gabriellkolmercc16 I think that this is a good movie. As for myself not being a huge documentary fan, that aspect of he film wasn't so much to my liking. I wish it had been more of a movie with a plot and storyline, without all of the narrating. However for the purpose that I was to watch it (a history class assignment) I learned a lot through it, and despite my negative feelings toward he narration, Tom Hanks does a wonderful job setting the viewer up and giving them a sufficient amount of background knowledge to be able to understand the happenings of the movie. Also at some points throughout the movie, the way that certain scenes were filmed seemed a bit shaken almost, unprofessional-like. Now whether that was done on purpose or not, I was not very pleased with that. I did like the way that before a new event began in the movie, or a new scene, the time, place and date were shown. Again providing the viewer with background information so they don't get too lost in following the story. As for the story itself, the story of the assassination of President Lincoln, in my opinion, was told very well through this movie. I liked the way that it seemed to take an objective approach and just told the story how it happened, without seeming to really advocate for either side more than the other. It was very informative and I thought that the casting was done well too. John Wilkes Booth's character especially fit, I think, because he just seems creepy the whole way through the movie, with his mustache and the journal entries he writes of his self justification for the terrible thing he has done. All in all I think that this movie was a good movie, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about the story of Lincoln's assassination or who particularly enjoy historical documentaries.

OJT Unike the highly acclaimed, and deservedly so, Spielberg film "Lincoln", this film goes behind the assassin John Wilkes Booth and his wish not only to kill the president, but also to overthrow the American government. The story behind the shot at Ford's Theater which killed Abraham Lincokn on April 14th 1865. The story is a docudrama, narrated by Tom Hanks, telling about the attempts to kill Lincoln from right months before, until they managed to do so. Interesting film, made for National a geographic Channel, especially for use to historically accuracy and for educational use, based on the best selling book with the same name by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard. The film is made as accurate as possible, and that down to where people stood on photos, and it is made as a hybrid movie, which jumps out and in of the story, while also using time to dwell in photos and Tom Hanks as the story teller. Hanks is a descendant of Lincoln, hence Nancy Hanks actually was the name of Abraham Lincoln's mother.Not only Lincoln was killed on this night, but it was a conspiracy not unlike a coup d'Etat, when Booth run up on the stage seconds after the killing shouting "Sic semper tyrannis" from the stage afterwards. (So dies a tyrant.) After that starts the biggest man hunt in American history as well.Well worth a watch, and great stuff for usage for educational use, but also compelling watch off others who wants an accurate history telling.

SnoopyStyle Based on Bill O'Reilly's book of the same name, this is a documentary of Abraham Lincoln (Billy Campbell) and John Wilkes Booth (Jesse Johnson) as they head into the history books. Coming so close to Daniel Day-Lewis' amazing performance, Billy Campbell is unable to measure up. Booth is suppose to be a great actor. I wish they got somebody more well known than Jesse Johnson. He does a capable job but he needs a more powerful presence. The surprise comes from Tom Hanks' narration. When it first starts, I thought it was a grave mistake. After some time, his narration grows on me. And I really like the constant repetition of "Lincoln has ______ to live". It's a great way to build tension as the clock counts down. The production is good for a TV movie. I can't really vouch for its academic accuracy. I do wish for more on Booth. Lincoln's story could be trimmed but there is a good sequence of him visiting Richmond after its fall. It's a good watch.

Michael_Elliott Killing Lincoln (2013)*** (out of 4) Tom Hanks hosts and narrates this docu-drama about the final days in the life of Abraham Lincoln (Billy Campbell) who would be assassinated by John Wilkes Booth (Jesse Johnson) and change American history forever. Hanks starts off quickly talking about how history has shown Lincoln as a martyr but then mentions that a minute before his death he really wasn't all that popular. This approach isn't something most documentaries take but it pretty much goes away from anything new and instead just tells us the assassination story again. Last year I watched quite a few documentaries on the Civil War and Lincoln so I've become well versed in the subject. This film here is certainly worth watching but at the same time I do question if it was really necessary to do the film like this. We'll see quick re-enactment of events and then we'll flashback to Hanks who is usually sitting in a chair. He will then tell us something about the events going on (ala.. Lincoln has 12 hours to live) and then we go back to the footage. I think the film probably would have worked just as well had it been done as a straight movie without the narration. I also think it would have been great had Hanks just narrated the entire story. As it is the film is entertaining but I think at times we never really connect with the re-enactments and I think Billy Campbell really gets hosed because he never really gets to come to life as Lincoln. It seems most of Lincoln's greatness is told through the narration so the acting of Campbell really doesn't have much of a part to do. On the other hand, Johnson is simply wonderful in the role of Booth and really manages to steal the film. While the subject might be about Lincoln, the actor makes the greatest attention go to the murderer. The look of the film was quite nice even with the obvious at times CGI. History buffs are certainly going to enjoy this and I think the best thing is how is breaks down what was going on the day of the assassination.