Review: Lincoln On Blu Ray

One of my favorite films of 2012 was Lincoln. I proudly gave it a 10/10 praising the performances, screenplay, and make-up artists. If you didn’t see Lincoln because you thought it would be long and boring; cut the crap and see this movie. I’m not a huge history buff but I was entertained for the entire two and a half hours. Lincoln is a must see for anybody with a good taste in movies (if you saw Twilight that weekend instead, you do not have a good taste in movies).

Lincoln comes to Blu-ray in great fashion. The picture quality and sound are magnificent and there’s a good amount of bonus content that should please fans of the film. There’s unfortunately no Audio Commentary but the rest of the bonus content makes up for it.

I saw Lincoln twice in theaters. Once on opening night, which my review is based on, and another on a field trip for my Junior class (they didn’t seem to appreciate the movie as much as I did). Three times watching this movie and I’m still entertained. I don’t see myself watching this movie over and over again but a viewing once every couple of years should do just fine. Daniel Day-Lewis’s Oscar winning performance is still a joy to watch and Tony Kushner’s Oscar nominated screenplay makes the movie consistently entertaining. The movie does drag on a bit at the end and a good chunk of this movie could’ve been left for the Deleted Scenes, but there really isn’t much to say negatively about Lincoln. It really is one of the best Historical Dramas ever made and one of 2012’s best films.

The movie looks great on Blu-ray. Look past the unfortunate letterbox and you’ll see a very crisp and clean picture. I was worried that some of the darker and “dirtier” scenes (by dirtier, I mean the movie takes place in the 1800’s so the environments aren’t too clean and polished) wouldn’t hold up on Blu-ray but I was generally surprised by the picture quality. The sound, while nothing to write home about, works fine for the movie.

The Bonus Features in the Lincoln Blu-ray include:

Disc 1

“The Journey to Lincoln” (9 minutes) is comprised of interviews from the cast and crew who talk about Abraham Lincoln, the person and how they worked on bringing him to the big screen and some behind the scenes footage. It’s an interesting little bonus feature but it’s nothing that’s really worth checking out.

“A Historic Tapestry: Richmond, Virginia” (4 minutes) is a great look at the place where Lincoln was filmed. You see some great behind the scenes footage and beautiful shots of the city. It’s worth a look if you think it sounds interesting. If you don’t then you probably won’t find much enjoyment out of this feature. Fans of the film will like it.

Credits (1 minute) is a little bit more than just credits for the bonus features. You also see footage of Steven Spielberg shaking hands with all of the poor extras that had to do that “fun” battle scene at the beginning of the movie. Nothing too fascinating but any behind the scenes content is always appreciated.

Disc 2

“In the Company of Character” (10 minutes) is a bunch of interviews and behind the scenes footage of the cast and crew talking about the characters in the movie and the actors that portray them. Similar to the above features, it’s nice to have but nothing really worthwhile.

“Crafting the Past” (11 minutes) is a look at how the sets and costumes were made for the movie. The sets and costumes were some of my favorite parts of the movie so it’s a joy to see a feature about that. It’s very cool to see and one of the best features on the disc.

“Living with Lincoln” (27 minutes) is a feature with interviews from the cast and crew about creating the movie. Many scenes are discussed in detail which makes for a very cool feature. You get lots of behind the scenes footage and hear some interesting information. Don’t let the 27 minute runtime scare you, this is definitely one of the best features in the pack.

“In Lincoln’s Footsteps” (17 minutes) is about the other parts of the film that were not mentioned in “Living with Lincoln.” The music and the different shots are two of the noteworthy elements in this feature. Similar to “Living with Lincoln” it’s a great feature with some fun facts about the movie. Another great feature that’s worth a watch.

Overall

The Bonus Features for the Lincoln Blu-ray, while nothing too fantastic or noteworthy, are great. There are lots of interviews and behind the scenes footage and two great features, “Living with Lincoln” and “In Lincoln’s Footsteps,” that will please even casual fans of the film. An Audio Commentary would’ve been nice or maybe cutting out some footage of the movie and making some Deleted Scenes would’ve been preferable but the content we get is great.

The Verdict

The lack of an Audio Commentary and not so powerful Bonus Features hurt the Lincoln Blu-ray a bit but the picture and sound quality are great and while the Bonus Features aren’t too noteworthy, there’s still a decent bit of content (decent in both quality and quantity). When this particular Blu-ray (the two disc version) is about $20, it’s well worth picking up.