Killing Lincoln

Tom Hanks hosts this drama/documentary about the assassination of Lincoln. As one can imagine, it's a dark and sad story, but I found some of it very interesting. I don't consider myself the last word on the assassination -- if you are, you're not going to enjoy this as I doubt there was anything new there.

The focus initially is the Booth family, especially John Wilkes, as he plots to kill the President, the Secretary of State, and the Vice President. It also covers his earlier foiled attempt. Apparently you just couldn't kill William Seward -- the man not only was nearly killed by a co-conspirator, but at the time, he was ill.

Billy Campbell plays Lincoln. He has a naturally high, light voice, so I suspect after Daniel Day-Lewis' research of descriptions of Lincoln's voice, this will become the norm. I found moments before the actual assassination, with Lincoln's last words to his wife, "They won't think anything about it," quite touching.

The dramatization then covers Wilkes and his co-conspirators' attempts to escape, Booth's death, the capture of the others, and their varying prison/death sentences.

It's interesting material if you're not all that familiar with it.

Unike the highly acclaimed, and deservedly so, Spielberg film "Lincoln", this film goes behind the assassin John Wilkes Booth and his wish not only to kill the president, but also to overthrow the American government. The story behind the shot at Ford's Theater which killed Abraham Lincokn on April 14th 1865.

The story is a docudrama, narrated by Tom Hanks, telling about the attempts to kill Lincoln from right months before, until they managed to do so. Interesting film, made for National a geographic Channel, especially for use to historically accuracy and for educational use, based on the best selling book with the same name by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard. The film is made as accurate as possible, and that down to where people stood on photos, and it is made as a hybrid movie, which jumps out and in of the story, while also using time to dwell in photos and Tom Hanks as the story teller. Hanks is a descendant of Lincoln, hence Nancy Hanks actually was the name of Abraham Lincoln's mother.

Not only Lincoln was killed on this night, but it was a conspiracy not unlike a coup d'Etat, when Booth run up on the stage seconds after the killing shouting "Sic semper tyrannis" from the stage afterwards. (So dies a tyrant.) After that starts the biggest man hunt in American history as well.

Well worth a watch, and great stuff for usage for educational use, but also compelling watch off others who wants an accurate history telling.

KILLING LINCOLN may be worth seeing for anyone with an interest in the basic subject matter, but, aside from a few disputed factoids and other interesting tidbits, one is not likely to learn much or see any really new perspective here. The more interesting stuff--earlier plots to kill Lincoln, etc--is not covered in much detail, and the events leading up to the assassination are not synchronized terribly well. The combination of drama and documentary doesn't work too well either, with Tom Hanks constantly interrupting the forward motion of the film. Some of the supporting actors--e.g., whoever it was that played the young naval officer--play their roles very well; unfortunately, same cannot be said for most of the major actors here. Booth, played by Jesse Johnson, is portrayed as an annoyingly histrionic phony in love with the sound of his own voice. From what I understand, that's kind of how the real JWB was, but it would have helped if less time had been devoted to that twit and more to his co-conspirators, who we are told little or nothing about.

There's just something very contrived about the whole thing. . .

If you watch this movie, you will know the facts of the events leading to, the events of, and the results of Abraham Lincoln's assassination. This is most excellently performed.

The actors who portrayed both Lincoln (Billy Campbell) & Booth (Jesse Johnson) performed A plus roles. Both actors conveyed the feel of the age and the personality of both historical persons as history has made them known to us. Excellent. Johnson for sure deserves an award. Watching his performance, you will feel that you know Booth.

If you are at all interesting in these events, watch this movie. You will be well educated, informed, and entertained. In this modern day, such a combination is rare, indeed.

In the highest minded rationale, this is as good an expression of the TV art as there can be.

It's fascinating to show in detail what happened during the assassination. "The Conspirator" was angled more towards the Surratts. So I was looking forward to seeing this TV movie. Unfortunately it's only partially successful. The good parts are showing the shooting and deathbed quite in detail. They made Mrs Lincoln act too hysterical.

This is an uneasy blend of TV movie and documentary. Tom Hanks narration should have stuck to vocals only. It broke up the momentum showing him on screen.

The casting it hit and miss: Billy Campbell is too unlined and youthful looking for Lincoln. He is the least Lincoln looking actor in all the portrayals on screen. It's not hard to get someone to look like Lincoln (North & South, Lincoln), but here they really made a strange choice.

Jesse Johnson as Booth is quite good and his looks and get up suit the part.

Liked the blending of real photographs with the scenes.

Overall worth one watch but not that good.