This is a Great Movie!!! I recorded it when it was shown on TV but would really like to purchase a good copy on VHS. I can not locate it on any media (DVD preferred but since it is no longer on vhs, dvd is out of the question) Campbell Scott is an excellent actor and was excellent in this movie. Jason Robards was also as well as Lukas Haas. I recommend for anyone especially Civil War buffs.
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terryh-18 November 2002
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kathrynj0520 May 2001I watched this movie in my history class, and had it not been for some ride people in there laughing, I would have been crying. Usually I am not very impressed by made for TV movies about historical events, but this one was good. Some of the acting was a little weak, but the story makes up for that. I appreciate that in something that is made for TV.
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dreamv26 September 2006I saw this movie on TV many years ago. I remember it well for two reasons. First, it honored Abraham Lincoln and all those who lived -and died - during that difficult time in our nation's history. It is important to remember lessons learned during that time so that we don't repeat them. Having grown up in the deep south, I am very aware of the lingering effects of the Civil War. Now that I live north of the Mason-Dixon line, I am saddened that most non-Southerners do not have the same passionate honor for the Civil War. Most non-Southerners think it is silly to see the South's efforts to keep the Civil War remembrances alive - especially since the South was defeated. For the South, it was a war fueled not by military might but by passion to protect a culture from the onslaught of northern industrial control for power. In the end, the Northern army raped the South and laid waste her grandeur. The battle scars are still evident in many Southern towns - reminders of a violence both internal and external. While slavery was indeed part of the war (and an evil practice in my opinion), it was secondary in the minds of Southerners behind the anger towards northern aggression. The movie was also memorable because my brother called me to tell me that our relative was playing the role of the Governor of Pennsylvania. Very memorable indeed.
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llbaldwin62222 October 2006I like to show this to my 7th graders at the end of the Civil War Unit, however our copy is poor and we need an updated copy. We have a taped copy from TV including commercials. This is an excellent movie and very appropriate for school. It's a shame that good material like this is not readily available for classroom use. The movie is well put together and it gives a true picture of what the war was probably like. It helps the students visualize the War. The actors did an excellent job portraying the time period and the struggles that ensued with the war. I know there are more recent movies depicting the war, however they are rated such that we cannot show them in the classroom. If anyone has any ideas, please pass along your ideas.
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mark.waltz20 August 2023Joining Walter Huston, Henry Fonda, Raymond Massey, Dennis Weaver, Hal Holbrook and Daniel Day Lewis among many others whom I've seen playing president Abraham Lincoln over the years, Jason Robards is surprisingly good (or maybe not so; he's a legend!) in a role I'd not expect him to capture well. It's about the days just before and after the reading of the Gettysburg Address, and he's dealing with the war and rumored unpopularity (said to be the worst of any president up to that time), as well as the illness of son Tad. The young Mr. Lincoln is seen, but that's it for the family although Mary Todd is mentioned.
The film is seen through the eyes of a young Lukas Haas as a farmboy presumably running along the lines, and there's an impress performance in the young actor. Cameos by Jose Ferrer, Campbell Scott, Ed Flanders, Katharine Helmond and Daniel Davis are worth looking out for, but Haas stands out, stealing the film from a very regal Robards who doesn't overplay the gravitas of his great American hero.
There's truth to his heart when he expresses how much easier it was to be a country lawyer than judge and jury when dealing with the fate of a soldier accused of desertion. Details of the period are quite vivid, with one of the most touching moments dealing with a wounded Scott expressing his emotions about the president, unaware that he's actually speaking to him, with Haas in attendance, re-reading the address for him. A touching film giving another angle of the civil war and another point of view of arguably America's greatest president. -
Alex-25518 June 1999I enjoyed this film immensely. Robards was, as always, delightful. However, I felt that the true star was the young actor portraying Tad Lincoln. He had a very difficult role-- portraying young and full of hope, yet sickly. How can one expect a young actor to act such complex emotions opposite a toy steamboat? Where is young Andrew Winton today?