This is a nice piece of work, but far from being ideal. It was clear the filmmakers had little funds so that they used the re-enactors to show the battle scenes, and the color scheme in those differs a lot. But that is OK. The film itself is a bit too long and bit too unrealistic. Gore Vidal was a writer and he did bring a lot of fiction onto real events. But despite all this, Watterson and Tyler did their main parts well and that counts as a big plus. In general, not bad, but still, much weaker than many other Civil War films of the era. The movie pays a decent tribute to the life and sufferings of a real great man, but it often tends to drag along or slow down painfully quite too often. Recommended but with some caution

I must disagree strongly with the correspondant who describes this film as garbage. I believe the production team, the writer and the efforts of Waterston and Tyler Moore have brilliantly captured Vidals characterisation of Honest Abe, both as politician and as a family man. Vidals GENIUS is the bi-play between Lincoln and Seward and Lincoln and Chase but in a three hour film it would be quite impossible to portray these intense rivalries and do any justice at all to the quality of the book. Many characters from the book are missing and there is no play at all of the assassination plotters that threads through the book. Nevertheless the Lincoln that has been lifted from the page makes for a most enjoyable film and well worth a viewing

This was a well done movie, particularly for television. Sam Waterson's performance as Lincoln was well done. This will be evident to people who have taken the time to study Lincoln, the man, not what he is credited for. Lincoln is known for having a high pitched, "countrified" voice, which Waterson did very effectively. Lincoln was known for normally being a bit haggard looking, which was also portrayed well. His mannerisms and use of colloquialisms in conversation were accurately handled. The supporting cast did a fine job, particularly Richard Mulligan as Seward. Mary Tyler Moore was very effective portraying Mary Lincoln as they wanted it done in the movie. She certainly conveyed Mary Lincoln's mental shortcomings well. My only complaint is that the battle scenes used the same stock footage over and over, being that one can tell it was all filmed at one location. This is a good movie in general, and if you are a student of Lincoln, the man...surprisingly so.

I really expected a better performance from Waterson. He looks too frazzled and the dialogue often rings false. Moore came across well as a woman losing it bit by bit.