Lincoln BD [Blu-ray] [Region Free]

In 1863, two years into the American Civil War, President Abraham 'Abe' Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation under his presidential authority as commander in chief of the armed forces. It affected those states (the Confederates) still rebelling against the North (the Union). Many of those emancipated slaves joined the Union army. In early 1865, while the civil war still continued, Lincoln determines to push through a 13th amendment to the United States Constitution, abolishing slavery once and for all. He is also in a position to negotiate the end of the four year war which would spare the lives of hundreds, maybe thousands, of fighting soldiers. However, his dilemma is that if the war should end before the amendment is passed then the abolition of slavery and the misery that slavery causes might not happen any time soon. His only solution is to persuade enough politicians to see his point of view and vote for the 13th amendment.Some have said that Lincoln (2012) was too long but, for me, it wasn't long enough. I could happily sit through hours of clever debate, amusing repartee, and listen to Lincoln's anecdotal stories which were supposed to serve as some kind of moral relating to the subject at hand. The cast was particularly impressive and I could not imagine anyone better than Daniel Day-Lewis in the lead except, perhaps, the late Gregory Peck. Tommy Lee Jones seemed a little misplaced as an elderly politician sporting a ludicrous wig but that's because my mind has him typecast as a United States Marshal. It's going to take some time for me to shake off that younger image.While bad language is limited in Lincoln (2012), there are some scenes of violence and rather graphic scenes of the horrors and casualties of war. They do serve a purpose, to emphasise the dilemma facing Lincoln - end the war and risk slavery continuing - and I suppose without them the movie might have seemed a little superficial.All in all Lincoln adds up to a fine 150 minute movie and certainly worth a second look. I was glad to have watched it on a Blu-ray, the quality of video and sound making great viewing.As many of us already know, Abraham Lincoln came rather late in discovering that no good deed goes unpunished.VJ - Movies and Books World

As an author on the Presidency and someone with a keen interest in American Constitutional law and history, I found this movie wonderful and engrossing. With Day-Lewis, Field, and Jones, et al, we would expect great acting and we get it. The in-depth story of the battle for the 13th Amendment is fascinating, and offers us a window into what winning the political battle was probably like. As I was engrossed I did wonder if there might be lots of people expecting something less focussed on the constitutional nuances and more on a wider perspective. But it is what it is, and if one is to deal with Lincoln for a movie then what better way than to focus on one of America's defining constitutional amendments, the one that abolished slavery. There will be many British people perhaps not aware that the man who wrote that all men are created equal (Thomas Jefferson) owned hundreds of slaves. The South knew that their economic model based on people as property to be bought and sold could not persist indefinitely. The only very minor disappointments in the movie for me were the minimalist treatment of the assassination and Gettysburg address, I would like there to have been a bit more on both of these. Small part for Sally Field my favourite actress, but there is a great scene with her and DDL in a tense row. Great acting all round, 5 stars, historical, absorbing.

As someone who has a keen interest in history, as well as being a fan of both Steven Spielberg and Daniel Day Lewis i was looking forward to this a great deal. I found the film interesting and easy to watch without being boring or overly long, it is fascinating concentrating on one element of the Lincoln presidency rather than trying to cram everything into one film, it concentrates fully on charactor rather than using the civil war to put in battle scenes or action it instead uses the story of the civil war to show what it is that drives these men forwards.The performances are excellent throughout the cast, with a mesmerising turn from Tommy Lee Jones in danger of stealing the movie. However above all else this is another Daniel Day Lewis masterclass in the art of inhabiting a charactor. Not once through the film did i believe i was watching acting, which is the highest complement there is for a film actor.I would recommend this to anyone even slightly interested in history or politics.

“Lincoln” is set in the last 4 months of the President`s life and covers the struggle to pass the 13th amendment to abolish slavery for good before the end of the Civil War.There is an eloquent explanation given by Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) near the beginning of the film which clarifies the political and legal dilemma faced by the abolitionists; the remainder of the film sees the process by which Lincoln and his supporters build cross-party agreement and individual support from “lame ducks” (politicians who have lost their seats, but are still in office till their successors take over).The period detail is fascinating and the depiction of events seem very accurate – at least to my own knowledge anyway. UK viewers are perhaps at a disadvantage as American history isn`t generally given much coverage in our education system, but the drama and political horse-trading should provide enough story to engage most viewers.The cinematography is beautiful and evocative; rather sombre in colour-range reflecting the period, lamp-lit interiors and the background of relentless war.The cast is superb.One of the finest historical films I've had the pleasure of watching, this held me for all it's near 2 ½ hours; it could well be Spielberg`s masterpiece – certainly one of his best films.The UK DVD release has two extras; a short “making of “ documentary at just under 9 minutes and “Crafting the Past” a look at the costume, set design and period detailing of the film.