Customer Reviews

American Experience: The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

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2 star:		(1)
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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.

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.

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.

All of the "American Experience" productions that I have seen have been well done.
This is no exception. A great background for younger viewers to fully understand recent films like "The Conspirator" and "The Hunt for John Wilkes Booth". The only thing missing here would be a bit more background and Pres. Lincoln's relationship with his cabinet members, generals and congress.

Abraham Lincoln is my favorite president, and therefore I am interested in various dvds and/or videos about him. Especially, ones that are produced by PBS' American Experience series. I highly recommend this dvd to anyone interested in Abraham Lincoln and/or a fan of PBS' American Experience series.