The Ultimate Role: The Best Portrayals of Lincoln in Film, TV and on the Stage.
Enter
to Win The Suspenseful Thriller, Killing Lincoln, on Blu-ray June
11th!
Narrated by Oscar winner
Tom Hanks* and produced by Tony Scott (Unstoppable,
The A-Team) & Ridley Scott (Prometheus, American
Gangster), KILLING LINCOLN delivers a thrilling
perspective into the criminal mind of John Wilkes Booth and his
co-conspirators. Watch the conspiracy unfold on Digital HD now and
Blu-ray and DVD June 11 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
– just in time for Father’s Day!
Based on The New York Times
best-selling novel, KILLING LINCOLN is the suspenseful,
eye-opening account of the events surrounding the assassination of
U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. While some aspects of the plot to
slay Lincoln and cripple the newly forming union are widely known,
much more of the history unfolds in this insightful thriller. As John
Wilkes Booth becomes increasingly obsessed with removing Lincoln from
office, a secret faction of conspirators forms, and ultimately
empowers Booth to carry out an event that will change America
forever. Narrated by Oscar® Winner Tom Hanks* and produced by Tony
Scott and Ridley Scott, this historical masterpiece stars Billy
Campbell (TV’s The Killing) in a spectacular turn as President
Lincoln.
*Actor: 1994, Forrest
Gump; 1993, Philadelphia.
In recent months, high profile film and
television projects have been released featuring the United States of
America’s 16th President, Abraham Lincoln. There of course was
Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, a biopic set in the last three
months of his Presidency, featuring the Academy Award-winning
performance by Daniel Day-Lewis (Gangs of New York, There Will Be
Blood, Last of the Mohicans). Spielberg’s Lincoln followed
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, a slightly different take on
The President’s tenure in office, which opened in theaters last
summer. These two projects will add to the list of nearly 300 film
and television portrayals of the man labeled our greatest President.
Billy Campbell is uncanny as the
beloved President in KILLING LINCOLN, which makes its
debut on Blu-ray and DVD June 11th. Here’s a rundown
some of the stand out portrayals of Lincoln in recent years.
1. Henry
Fonda, (Young Mr. Lincoln, 1939)
Henry
Fonda in “Young Mr. Lincoln”
1939 is
considered a banner year for Hollywood, with classic films such as
Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz among the
greatest released that year. John Ford, considered by many to be the
greatest of Western film directors, released two major films that
year: Stagecoach (Which gave birth to the Western as we know
it) and Young Mr. Lincoln. A fictionalized account of
Lincoln’s days as a prairie lawyer, the film features a young Henry
Fonda in one of his early screen roles. Fonda turns in a truly
amazing performance as Lincoln, capturing the tenderness and humor
that Lincoln is known for, while also showing how he would go on to
become a shrewd lawyer and politician. Although not as well known as
other films of its day, this truly captures the spirit of Lincoln in
his formative years in Illinois.
2. Hal
Holbrook (Sandburg’s Lincoln, 1974;
North and South, 1985; North and South, Book II,
1986)
Hal
Holbrook in "North and South"
Hal Holbrook is
one of the few actors who portrayed Lincoln on film more than once.
He first donned the stovepipe hat and beard for what has been called
the first televised miniseries, Sandburg’s Lincoln, based on
the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography by Carl Sandburg. Holbrook truly
did a magnificent job in the role, showing mostly Lincoln’s
penchant for humor, while also showing his softer and political sides
when needed. For his performance, Holbrook would win an Emmy Award
for Best Actor. Eleven years after Lincoln, he would reprise
the role for the adaptation of John Jakes’ bestselling novels North
and South and Love and War, where he delivers a more
tender portrayal of Lincoln during his time in office. Holbrook is
also the only previous actor to portray Lincoln who starred in
Spielberg’s Lincoln, as Francis Preston Blair.
3. Gregory
Peck (The Blue and the Gray, 1982)
Gregory
Peck in "The Blue and the Gray"
Gregory Peck,
star of such classic films as Moby Dick, To Kill a Mockingbird
and The Guns of Navarone, portrayed Lincoln for this 1982
miniseries. Although a relatively minor role in the series, Peck once
again shines out above the rest of the cast, giving a truly memorable
performance as Lincoln (His recitation of the Gettysburg Address is
truly memorable). Peck felt himself too old to portray the character,
but that did not stop him from turning in a fantastic performance.
4. Sam
Waterston (Gore Vidal’s Lincoln, 1988; The
Civil War, 1990)
Sam
Waterston in "Gore Vidal's Lincoln"
Like Hal
Holbrook, Sam Waterston (“Law and Order”) would portray Lincoln
more than once. In 1988, he starred in the adaptation of Gore Vidal’s
novel Lincoln, which looked at the more political side of our
16th President. Many feel Waterston’s portrayal in this miniseries
is the most definitive Lincoln we have on film. Although he does show
his humorous side, he also shows that Lincoln was a shrewd and
powerful politician, able to handle his cabinet and others with great
effectiveness. Waterston earned an Emmy nomination for his portrayal
but he is best remembered for giving voice to Abraham Lincoln in Ken
Burns’ classic documentary, The Civil War, which garnered
tremendous critical acclaim, and high ratings for PBS. Waterston’s
recitation of the Gettysburg Address is just one of the highlights in
what is truly a remarkable document of our nation at war.
5. Fritz
Klein (No Retreat from Destiny: The Battle that Rescued
Washington, 2006)
Fritz
Klein as Lincoln
A powerful but
little-known film, No Retreat from Destiny depicts the events
of July, 1864, when Jubal Early’s Confederate force nearly took
Washington City, but a delaying action at Monocacy allowed time for
Federal troops to defend the capital from invasion. The film features
Fritz Klein, a well-known Lincoln actor, as the President, showing
the resolve to win the war to the end, and refusing to leave the
capital, despite the threat of Confederate invasion. Klein’s
portrayal is subdued, but also shows the talent of a man who knows
Lincoln inside and out, and gives the film’s best performance.
Despite its miniscule $500,000 budget (Which shows at times), the
performances and thrilling battle footage more than make up for it.
6. Benjamin Walker (Abraham
Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, 2012)
Mr. Walker plays Lincoln in 2012's
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. The film was a wild thrill
ride as the President took on Vampires whilst not on his Presidential
duties. Not the most authentic portrayal but certainly the most fun!
7. Daniel Day Lewis (Lincoln,
2012)
Often regarded as the greatest actor of
our time, Daniel Day-Lewis plays the 16th president in Steven
Spielberg’s biographical war drama Lincoln which opened at
the end of last year and went on to earn Day Lewis his third Academy
Award for Best Actor. Interestingly enough, Liam Neeson originally
was considered by the role but pulled out back in 2010. Day Lewis
however embodies the role; he lives and breathes the part bringing a
performance so self-assured that it cannot be captured with words.
ollow Twentieth Century
Fox Home Entertainment on Twitter @FoxHomeEnt
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