Lincoln (2012)

As the Civil War continues to rage, America's president struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield and as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on the decision to emancipate the slaves.

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers:

Tony Kushner (screenplay), Doris Kearns Goodwin (book)

Stars:

Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn

Won 2 Oscars. Another 56 wins & 112 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Daniel Day-Lewis	...	Abraham Lincoln
Sally Field	...	Mary Todd Lincoln
David Strathairn	...	William Seward
Joseph Gordon-Levitt	...	Robert Lincoln
James Spader	...	W.N. Bilbo
Hal Holbrook	...	Preston Blair
Tommy Lee Jones	...	Thaddeus Stevens
John Hawkes	...	Robert Latham
Jackie Earle Haley	...	Alexander Stephens
Bruce McGill	...	Edwin Stanton
Tim Blake Nelson	...	Richard Schell
Joseph Cross	...	John Hay
Jared Harris	...	Ulysses S. Grant
Lee Pace	...	Fernando Wood
Peter McRobbie	...	George Pendleton

Storyline

In 1865, as the American Civil War winds inexorably toward conclusion, U.S. president Abraham Lincoln endeavors to achieve passage of the landmark constitutional amendment which will forever ban slavery from the United States. However, his task is a race against time, for peace may come at any time, and if it comes before the amendment is passed, the returning southern states will stop it before it can become law. Lincoln must, by almost any means possible, obtain enough votes from a recalcitrant Congress before peace arrives and it is too late. Yet the president is torn, as an early peace would save thousands of lives. As the nation confronts its conscience over the freedom of its entire population, Lincoln faces his own crisis of conscience -- end slavery or end the war.

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Plot Keywords:

slavery | civil war | u.s. president | american civil war | constitutional amendment | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for an intense scene of war violence, some images of carnage and brief strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [fr]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 November 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Untitled Steven Spielberg/Abraham Lincoln Project

Filming Locations:

Laburnum House - 1300 Westwood Avenue, Richmond, Virginia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$65,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$944,308 (USA) (9 November 2012)

Gross:

$182,204,440 (USA) (19 April 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks SKG, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Reliance Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

150 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The second film directed by Steven Spielberg where an American president is portrayed by a British actor, in Amistad Martin Van Buren and John Quincy Adams are portrayed by Nigel Hawthorne and Anthony Hopkins, respectively

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Goofs

Near the beginning of the film, Thaddeus Stevens leaves his office. He opens a door, and it closes via an automatic door closer, which was invented in the 1880s.

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Quotes

Abraham Lincoln: [giving a speech at a dedication raising the flag] The part assigned to me is to raise the flag which, if there be no fault in the machinery, I will do. And, when up, it shall be for the people to keep it up. That's my speech.

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Connections

Referenced in Revealed: Young Hollywood (2013)

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Soundtracks

"We Are Coming, Father Abra'am"
Traditional

User Reviews

Sigh. Daniel does it again

I'm prepared to admit at this point that Daniel Day Lewis has succeeded to the title of most brilliant actor of his generation--and I do not say that lightly. But when I consider what he has done here--imbued the most sacred president in our history with such aching, gorgeous, complex humanity--seemingly without conscious effort on his part--I say give it to him.

His Lincoln is at once ordinary and divine, passionate and all too earthy...and he inhabits the role so fully that not beyond the first minute do you think to yourself that you are watching an actor and not the man himself. I admit, at the first speech, I rather expected the voice to be deeper and more commanding, but that wore off instantly, and Spielberg to his credit gets every scene note-perfect. The scene where soldiers on the field were quoting back to him the Gettysburg Address was heartbreaking--The big guns, to be sure, but everyone in the theater stopped breathing. Spielberg has the mood and light fine-tuned to the point that when the characters are donning shawls against the cold--this in the white house--you shiver. I can'think of a single actor who was not up to snuff, but James Spader as a rascally vote procurer stands out. Sally Field as the troubled Mary Todd Lincoln is a sympathetic gem, and her portrayal should go a long way towards explaining and perhaps inviting history's revision of that unhappy woman. The film focuses most on the nuts and bolts of legislative and presidential processes, and while that may be boring for some,it has such a ring of authenticity and research that it had me scrambling for the history books to check on things I hadn't known. This is the most difficult of all subjects to film, a dense scholarly work translated to popular culture, but it succeeds on all counts. See it, make your children go with you. You won't regret it.