Holbrook as Francis Preston Blair, David Strathairn as Secretary of State William H. Seward, and Gloria Rueben as Elizabeth Keckley, who was a former slave and dressmaker for Mary Todd Lincoln.
Abraham Lincoln wasn't alive when film cameras could capture his voice, his movements, his words. It seems that Steven Spielberg went to great lengths to capture the man and the times as closely as he could, and the film is in part based on the Pulitzer Prize winning Lincoln biography "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln" by Doris Kearns Goodwin. The film has inspired me to purchase the book!
Lincoln clocks in at at 2 hours and 25 minutes, and is rated PG-13.
Bonus features include:
4 Disc Blu-ray (TM) Super Set
• The Journey To Lincoln – Steven Spielberg and his collaborators discuss the challenges and excitement of bringing this story of a complex and very human president to the screen.
• A Historic Tapestry: Richmond Virginia – Steven Spielberg and team discuss the historical significance of Richmond, Virginia, and why they chose to shoot the film there.
• In The Company of Character – Delve into Daniel Day-Lewis' portrayal of Lincoln, and discover the authenticity and openness created by the actors and filmmakers on set.
• Crafting The Past – Examine the re-creation of Lincoln's era through authentic period details in production design, costume and makup.
• Living With Lincoln – Follow Steven Spielberg, the cast and crew through the shooting of the film, from the battle of Jenkin's Ferry, through the epic 13th Amendment showdown in the House of Representatives, to Lincoln's tragic end.
• In Lincoln's Footsteps – Explore the film's editing, sound design, and the subtle yet poignant musical score by John Williams, and discover how relevant and inspiring Lincoln still is today.
• The Journey To Lincoln – Steven Spielberg and his collaborators discuss the challenges and excitement of bringing this story of a complex and very human president to the screen.
• A Historic Tapestry: Richmond Virginia – Steven Spielberg and team discuss the historical significance of Richmond, Virginia, and why they chose to shoot the film there.
• The Journey To Lincoln – Steven Spielberg and his collaborators discuss the challenges and excitement of bringing this story of a complex and very human president to the screen.
Mousesteps Grade for Lincoln: A