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 58 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

Steven Spielberg expressed interest in Remo Vinzens playing the part of the revolutionary leader in Lincoln.

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Goofs

When Thaddeus Stevens takes the original bill after the vote, he folds it in half vertically. When his housekeeper, Lydia Smith, reads it to him in bed, the document's crease is horizontal.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Abraham Lincoln: It's nighttime. Ship's move by some terrible power at terrific speed. And though it's imperceptible in the darkness, I have an intuition that we're headed towards a shore. No one else seems to be aboard the vessel. I'm keenly aware of my aloneness.
Abraham Lincoln: [quoting Hamlet] "I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams."
Abraham Lincoln: Hmm. I reckon it's the speed that's strange to me. I'm used to going at a deliberate pace. I should space ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Chelsea Lately: Episode #6.174 (2012)

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Soundtracks

"Last of Sizemore"
Performed and Arranged by Jim Taylor
Courtesy of Gourd Music

User Reviews

Wonderful trailer, shame about the film.

I was at the cinema with a friend of mine watching another film and we saw the trailer for this film and decided that it was worth watching on the basis solely of the content of the trailer. In retrospect that was not one of our better decisions. My friend kept nodding off during Lincoln and decided to leave at least an hour before the ending and do some shopping. I managed to stick it out and watch it through to the end probably because I wanted my monies worth. In my and certainly my friends opinion the trailer left us with completely the wrong idea about the content of this film. Neither of us are naive, biased or have the attention span of a goldfish but the film just didn't do it for us although the one and only good aspect for me was the performance of Daniel Day Lewis. If anybody wishes to watch this film please do not make your decision based purely on the trailer or you maybe very disappointed like us