The Day Lincoln Was Shot

Director John Gray, after his last two mediocre-at-best theatrical efforts "Born To Be Wild" and "The Glimmer Man", returns to his tv-directing roots with "The Day Lincoln Was Shot", a fascinating look at one of our country's most famous assassinations. When you watch a good movie, you usually go through the motions: suspense, awe, tragedy (or at least mild sadness), and hopefully in the process crack a smile or two. While no brilliant cinematic triumph, "The Day Lincoln Was Shot" more or less manages to achieve those basic standards, and nowadays, that's no easy feat. What helps it achieve that, though, are two vital factors that elude most modern Hollywood projects: great subject material and great casting. The material is obvious, and should be interesting to most anyone who has even the vaguest knowledge of American history. As for casting, "Millennium" star Lance Henriksen finally lands a fresh role as the Sixteenth President, and it's a startling discovery to find that Mr. Henriksen has been seemingly born with the precise facial mold of good ol' Honest Abe himself, and that it's taken so long for someone to notice! Just add beard, costume and viola! While still playing a dark role, there's a spark to Mr. Henriksen's Lincoln, that makes him alive and real, and more importantly, human. Rob Morrow is John Wilkes Booth, the actor gone bad, who, as we see here, is not just a cardboard borderline psychotic, rather, there's a method to his madness, a motive that fringes on being understandable that brings a freshness to the scenes Morrow steals; it's a relief to see him playing someone other than a smug yuppie trapped in our society. All in all, John Gray has been blessed with the gift of story-telling brevity, and we get a satisfying tv-viewing experience in one evening, not two or three or four, as is the growing tradition for TNT films...done sparingly, this is a treat for the audience.

TNT's The Day Lincoln Was Shot has to be the most accurate and well devised movie of the genre to date. Much care has been taken with authenticity (with a few minor glitches here and there) in an attempt to determine what actually happened, how it happened and why. Solid acting talent, an eye for detail and a well devised script have made once again a docu-drama that stands the test both historically and as solid, fast-moving entertainment. Turner has done it again. Bravo!

I like this movie a lot. Proof that Ted Turner's people are better off sticking with "made for TV" movies as opposed to trying to go "big screen" (see: "Gods and Generals" for one such disaster).

I did not particularly care for some of the "MTV-like" camera angles and going from color to black and white (hopefully this "fad" will die a quick death).

Lance Henrickson is a fine actor and did a great job as Lincoln. Unlike Henrickson, Lincoln was a "western" country hick with a higher pitched voice and did not have the graceful mannerisms Henrickson protrayed in this film (I blame the casting, not Henrickson, for this), but it's no big deal, unless you are a nit-picker who liked to show off your deft knowledge of history.

Rob Morrow kicked ass as Booth. Another very underrated actor.

Here again, as in the TNT effort "Andersonville" which in my view is the most unique and my absolute favorite Civil War movie to date, I believe that the using of mostly "role actors" pays off.

Bizarre as it may sound, I really believe that background, incidental music can make or break a movie, especially a period piece such as this. And with this movie, it's excellent!

I doubt Hollywierd will ever treat Lincoln on the "big screen" again (as has been done before many many years ago). So I guess we will have to settle for TV efforts like this. And if they are all this good, that could be a good thing!

"The Day Lincoln was Shot" is a 1998 TV film. You wouldn't expect much in light of this, but you'd be wrong.

All I expect in a historical film like this is reasonable historical accuracy and the ability to take me back in time to envision what it was really like (to some acceptable degree, that is). "The Day Lincoln was Shot" delivers in spades.

Rob Morrow is outstanding as actor/murderer John Wilkes Booth. I've read loads of history but Booth never came alive to me until I saw this movie the other day. Booth was a passionate, charismatic, creative type, which obviously explains his occupation. This and his love for the Confederacy proved to be an explosive combination. The film shows Booth practicing his murder in front of a mirror, trying to get the Latin for "Death to tyrants" just right. You just know this nut really did this to psyche himself up for the murder.

FYI: After assassinating Lincoln, Booth caught the spur of his boot on the flag drape as he jumped down from Lincoln's box at Ford's Theater and consequently broke the leg he awkwardly landed on.

Lance Henriksen is fine as Lincoln and Donna Murphy is great as his wife Mary. Some say Donna is too good-looking to play Mrs. Lincoln, but Mary Todd wasn't all THAT bad-looking if you check out pictures of her; and she certainly wasn't fat. Besides Donna's beauty is played way down here. Anyway, the film well display's Mary Todd's catty, jealous, temperamental nature. Despite this reality, ol' Abe and Mary LOVED each other and the picture properly shows this.

Ever wonder what family time was like in the White House back then? What were the Lincolns like at dinner time? Did Abe play with his youngest son? Etc. This picture shows you these things. Interestingly, Will Wheaton, the notorious Wusley Crusher from Star Trek: The Next Generation, plays Lincoln's oldest living son Robert Todd. He does a fine job too. I didn't even recognize him.

I especially enjoyed the scene where Abe & Mary go for a ride in the country on a carriage surrounded by numerous security guards on horseback. My wife & I often go on rides in the country and it was just interesting to observe Abe & Mary doing the same thing. Why wouldn't they? This is a great scene.

The locations are completely convincing and the film is lensed with such expertise that the viewer is successfully ushered back to the time of the story. The cinematography has that dark, realistic look of modern films like, say, "Last of the Mohicans" as opposed to the overly-lighted, artificial look of older films. The score is great as well.

One powerful scene shows Lincoln talking with his militarists and advisers after the surrender of Lee's army. The latter insist upon the immediate imprisonment and execution of Jefferson Davis, Lee and other significant leaders of the rebellion. Lincoln hears them out but ultimately responds (I'm paraphrasing): "No. Haven't we seen enough bloodshed, enough death? I am adamant about this!" This is line with Lincoln's second inaugural address where he stated:

"With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan -- to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations."

This shows Lincoln's character and partially explains why he is one of my personal heroes. He wanted the hostilities and death to end in America; he wanted forgiveness, reconciliation, goodwill and healing to prevail.

Booth felt that, by killing Lincoln, he'd be helping the cause of the South. He wrongly expected his mad scheme to throw the Union into chaos and embolden the Southerners to continue fighting, regardless of the fact that they had already surrendered. Ironically his murderous scheme was the worst thing he could have done for his Southern comrades. Lincoln would have ensured mercy and leniency during Reconstruction, at least to some reasonable extent, but Booth's actions needlessly brought on many hard years to come for the South, much harder than they would have been otherwise anyway.

For comparisons, "The Day Lincoln was Shot" blows away boring, bloated historical films like the overrated "Gettysburg." It's on a par with "Pharaoh's Army" albeit not quite as good as "Glory." For a good well-rounded cinematic look at the Civil War period I recommend these films: "Glory," "Pharaoh's Army," "Ride with the Devil," "Gods and Generals," "The Horse Soldiers," "The Blue and the Gray," "Cold Mountain" and, of course, "The Day Lincoln was Shot." "Andersonville" is worth seeing too as long as you keep in mind that it's a one-dimensional prison picture (dealing with the most infamous prison camp of the Civil War) (by "one-dimensional" I mean that the story takes place almost entirely within a prison stockade in Georgia).

The film runs 95 minutes and was shot in Virginia & D.C.

GRADE: A-

This fine film was like an intellectual feast for a history buff like me. We finally have a decent film about one of the darkest events in American History. I think the only other film I can remember that was devoted exclusively to Lincoln's murder was The Lincoln Conspiracy (!). This is another great historical film from TNT. Rob Morrow and Lance Hendricksen are both splendid. Its almost like a Biblical morality play capturing Lincoln's good and Booth's absolute evil (Morrow is positively chilling as the assassin, it sort of reminds me of Frank Sinatra in Suddenly). The details of this film are absolutely correct, they even remember to mention the fact that Lincoln dreamed of his own murder just a few nights before. The suspense is well handled especially leading up to the assassination. This is a fine adaptation of Jim Bishop's book and I am amazed at all the ground they covered in just a two hour movie! If you get a chance rent it on video. By the way, Booth shouts "sic semper tyrannis" when he kills Lincoln. For those of you who never had Latin, that means "Death to the tyrants"