Gore Vidal's Lincoln [VHS]

Gore Vidal's Lincoln [VHS]
by Lamont Johnson

Gore Vidal's Lincoln [VHS]

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Product details

Actor: Deborah Adair, Mary Tyler Moore, Richard Mulligan, Sam Waterston, Tom Brennan (II)
Director: Lamont Johnson
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog
Format: Color, NTSC
Running Time: 190 minutes
Release Date: 1995-06-13
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Publisher: Atlantic / Wea
Studio: Atlantic / Wea

VHS Movie Reviews of Gore Vidal's Lincoln [VHS]

Movie Review: a very human Lincoln who is principled yet a master manipulator
Summary: 4 Stars

Waterston does a great job portraying Lincoln not as an Icon, but as a human being. It is the best portrayal I have ever seen of Lincoln on the screen and quite faithful to the original novel by Gore Vidal. You feel Lincoln's sense of purpose, his ability to read people and manipulate them in accordance with it, and his emotional life. It is subtle, at times shocking, but always engaging.

The viewer also gets a good glance at the major events of the Civil War in outline, in just about enough detail for the casual viewer: the suspension of Habeas Corpus in Maryland, the stodgy Union Generals, the important battles, the human toll. It is all bound with Lincoln's political purpose, to save the Union at any cost, and stimulates the appetite for more. It covers Lincoln's difficult relationship with the notorious popinjay McClellan, the deterioration of Mary Todd Lincoln (I did not like Mary Tyler Moore much in the role), and the tensions within the cabinet. The gravelly Ulysses Grant is also excellent.

That being said, it was impossible to get all the nuance of Vidal's novel (his finest by far) into 3 hours. You get allusions to the themes, but cannot experience such things as the deep conversion of Seward from a scornful enemy to devoted friend, the love of John Hay for the exploited Kate Chase, or Linclon's shrewd maneuverings around the power-hungry Salmon P. Chase. If you liked the film, you should definitely read the book. Finally, for Civil War buffs, there really isn't enough detail to satisfy the most sophisticated appetite, however successful this is as entertainment.

Recommended. This is a great introduction to a fascinating cast of characters in America's most decisive conflict.

Movie Review: History Buffs
Summary: 5 Stars

Gore Vidal does good work. I have Billy the Kid film by GV and this one did not dissappoint me either.

Movie Review: Great Behind The Scenes Look at Lincoln
Summary: 4 Stars

This is the definitive movie on Lincoln. I challenge anyone to point out a film that provides a more rounded picture on the 16th President than this particular one. Sam Waterston is excellent - he seems to capture all of the mannerisms and emotions of Lincoln as even the most vivid of historical texts describe. To anyone who might be thinking this is a Civil War film, keep on moving. This is the story of how Lincoln conducted the war while grieving for his lost son and a wife who was not in her right mind.

This would have earned five stars except for, as others have noted, the relatively poor quality of film for a DVD. It looks like this movie was transferred from VCR to DVD by a novice. Still, for a low price of $6.99, it should be any collection of Lincoln or Civil War buffs.

Movie Review: Best Civil War movie
Summary: 5 Stars

This is, to my thinking, the best Civil War movie ever and a more accurate portrait of Lincoln than films have shown. Sam Watterson is dead on with the Lincoln of Gore Vidal's fine novel, and Mary Tyler Moore's Mrs. Lincoln is perfect. I was amazed that this sitcom actress could be this good. She deserved an academy award.

My only quibble is when snippets of battle were shown. The movie would have been better without them. Re-enactors were used, and re-enactors are always too old, too fat, too clean, and too self-conscious. All one has to do is look at actual photos of Civil War soldiers in the field to prove the point. And the battle scenes were inaccurate in other ways. For example, the Confederates did not fire from behind a wooden fence at Fredericksburg, but from a sunken road and a stone wall. At this same battle in the film we see trees in leaf, whereas the battle was in mid-December, and there was snow on the ground.

That aside, this is a fine piece of work, and even though the viewer knows how it ends, there is the sadness of a great tragedy.

Movie Review: Screams "TV Movie"
Summary: 3 Stars

If you enjoy historical bio-pics, this will likely appeal to you but it screams "TV movie". The performances are mediocre and the film looks very low budget. Both Sam Waterston and Mary Tyler Moore's portrayals of Abraham and Mary Todd were very two dimensional. I was left feeling like I never saw the real humanity of these iconic figures.

Compare this to vastly superior "Eleanor and Franklin", the 1976 ABC mini-series about the Roosevelts. It's night and day.

What I wouldn't give for a thoughtfully produced, adequately budgeted film on Lincoln. It's long overdue and this one just misses the mark in too many ways.

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