Product Description

Brief vignettes about Lincoln's early life include his birth, early jobs, (unsubstantiated) affair with Ann Rutledge, courtship of Mary Todd, and the Lincoln-Douglas debates; his presidency and the Civil War are followed in somewhat more detail, though without actual battle scenes; film concludes with the assassination. Written by Rod Crawford {puffinus@u.washington.edu}

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #57305 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-04-19
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Review
To date, this D.W. Griffith epic is the only talking-picture effort to encapsulate the entire life of Abraham Lincoln, from cradle to grave. The script, credited to Stephen Vincent Benet, manages to include all the familiar high points, including Lincoln's tragic romance with Ann Rutledge (Una Merkel, allegedly cast because of her resemblance to Griffith favorite Lillian Gish), his lawyer days in Illinois, his contentious marriage to Mary Todd (Kay Hammond), his heartbreaking decision to declare war upon the South, his pardoning of a condemned sentry during the Civil War, and his assassination at the hands of John Wilkes Booth (expansively portrayed by Ian Keith). This was D.W. Griffith's first talkie, and the master does his best with the somewhat pedantic dialogue sequences; but as always, Griffith's forte was spectacle and montage, as witness the cross-cut scenes of Yankees and Rebels marching off to war and the pulse-pounding ride of General Sheridan (Frank Campeau) through the Shenandoah Valley. Thanks to the wizardry of production designer William Cameron Menzies, many of the scenes appear far more elaborate than they really were; Menzies can also be credited with the unforgettable finale, as Honest Abe's Kentucky log cabin dissolves to the Lincoln Memorial. As Abraham Lincoln, Walter Huston is a tower of strength, making even the most florid of speeches sound human and credible; only during the protracted death scene of Ann Rutledge does Huston falter, and then the fault is as much Griffith's as his. Road-shown at nearly two hours (including a prologue showing slaves being brought to America), Abraham Lincoln was pared down to 97 minutes by United Artists, and in that length it proved a box-office success, boding well for D.W. Griffith's future in talkies (alas, it proved to be his next-to-last film; Griffith's final effort, The Struggle was a financial disaster). --Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

From the Actor
Abraham Lincoln remains on of the most enigmatic and influential personages in history. D.W. Griffith (with over 500 other films such as Lady Of The Pavements and The Struggle to his credit) directed this film in 1930 (his first ‘talkie’), which is remarkable for its splendid script by poet-novelist Stephen Vincent Benet, the faithful depiction of the key characters and convincing vignettes of the American Civil War. Walter Huston as Abraham Lincoln and Una Merkel as Ann Rutledge give performances that rise masterfully above the technical limitations imposed on early cinema. This classic historical film, fully restored on DVD by A2ZCDS, succeeds in giving the viewer a genuinely empathic feeling of destiny.

THE PLOT: Young Abraham Lincoln (Walter Huston) refuses to be constrained to a country-yokel existence in his native Springfield, Illinois. His vision of a higher calling is actively supported by his lady love, Ann Rutledge (Una Merkel) . Lincoln’s success as a lawyer brings him to the notice of political kingmakers as a possible candidate for the American Presidency. Personal tragedy strikes when Ann is taken from him by an untreatable disease – he marries the eccentric Mary Todd on the emotional rebound, but not without misgivings. Attaining the Presidency, Lincoln finds himself required to take a stand on segregation issues between whites and blacks – his historical decision to free colored Southern slaves catalyzes the infamous Civil War. Compelling scenes of personal doubt – and victory over it – lead up to final victory…and the emancipation of the Western world from the evil of slavery. However, bigoted political detractors, headed by John Wilkes Booth (Ian Keith) take! a drastically different viewpoint of this development...

About the Actor
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Customer Reviews

Not A Documentary
I've ordered a few things from this company and most of them were historical documentaries so I sorta thought that this would be as well.

It's not - but that's not a bad thing. It's a work of historical fiction and its fairly well done. You get to see an interesting fictional interpretation of Lincoln - without a l ot of modern narative baggage.

The film is older - and looks it - but in some ways that adds to it's charm.

This is like the original version of the History Channel.

This classic historical film, fully restored on DVD by A2ZCDS
"After watching this classic rendition of Abraham Lincoln's most important years (Abraham Lincoln from A2ZCDS), I know for sure that such a life has not been before and will not be again. He WAS a man - a real man who felt love, joy, despair and hurt just like you and I do. This is more than a historical film - this is an immortal tribute to this country's greatest statesman..."