I bought this from Warner Archive without remembering that it ever existed. I was somewhat surprised that I hadn't previously thought of Henriksen as a potential Lincoln, but he really does look more like the President than any other actor I've seen in the role, including Royal Dano. The makeup is excellent, but Henriksen's face is already 2/3 of the way there. He's a greatly underrated actor; he approaches all his roles with dedication, focus and intelligent; the same is true here. In the header I said he's one of the best Lincolns; actually, he may be >the< best, rivaled only by Henry Fonda and Raymond Massey. But everything about this understated, well-researched movie is outstanding; I was surprised and pleased by how good it is.

This fine film was like an intellectual feast for a history buff like me. We finally have a decent film about one of the darkest events in American History. I think the only other film I can remember that was devoted exclusively to Lincoln's murder was The Lincoln Conspiracy (!). This is another great historical film from TNT. Rob Morrow and Lance Hendricksen are both splendid. Its almost like a Biblical morality play capturing Lincoln's good and Booth's absolute evil (Morrow is positively chilling as the assassin, it sort of reminds me of Frank Sinatra in Suddenly). The details of this film are absolutely correct, they even remember to mention the fact that Lincoln dreamed of his own murder just a few nights before. The suspense is well handled especially leading up to the assassination. This is a fine adaptation of Jim Bishop's book and I am amazed at all the ground they covered in just a two hour movie! If you get a chance rent it on video. By the way, Booth shouts "sic semper tyrannis" when he kills Lincoln. For those of you who never had Latin, that means "Death to the tyrants"

I really enjoyed this movie. What makes this movie so good is the great performance by Lance Henricksen. He truly is one of the greatest actors of all time. If you want to see him at his best see this movie. Lance Henricksen was born to play the role of Abraham Lincoln. I also recommend "Aliens", "Pumpkinhead", and "Hard Target" to see him at his best. I give this movie 10/10

TNT's The Day Lincoln Was Shot has to be the most accurate and well devised movie of the genre to date. Much care has been taken with authenticity (with a few minor glitches here and there) in an attempt to determine what actually happened, how it happened and why. Solid acting talent, an eye for detail and a well devised script have made once again a docu-drama that stands the test both historically and as solid, fast-moving entertainment. Turner has done it again. Bravo!