Lincoln (2012)
83%RT Audience Score: 81%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Daniel Day-Lewis characteristically delivers in this witty, dignified portrait that immerses the audience in its world and entertains even as it informs
Lincoln is a movie that will make you feel like you’re back in history class, but with a lot more drama and a lot less boredom. Daniel Day-Lewis is a chameleon, transforming into the iconic president with ease. The film is a fascinating look at the political process and the fight for democracy, with just the right amount of sentimentality. Plus, who doesn’t love a good ole’ fashioned civics lesson?
Production Company(ies)
ARTE Ariel Films, Arsam International,
Distributor
DreamWorks SKG
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
TV-MA
Year of Release
2012
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:16:9 HD
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Runtime:2h 29m
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Language(s):
-
Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Nov 16, 2012 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 26, 2013
Genre(s)
Biography
Keyword(s)
Lincoln, PG-13, Biography, 2h 29m, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook, directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Tony Kushner, produced by Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, reviewed by Deborah Ross, Larushka Ivan-Zadeh, J Hoberman, David Thomson, Donald Clarke, Charlotte O’Sullivan, Mike Massie, Richard Propes, Yasser Medina, David Lamble, Jim Ross, starring Abraham Lincoln, Mary Todd Lincoln, Secretary of State William Seward, Robert Todd Lincoln, W.N Bilbo, Francis Preston Blair, box office gross $182.2M, intense scene of war violence, brief strong language, some images of carnage, Civil War, 13th Amendment, slavery, democracy, politics, historical accuracy, Oscar-winning performance, political drama, American history, legislative detail, shape shifter, sophisticated dialogue, thrilling, entertaining, thought-provoking, talkie, schmaltz-free, engrossing, stirring, captivating, informative, educational, inspiring, emotional, powerful, epic, cinematic, accurate, minimal Hollywood glorification, top-notch accuracy, no sentimental BS, political, drama
Worldwide gross: $275,293,450
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: $182,207,973
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Sally Field – Mary Todd Lincoln
David Strathairn – Secretary of State William Seward
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – Robert Todd Lincoln
James Spader – W.N. Bilbo
Hal Holbrook – Francis Preston Blair
Director(s)
Steven Spielberg
Writer(s)
Tony Kushner
Producer(s)
Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Art Direction Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Winners
All Critics (285) | Top Critics (69) | Fresh (253) | Rotten (32)
Its narrative swoop largely takes the legislative detail in its stride, plus the star is Daniel Day-Lewis, which is always a thing. He is not so much an actor, more a shape shifter.
September 4, 2018
Deborah Ross
The Spectator
TOP CRITIC
It’s an intricate, thought- provoking and (be warned) very talkie study of democracy that is almost entirely schmaltz-free.
September 1, 2017 | Rating: 5/5
Larushka Ivan-Zadeh
metro.co.uk
TOP CRITIC
Lincoln is an engrossing and even stirring civics lesson that tries, with admirable responsibility if only mixed success, to give voice to black America.
August 16, 2017
J. Hoberman
Tablet
TOP CRITIC
It’s very good, but that’s not the point. It’s necessary.
June 14, 2013
David Thomson
The New Republic
TOP CRITIC
Against the odds, Spielberg makes something genuinely exciting of the backstage wheedling.
January 25, 2013 | Rating: 4/5
Donald Clarke
Irish Times
TOP CRITIC
[Spielberg is] a man on a mission. And his not so secret weapon is Day-Lewis, an actor so charismatic it’s hard to think clearly while he’s on screen.
January 25, 2013 | Rating: 3/5
Charlotte O’Sullivan
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
A history lesson at its core, but it’s cleverly buried beneath one magnificent performance and several strong supporters.
December 2, 2020 | Rating: 6/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
A good film blessed with an extraordinary and surefire Oscar caliber performance from Daniel Day-Lewis.
September 14, 2020 | Rating: 3.0/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
Lincoln is not only an avid biopic, it is a pleasant historical lesson that captures the thinking of an era where social ideas were diffused by a political party duality. [Full review in Spanish]
June 25, 2020 | Rating: 7/10
Yasser Medina
Cinemaficionados
In a truly epic first act, the equal of anything in the David Lean canon, Steven Spielberg and his screenwriting collaborator, playwright Tony Kushner, frame the awful dilemma Lincoln faced in what would prove to be the last four months of his life.
June 19, 2020
David Lamble
Bay Area Reporter
Spielberg has put together a film that is reverent but not fawning; familiar but not clichéd; measured but not ponderous.
February 13, 2020
Jim Ross
TAKE ONE Magazine
There is a reason the eternal flame of Lincoln burns so brightly to this day. Thanks to Steven Spielberg, you can see the legacy, meet the man and “feel” the fabric of history…
November 27, 2019
Debbie Lynn Elias
Behind The Lens…
Plot
Mickey Haller, an iconoclastic idealist, runs his law practice out of the back seat of his Lincoln, as he takes on cases big and small across the expansive city of Los Angeles. Sidelined after an accident for almost a year, Haller is back in the courtroom, recovering from a drug habit. When Hollywood lawyer Jerry Vincent is murdered, Haller inherits his practice, including the defense of Trevor Elliott, a tech billionaire accused of murdering his wife and her lover. But as Haller prepares for the case that could launch him into the big time, he learns that Vincent’s killer may be coming for him next.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The film features an outstanding performance by Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln.
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