Abraham Lincoln [Blu-ray]

Director: D.W. Griffith D.W. Griffith

Overview

To date, this D.W. Griffith epic is the only talking-picture effort to encapsulate the entire life of Abraham Lincoln, from cradle to grave. The script, credited to Stephen Vincent Benet, manages to include all the familiar high points, including Lincoln's tragic romance with Ann Rutledge (Una Merkel, allegedly cast because of her resemblance to Griffith favorite Lillian Gish), his lawyer days in Illinois, his contentious marriage to Mary Todd (Kay Hammond), his heartbreaking decision to declare war upon the South, his pardoning of a condemned sentry during the Civil War, and his assassination at the hands of John Wilkes Booth (expansively portrayed by Ian Keith). This was D.W. Griffith's first talkie, and the master does his best with the somewhat pedantic dialogue sequences; but as always, Griffith's forte was spectacle and montage, as witness the cross-cut scenes of Yankees and Rebels marching off to war and the pulse-pounding ride of General Sheridan (Frank Campeau) through the Shenandoah Valley. Thanks to the wizardry of production designer William Cameron Menzies, many of the scenes appear far more elaborate than they really were; Menzies can also be credited with the unforgettable finale, as Honest Abe's Kentucky log cabin dissolves to the Lincoln Memorial. As Abraham Lincoln, Walter Huston is a tower of strength, making even the most florid of speeches sound human and credible; only during the protracted death scene of Ann Rutledge does Huston falter, and then the fault is as much Griffith's as his. Road-shown at nearly two hours (including a prologue showing slaves being brought to America), Abraham Lincoln was pared down to 97 minutes by United Artists, and in that length it proved a box-office success, boding well for D.W. Griffith's future in talkies (alas, it proved to be his next-to-last film; Griffith's final effort, The Struggle was a financial disaster).

Product Details

Release Date:	11/13/2012
UPC:	0738329109424
Original Release:	1930
Rating:	NR
Source:	Kino Lorber
Presentation:	[B&W]
Language:	English
Time:	1:33:00
Sales rank:	32,185

Special Features

Introduction to The Birth of a Nation, featuring D.W. Griffith and Walter Huston (filmed during production of Abraham Lincoln)

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Walter Huston	Abraham Lincoln
Una Merkel	Ann Rutledge
Kay Hammond	Mary Todd Lincoln
Ian Keith	John Wilkes Booth
E. Alyn Warren	Stephen Douglas,Gen. U.S. Grant
Hobart Bosworth	Gen. Robert E. Lee
Henry B. Walthall	Col. Marshall
Frank Campeau	Gen. Sheridan
Francis Ford	Sheridan's Aide
William L. Thorne	Tom Lincoln
Lucille La Verne	Midwife
Helen Freeman	Nancy Hanks Lincoln
Oscar Apfel	Stanton
Otto Hoffman	Offut
Edgar Dearing	Armstrong
Russell Simpson	Lincoln's Employer
Helen Ware	Mrs. Edwards
Charles Crockett	Sheriff
Jason Robards Sr.	Herndon
Gordon Thorpe	Tad Lincoln
James Bradbury Sr.	Gen. Scott
Cameron Prud'Homme	John Hay
James Eagles	Young Soldier,Young Soldier
Hank Bell	Actor
Carl Stockdale	Actor
George MacQuarrie	Actor
Ralph Lewis	Actor
Robert Brower	Actor
James Bradbury	Gen. Scott
Mary Forbes	Woman
Henry Kolker	New Englander
Robert Homans	Man
Hugo Riesenfeld	Composer

Technical Credits

Stephen Benét

Gerrit Lloyd

D.W. Griffith	Director,Producer
Joseph M. Schenck	Producer
Stephen Benét	Screenwriter
Gerrit Lloyd	Screenwriter
Bret Wood	Producer