My image of Abraham Lincoln is now that of Daniel Day-Lewis in Spielberg's Lincoln, but for all my life until that movie, Raymond Massey was Lincoln. It's a marvelous performance of a functioning depressive, filled with the good humor we use to shield us from the world. Even though this movie has no need of my recommendation, I'd like to point out a key part of the movie that is not often mentioned: James Wong Howe's great, Oscar-nominated cinematography. If you look at this again, notice the beautifully lit and composed sets, and the deep-focus shot as the crowds gather to bid him farewell. Greg Toland's work on CITIZEN KANE is usually cited for the innovation of deep focus, but Billy Bitzer was doing shots like that thirty years earlier, and Howe had been using the technique for a decade and a half, at least as early as THE KING ON MAIN STREET, and particularly in William K. Howard's TRANSATLANTIC.
Even more that the lighting, however, is the way the images of the sets progress. Early ones, set in Kentucky and the forests around New Salem are lovely. As he moves closer to the works of man, the sets become more utilitarian.
Moving pictures are first about the pictures. There's certainly much else to appreciate and enjoy in this movie. However, that's what I noticed tonight.
Even more that the lighting, however, is the way the images of the sets progress. Early ones, set in Kentucky and the forests around New Salem are lovely. As he moves closer to the works of man, the sets become more utilitarian.
Moving pictures are first about the pictures. There's certainly much else to appreciate and enjoy in this movie. However, that's what I noticed tonight.