Lincoln

Steven Spielberg's critically acclaimed "Lincoln" honors the legendary President with a stellar 4-disc set that is both beautiful and informative. While some felt the film was a bit long in the tooth, there's no denying how beautiful the film looks, and on Blu-ray this fact is perfectly illustrated. Following the last four months of President Lincoln's life as he sought to abolish slavery, the film (written by Tony Kushner) is very talky and stoic, but features an astounding performance by Daniel Day Lewis as Lincoln. Sally Field also does excellent work and the photography by Janusz Kaminski is spectacular. Sure, all in all it's a bit dry, but surprisingly this works well with home viewing. If you have a nice TV and decent sound, it's a perfectly informative film that not only deals with the politics of the time, but also into the psyche of a man that changed the world.

Special Features are numerous, but thankfully are very interesting. The Blu-ray of the film includes:

"The Journey to Lincoln:" A featurette on bringing the film to life and how they chose to select one particular time of his life to illustrate the man.

"A Historic Tapestry- Richmond, Virginia:" Spielberg and his cast and crew discuss what it was like filming in Richmond and the historical significance of it.

A separate Blu-ray disc of Bonus Features on the 4-Disc release includes:

"In the Company of Character:" A look at the cast and how they went about creating authentic characters, as well as how committed Daniel Day Lewis was to his character.

"Crafting the Past:" This featurette looks at the amazing detail the designers went to in recreating the look of the time period right down to the exact wallpaper and costumes based on the real clothes of the main icons.

"Living with Lincoln:" A more comprehensive look at the shooting of the film including the battle at Jenkin's Ferry and the showdown in the House of Representatives.

"In Lincoln's Footsteps:" The most fascinating of the featurettes, this delves into the editing of the film (how they chose long takes instead of numerous reaction shots to really hone in on Lincoln's intensity and words), the sound design (how Ben Burtt got access to one of Lincoln's actual pocket watches and recorded its ticking), and the score by John Williams and how he used only instruments that Lincoln would have heard at that time.

The set comes with a Blu-ray of the film, a Blu-ray of Bonus Features, the DVD, and a Digital Copy.

For those interested in history, not only is the film well worth viewing, but the features also add to the understanding of the time and place, and the care the filmmakers took in recreating it.

"Lincoln"
4-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack Super Set
$45.99