Gore Vidal's Lincoln

Starring:Sam Waterston, Mary Tyler Moore, Richard Mulligan, Deborah Adair, Tom Brennan (II), Gregory Cooke, Steven Culp, Ruby Dee, Jerome Dempsey, Jeffrey DeMunn, Jon DeVries, George Ede, Robin Gammell, James Gammon, Thomas Gibson, Tim Guinee, David Leary, Cleavon Little, John McMartin, Patrick Rowe
Director: Lamont Johnson
Studio: Platinum Disc
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Backstairs in the Lincoln's White House
A True Lincoln Portrait
magnificent film
Gore Vidal's "Lincoln"
A more true picture of Lincoln than some would like to see..

Gore Vidal's Lincoln
Starring: Sam Waterston , Mary Tyler Moore , Richard Mulligan , Deborah Adair , and Tom Brennan (II)
Director: Lamont Johnson
Manufacturer: Platinum Disc
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00028G75C
Release Date: 2004-07-06

Customer Reviews:

Backstairs in the Lincoln's White House.......2007-02-24

Much of Abraham Lincoln's life has been accounted for and reaccounted for a thousand times over. The facts play around in our minds, much without emotional anchors to hold them down. Prolific and outspoken writer Gore vidal penned a "fictional" account of Lincoln in his marvelous book, which a few years later, adapted into a made-for-TV movie. The result, then as now, is an intriguing insights into the personality of the Lincoln family.

The movie starts with Lincoln slinking into Washington DC, for fear of a secessionist uprising in Balitmore, under disguise, for which he was much aligned. Constrasted with Mary's arrival, with hoopla and a thousand suitcases, shows the underlying dichotomy in the famous first couple. Jumping from historical event to historical event, the drama digs a bit deeper into the effects of the events on the family. By the time you've finished the movie, you felt like you've not only have a deeper understanding of the Civil War, but of the Lincolns as well.

Sam Waterson nails, absolutely nails, Lincoln. We see all sides of him. It must have been a daunting role to play. We have solely deified Lincoln, almost erasing his humanity. Waterson brings it back in full force, with all the humor and sadness needed. At first, hearing that Mary Tyler Moore as Mary Todd Lincoln seems like a joke. Who would ever thought that Mary Richards could play someone Hay and Nicolette called "Hell Cat?". But she does. Her decent into madness at the death of Willie is heartbreaking. Richard Mulligan's performance as Sweard is canny, and the ever stalwart Ruby Dee plays Mary Lincoln's dressmaker Mrs. Keckley with all of the sassiness and care required.

I rated this movie four stars, not for content or for acting, but for the DVD transfer. It's simply on the verge of being terrible. The picture quality lacks any quality at all. It appears fuzzy and smoky on my screen quite a bit. As for any special features, forget it. This wasn't ever enough to detract from my enjoyment in watching the show, but this DVD looks like a hack job for sure.

However, Gore Vidal's Lincoln deserves a place in my video library as an interesting examination of a well-known time; well-acted, and tells a great story. I recommend this to anyone wanting an insider's look of a fascinating man and family.

A True Lincoln Portrait.......2007-01-10

Gore Vidal presents the noble yet tragic figure of Abraham Lincoln in a very accurate fashion. Being a professor of history, I appreciate the realism in Vidal's presentation of both the people and events in the story. The struggles Lincoln faced as a politician, president, husband and father are well-developed by Vidal through his dramatic writing. The viewer comes to feel a sense of identity with Lincoln, who is portrayed not only as a great man in history, but also as a man much like you and I might associate with in our everyday lives. While staying fairly true to the historic Lincoln and events of the time, the film's dramatic presentation keep the interests of the viewer who might not necessarily be a history buff. The high quality of Vidal's work actually encourages the viewer to take a further look into other historic representations on film, from which there are many to choose.

magnificent film.......2007-01-09

Brings Lincoln during his presidency back to life. For Lincolnfans a real must.

Gore Vidal's "Lincoln".......2005-01-30

I am so thankful I ignored the negative reviews!!
I loved this mini-series on tv and recorded it on vhs at ep!!! What was I thinking? How to save tape??
I was thrilled to find out it was finally on dvd. But when I read how badly the lighting, sound, etc. was, I was doing some rethinking.
Then I thought again. If I enjoyed watching my horrible copy on vhs over and over again, the dvd couldn't possible be any worse. So I did order.
And I'm glad I did. The dvd far exceeds my badly taped vhs version. The movie is enjoyable, factual, and unforgettable. Lincoln fans MUST get this dvd!

A more true picture of Lincoln than some would like to see.........2005-01-04

But, more historically correct. Lincoln was a politician. He never set out to free the slaves. He actually offered leading free Blacks the opportunity to take the slaves to a new American colony in South America because he never thought ex-slaves would have a chance. There was corruption in his Administration. First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln probably sold the text of the "State of the Union" address to the New York Times. She also kept 'ghost' employees on the White House payroll to pay for her extravagances in remodeling.

Still, Lincoln was a good man and a good leader, grieved at the state of America. Sam Waterson depicts a man heavily laden with the burdens of a country, constituency, and family that could be enough to break a lesser person's resolve.

Mary Tyler Moore's performance as Mary Todd Lincoln was also good. No one will ever know whether it was mental illness, addiction to morphine, or some other cause that drove her to 'headaches' and spendthrift behavior. Tyler Moore's presentation was of Todd-Lincoln was troubled---and human.

My big complaint about this DVD was the film quality. This looked like a low budget film that was not digitially remastered for DVD. Pity, because this is an excellent depiction of the times and one of our American heroes.

Average customer rating:

Please - buy "Team of Rivals" instead ...
A dark cloud over Lincoln:
A very different perspective
A great fresh perspective...
Poorly done, hard to follow garbage

Lincoln
Starring: Gore Vidal
Director: Vikram Jayanti
Manufacturer: A&E Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000CCW2UM
Release Date: 2006-03-28

Amazon.com

In 1972, Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern was forced to drop Senator Thomas Eagleton as his running mate when it was revealed that the latter had twice undergone electro-shock therapy for depression. Imagine, then, what the national media (who played a significant role in Eagleton's downfall) would have made of the Abraham Lincoln portrayed in Lincoln. This startling program depicts our 16th president as a man who was not simply depressed, but suicidal; who had dreams portending his own death; who survived a childhood of Dickensian suffering; who endured a loveless marriage in which two of his and wife Mary's sons died young; and who was brooding, tormented, possibly a closet homosexual, and by his own description "the most miserable man living." What's more, some of the historians and other talking heads taking part in director Vikram Jayanti's two-part, 140-minute documentary suggest that Lincoln's greatness came not in spite of these burdens but because of them, as his own "forced introversion" made him supremely empathetic to others. Produced for the History Channel, Lincoln commingles various elements--biography, interviews, re-enactments (especially of the events of April 15, 1865, the day he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth), excerpts of Lincoln's letters and speeches, etc.--to support its thesis, and the results, while sometimes melodramatic, are compelling. The mood lightens up a bit in the second part, which details Lincoln's years as president, when his vehement opposition to slavery engendered his extraordinary oratorical skills, his steely determination to hold the country together through the horrors of the Civil War, and his inevitable death (which is attributed not to his having freed the slaves but to his insistence that they be given the right to vote). Was Lincoln one of our finest presidents, then? No doubt. But it's a safe bet that had he come along in the mid-20th Century or later, given the kind of scrutiny he'd be subjected to, he wouldn't have stood a chance of being elected. --Sam Graham

Description

A FASCINATING EXPLORATION OF A U.S. PRESIDENT WHOSE GREATEST WAR TOOK PLACE WITHIN HIMSELF. Innovative, intimate and emotionally charged, LINCOLN explores the inner conflicts that plagued and inspired the President who called himself "The loneliest man in the world." Academy Award-winning producer (When We Were Kings) Vikram Jayanti goes inside a life scarred by loss and a mind ravaged by tragedy to uncover a man whose grand achievements were fueled by his own personal turmoil. Using interviews with leading Lincoln biographers like Gore Vidal, Jan Morris, and Harold Holzer, as well as Andrew Solomon, National Book Award winning author of The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression, LINCOLN presents a profound and insightful meditation on a man few knew seen through the eyes of the President himself. DVD Features: Behind-the-Scenes Featurette; 16:9 Widescreen Format; Interactive Menus; Scene Selection

Customer Reviews:

Please - buy "Team of Rivals" instead ..........2006-08-20

I lost almost all credibility of The History Channel after airing this hatchet job. For starters, the various editing techniques make you feel like you're watching "The Blair Witch Project". Then Using crackpot "historians" such as Gore Vidal as their expert Lincoln scholars, this is not a balanced portrait of Lincoln, who is described as a manic depressive with homosexual tendancies. Please take the time to read Doris Kearns-Goodwin's book, "Team of Rivals". It may take longer to read but it least it is accurate. This DVD is 100 percent garbage. If I could give it no stars I certainly would have.

A dark cloud over Lincoln:.......2006-04-05

Lincoln is probably one of the toughest individuals to grasp. Once you think you have him understood, something else about him comes out of the woodwork to make him more elusive.

Interestingly, this production allows us further insight to him in a unique, dark perspective at times. This production probably isn't correctly named as it's not about Lincoln in the complete form, but it takes a much darker, closeted approach to explaining the man.

I think many people were taken back a bit by this production and were expecting something lighter, more cheerful and triumphant about Lincoln but instead this film is the opposite. I can't say it was totally negative, it just offered strange, unusual insight and possibilities to this complex character. What this show tried to convey was just how some of Lincoln's motivations, considerations and mind state were developed from earlier boyhood years and dealing with depression.

I wasn't too keen on some of the considerations of Lincoln and possible suicidal tendencies. Unfortunately, this production focused a lot on negative things about Lincoln shading him in a dark shroud with shocking misery. It does offer interesting perspective, but the opinions stated are simply that. Opinions without fact. I know Lincoln had issues and had a lot of carry on his shoulders throughout life although I don't think he was so distraught, fearing and suicidal as this documentary portrays.

A very different perspective .......2006-03-02

i myself have always been very intersted in the Civil War history, read all about it all the Biographies and all the history books, so to me this is great some new version to the history as it was "dectatied" to me when i was in school, so to me this is fresh new look at him, i honestly really always admired the man, what man who went through all that negative things when he was a child to the leading the american civil war
to the death of his son, And in my eye Lincoln will never be a "Loser" with anyone in history theres always the dark side of life that gets dragged out for the public every now and again.

A great fresh perspective..........2006-02-04

This is by far one of the most insightful looks into one of America's greatest Presidents. The film in no way was meant to be a negative portrayal of Lincoln's life. It is simply a humanizing and deeply moving glimpse of a remarkable American told in a spiraling narrative. Lincoln did have a colored past, was plagued by depression, and was deeply ambitious. All of these things were balanced with a deeply seeded sense of morality and conscience. The fact that Lincoln rose from humble origins and was able to to rise to prominence despite adversity is the true testimony of his greatness. Never since, and perhaps never again, will a man born poor, plagued by depression, and motivated by the necessity of doing what he felt was right lead this nation.

This video is worth watching. Also, it is punctuated by the commentary of Gore Vidal, in my opinion one of the greatest experts on American history and politics alive today.

Poorly done, hard to follow garbage.......2006-01-31

Done in an MTV-like style, and accentuating the negative, this program will do little to give insight into Lincoln's greatness. In fact, you will come away thinking he was a loser. Mary Lincoln is similarly lambasted.

The documentary jumps back and forth with no apparent continuity or reason. In addition, many of the commentators are either openly hostile towards Lincoln, or are high-handed and eliteist.

Unwanted political/religious opinion from Gore Vidal also leaves one with a nasty taste in one's mouth. This should have been left on the cutting-room floor, having no place in this discussion.

Zero stars would be more fitting.

Get a copy of "A House Divided - Abraham and Mary Lincoln" from PBS - you will be better informed and genuinely touched.

Avoid this pap at all costs.

Sally Hemings: An American Scandal/Gore Vidal's: Lincoln/Jackie, Ethel, Joan: The Women of Camelot

Average customer rating:

Sally Hemings: An American Scandal/Gore Vidal's: Lincoln/Jackie, Ethel, Joan: The Women of Camelot
Starring: Gore Vidal's Lincoln , the Women of Camelot , and Sally He
Manufacturer: Platinum Disc
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Release Date: 2005-06-07

Charlie Rose with Gore Vidal; Arianna Huffington; Brian Stokes Mitchell (April 10, 1998)

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with Gore Vidal; Arianna Huffington; Brian Stokes Mitchell (April 10, 1998)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Description

First, prolific author Gore Vidal discusses the political themes that his novels usually cover, his latest foray into fiction in six years, The Smithsonian Institution, and gives his views on the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, modern life, and humor. Then, Arianna Huffington discusses her latest book, Greetings from the Lincoln Bedroom, which she uses as a satire of the current socio-political climate, especially with regards to the Clinton-Lewinsky affair. Finally, Brian Stokes Mitchell discusses his recent Broadway career, which included hits like Kiss of the Spider Woman, and his current starring role in the musical Ragtime, which won him rave reviews.

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