Product Details

• Directors: Barak Goodman
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: PBS
• DVD Release Date: April 7, 2009
• Run Time: 120 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001NY4X1E
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,958 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Studio: Public Media Distribution Release Date: 04/07/2009 Run time: 120 minutes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The assassination, February 12, 2009

By 

Laurie B. Platt (roanoke, va USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: American Experience: The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln (DVD)

Of all the Presidents... it is Abraham Lincoln that I like to read about and to watch the many DVD's out there on this man. This documentary on PBS was fantastic, kept me glued to my chair and now this spring I will pay a visit to the Ford's Theatre and the Peterson House to pay homage to this great man who was gunned down in the prime of his life.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, October 22, 2011

By 

Roger Long "longrush" (Port Clinton, OH USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: American Experience: The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln (DVD)

Perhaps I expected too much after viewing several other selections in the PBS series, but I found this disappointing and superficial. Before I go into that, the program is less than 90 minutes long, not 120 as described.

The program dealt too long with details that had nothing to do with Booth and the assassination. I would have preferred something a bit more focused than this. Omitted were the details with respect to Mary Surratt's part in the plot, a part that resulted in her being hanged. It is mentioned that she had the boarding house where Booth et al. frequently met and that she knew of the kidnapping plan. But she also provided Booth with the "shooting irons" at her Surrattsville house when he fled Washington. The court semtemced her to death but suggested that President Johnson might pardon her. Unfortunately the note sent to Johnson was waylaid. Omitted also was what Dr. Mudd knew or didn't know when he splinted Booth's broken leg. Mudd was later pardoned (along with Spangler) from Ft. Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas. Omitted also was Stanton's strange orders on the night of the assassination, with respect to cutting off all escape routes from Washington--except for the one Booth used, and Stanton ordered others to keep Mrs. Lincoln from the dying president's bedside. Well, you get the idea. There are several more items left unexplored.

Lastly a jarring detail--the devil is always in the details. We see a funeral train passing through the countryside on the way to Illinois in April and early May. In the background are autumn flower and corn of such maturity as one would expect in, say, August or September.

Many books have been written on this subject and many films have been shot. I've read and seen many of the videos and most try to wring every tear and emotion from the audience or reader--without striving for accuracy. I'd like to see something that dealt with the facts as one would deal with evidence in a crime. After all this was a murder. The facts alone carry enough drama.

4.0 out of 5 stars Touching Account, January 26, 2012

By 

Gail K. Powers "Abra" (Harbor Country, Mi,N. Naples, FL, Chicago area) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: American Experience: The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln (DVD)

Reading about all things Lincoln has been a mini career for me since I visited Oak Ridge Cemetery when I was 5. Regardless of what I think I know, programs of this caliber put a fresh perspective on an issue or event. Well done and researched, the narrative by actor Chris Cooper, interviews with historians and authors, and archival pictures and re-enactments flesh out the compelling story of Lincoln's assassination, trip back to Springfield, and the frenzied search for John Wilkes Booth and his conspirators.
While this documentary could have run several hours and I wouldn't have minded that at all, there was obviously a need to compress the story in a compact time frame. It seemed as though this was done intelligently and purposefully. As many times as I've read accounts of these events and knew the outcome, I found myself plastered to the tv screen because this program was interesting and suspenseful.
The what-ifs give the viewer a lot to ponder. What if Boston Corbett didn't kill Booth. What if Lincoln had survived. How would the reconciliation of the states been different. I was flooded with a lot of questions and found this program thought provoking and broadly based.
If you have any interest in this subject, this is worthwhile viewing.