Lincoln on Screen
Jonathan Horn ·
June 22, 2012 at 3:20am
In case you thought the previews were a joke, a movie called "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" is actually opening in theaters tomorrow. Later this year, director Steven Spielberg will release his own ode to the 16th president more blandly yet appropriately titled "Lincoln." That means the president who has inspired an estimated 16,000 books will be the subject of two major films this year.
Here's the question: What's the best portrayal of Lincoln you've ever seen?
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May '11
Re: Lincoln on Screen
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Hands down.
Mar '11
Re: Lincoln on Screen
Raymond Massey in Abe Lincoln in Illinois and twenty two years later in How the West Was Won. Talk about milking a role.
Feb '12
Re: Lincoln on Screen
Henry Fonda in Young Mr Lincoln 1939
Obama in a stove pipe hat just don't cut it somehow..
Oct '11
Re: Lincoln on Screen
I am looking forward to the Lincoln/vampire mashup!
Oct '10
Re: Lincoln on Screen
Admirable choice, but I guess you haven't been to The DisneyWorld Hall Of Presidents, my man.
Jan '11
Re: Lincoln on Screen
I'm not sure I've ever seen a good one, one that conveys anything of who the real Abe was.
Apparently Daniel-Day Lewis is going to portray Lincoln. He's a good actor, so maybe it'll work.
One thing to remember: Lincoln was 6 foot 4. He was as tall, and perhaps taller than John Wayne. That made a difference, especially to the people at the time.
What I never see captured is the sheer force of the man as a speaker. They usually portray him as squeaky, somewhat stiff, and delivering quotes as if he was delivering memorable movie lines. But remember, in their day, speakers would talk for a couple hours. The accounts say that Lincoln was a terrific speaker who would hold the audience for the entire time. You have to be a polished entertainer to do that, a master of the stage, to hold an audience for three hours. And Lincoln did it regularly.
I hope they portray Lincoln as a man who could connect with America. He wasn't just a tragic figure.
May '10
Re: Lincoln on Screen
I hope Spielberg's decision to make a film about Lincoln now has nothing whatsoever to do with President Obama's election or reelection campaign.
The cynic in me thinks... well, pretty much what the rest of me thinks.
Aug '10
Re: Lincoln on Screen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPX2cQP8uoI
Jun '10
Re: Lincoln on Screen
KC Mulville: I'm not sure I've ever seen a good one, one that conveys anything of who the real Abe was.
Apparently Daniel-Day Lewis is going to portray Lincoln. He's a good actor, so maybe it'll work.
One thing to remember: Lincoln was 6 foot 4. He was as tall, and perhaps taller than John Wayne. That made a difference, especially to the people at the time.
What I never see captured is the sheer force of the man as a speaker. They usually portray him as squeaky, somewhat stiff, and delivering quotes as if he was delivering memorable movie lines. But remember, in their day, speakers would talk for a couple hours. The accounts say that Lincoln was a terrific speaker who would hold the audience for the entire time. You have to be a polished entertainer to do that, a master of the stage, to hold an audience for three hours. And Lincoln did it regularly.
I hope they portray Lincoln as a man who could connect with America. He wasn't just a tragic figure.
Speaking of the Duke, I always thought Genghis Khan was his best role. Wah-ha.
Re: Lincoln on Screen
Star Trek. I think he helped Kirk kill a Klingon. Died in the process, too.
I'm not making that up. Okay, they made it up, but I'm not making it up.
Sep '10
Re: Lincoln on Screen
Sam Waterston does a great Lincoln. His reading of the Gettysburgh Address with Ashokan Farewell playing in the background is spectacular and captures the way I imagine Lincoln.
Jun '10
Re: Lincoln on Screen
Hmmm...Now this could be interesting...
Jun '12
Re: Lincoln on Screen
There was a 1988 TV miniseries based on Gore Vidal's book, starring Sam Waterston and Mary Tyler Moore, which I thought was pretty good. Sam Waterston mastered Lincoln's nasal twang and his lack of pretense. Contemporary observers say that when making a speech, Lincoln's voice was high-pitched with a somewhat nasal mid-western accent. More a trumpet than a tuba.
Jan '11
Re: Lincoln on Screen
James Lileks: Star Trek. I think he helped Kirk kill a Klingon. Died in the process, too.
I'm not making that up. Okay, theymade it up, but I'm not making it up. · 6 hours ago
No no. That Lincoln was created out of Kirk's memory. He wasn't the real Lincoln, only the Lincoln that Kirk admired.
[Note to self: Debating a Star Trek nuance? Serious need of coffee. Get thee to a percolator. Now!]
Jul '10
Re: Lincoln on Screen
KC Mulville
James Lileks: Star Trek. I think he helped Kirk kill a Klingon. Died in the process, too.
I'm not making that up. Okay, theymade it up, but I'm not making it up. · 6 hours ago
No no. That Lincoln was created out of Kirk's memory. He wasn't the real Lincoln, only the Lincoln that Kirk admired.
[Note to self: Debating a Star Treknuance? Serious need of coffee. Get thee to a percolator. Now!] · 4 hours ago
If that Lincoln was real enough to James Kirk, then who are we to argue the point? - Besides.... technically it hasn't happened yet.
Re: Lincoln on Screen
I agree. He did a very nice job in The Civil War documentary.
Oct '10
Re: Lincoln on Screen
Not a screen performance, but Aaron Copeland's A Lincoln Portrait is simply amazing. I've had the great fortune to perform it twice. Copeland weaves Lincoln's words and his own music into an moving testament. The words of a great American and the record of America's great crisis, set to quintessentially American music.
Edited on June 23, 2012 at 12:13amRe: Lincoln on Screen
Thanks for sharing about this. Hope to have the chance to see it.
J. D. Fitzpatrick: Not a screen performance, but Aaron Copeland's A Lincoln Portrait is simply amazing. I've had the great fortune to perform it twice. Copeland weaves Lincoln's words and his own music into an moving testament. The words of a great American and the record of America's great crisis, set to quintessentially American music. · Jun 22 at 3:11pm
Edited on Jun 22 at 3:13pm