Customer Reviews

Stealing Lincoln's Body

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
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Very informative documentary. Most people have no idea what our 16th president's body went through until it's final resting place some 30 years AFTER his assasination. Did you know that the original "Lincoln's Tomb" had to be rebuilt due to faulty construction, or that the president's body was buried in the basement of the tomb (not in the vault above) for over a decade for fear of another attempt at stealing it! This film goes into great detail about how the body was preserved, the journey across Amercia and the plot to steal it.Digital reconstruction of the body in the casket and of Lincoln himself. A must for history buffs, Lincoln historians and those just curious. Well worth it!

This is the most unique Lincoln program I have ever seen. Using modern "Motion Capture" animation technology, (think Tom Hanks in Polar Express) Lincoln literally comes to life like never before. (excepting the various Lincoln shows at Disneyland and Walt Disney World) They used real images of Lincoln in a computer and had an actor in a "motion capture suit." The result is the most interesting, unique and maybe even startling video I have even seen.

I loved this gem of history past but what is really facinating is the technology used that made Mr. Lincoln "come to life". We see him walking down the White house staircase, walk down the street tipping his hat to people as they walk by and, along with his wife Mary, sitting in the box at Ford's Theatre at the moment of his assassination by a pistol shot to the back of his head at the hand of actor John Wilkes Booth. It is just like seeing actual clips of Lincoln bringing him to life (and death) again. This is a "Must Have" for the collection of any admirer of our sixteenth president who died just five days after saving the union of the United States after four years of a bloody Civil War. *****

This documentary about a foiled attempt to steal Lincoln's body is a little-known blurp in our history. The 1870s were a turbulent time in this country, as Reconstruction wrapped up yet hatred remained between North and South.

Any fan of Lincoln would love this documentary because of the topic. This documentary isn't so much about Lincoln's life retold yet again, but rather about his death and (afterlife) shown from a new perspective. Who would think to imagine what it must have been like to transport his decaying body via railroad through the Midwest, as it slowly starts smelling the boxcar? Or the process of embalming his body, a new science at the time? This documentary is the last possible documentary one could have made without being redundant.

I plopped this DVD in "just to check it out" and was glued to the screen from the start. The graphics in this documentary, especially seeing Lincoln so life-like was like watching him get killed up-close all over again. The assassination scene is quite gruesome as his body slumps to the lower left and toward Mary. This is an eerie yet fascinating simulation of what Lincoln was like in his final days on earth, and the near absurd plot to steal his body. I am still amazed anyone would think of robbing a grave for someone's bones.

I watched this on the History Channel and was amazed at the events that happened to the body of our greatest president after his death. I can't believe that these events are not better known to all of us. Had I not seen the show, I never would have known. I bought the video, so I can get as many people to watch it as I can. Not just the details of the story, but the making of it was very well done!

What has been said about this documentary does not need to be repeated. It is a four star film about Lincoln and the plot to steal his remains.

I want to reassure the hearing impaired that this is closed captioned. Although there is not a section in the main menu for closed captions, rest assured that as long as your TV has the ability to view films with closed captions, it will work for you.

Snap up a copy of this award winning documentary as fast as you can. You will not be disappointed.

Enjoyed this story a lot. So many things I never knew that went on back in the days when I thought Americans were respectful of the dead.

I saw this program once on television and realized that I had to have it. When I went to purchase it, however, I found that it was horribly expensive and only came in packs. So when I found this one at such a good price I snagged it. Worth every penny.

As a lifelong fan of Abraham Lincoln, I had to get the book as soon as it came out. The narrative is richly detailed and informative and fascinating - there's so much, in fact, that the documentary couldn't encompass it all.

Something not much remarked on by other reviewers here (at least that I could find) is how funny many parts of this documentary are. I think Lincoln himself would have laughed out loud at the humor. The humor is aptly placed - it centers largely on the mind-bogglingly inept criminals at the heart of this story. Example: one of the criminals specialized in counterfeiting...nickles? Think Keystone Cops, and you'll have an idea.

Of course, book and documentary alike are tender and touching when it comes to Lincoln and the people who loved him. The narrative is respectful of the history, and as noted by others here, the technology used to bring the story to life is interesting (but never overwhelms its purpose).

This is one of our favorite documentaries on television, and every time it comes on, whatever the hour, we stop to watch it again...we're watching it right now, in fact, while I write this review.

For anyone who thinks history is boring, this is the documentary that could change their mind. We viewers are lucky that such care, attention, and intelligence was devoted to putting this film together.

Book and documentary alike are HIGHLY recommended! They complement each other perfectly - and the author is not only an excellent writer, he also one of the many delightful, deft and knowledgeable historians who appear in the documentary!

An amazing documentary on a little known part of Lincoln's history. It's hard to believe that such a thing could happen. Like many of the hardships suffered during Lincoln's life, his final resting place was 35+ years in the making. Very unfitting for one of the greatest Presidents of all time.

A++++++ !