How was the first half?

I suppose you also saw it on TCM. It was nice that they aired it on Feb. 12, which is Lincoln's birthday. As a Central Illinoisan, I have studied Lincoln's life closely over the years, including visits to numerous Lincoln sites in Springfield and nearby New Salem. Last year I took senior-level college course on Lincoln's life, from which I learned many things about the man that I hadn't known before.

The first half of the film is about Lincoln's life in New Salem and mainly focuses on his alleged romance with Ann Rutledge. It also depicts his service in the Black Hawk War, his jobs as a general store clerk and postmaster, and also his beginnings in politics. After being elected to the state legislature, he first meets with longtime rival Stephen Douglas and eventually makes a transition to city life in Springfield as he decides to pursue a law career. There he meets Mary and they have an awkward and lengthy courtship before they finally marry.

I prefer the second half a little more because it depicts his rise in politics, including his election to Congress and his famous debates with Douglas. I like how it culminates with the election of 1860 and Lincoln makes his farewell speech before departing for Washington. Unlike Young Mr. Lincoln, released a year earlier, A.L. in IL is fairly accurate. There are just some minor things, like Lincoln delivering part of his "House Divided" speech at one of the debates. He also loosely quotes an 1855 letter to friend Joshua Speed in which he fears that the Declaration of Independence will eventually exclude equal rights to "negroes, foreigners, and Catholics." This did not happen either. However, I still find the debate scene quite enjoyable because it seemed to portray Lincoln and Douglas's viewpoints quite well. Gene Lockhart was great in his potrayal of Douglas as a shrewd politician and a powerful orator. Ruth Gordon wonderfully portrayed Mary as a fiercely-spirited driving force behind her husband's success. No disrespect to Raymond Massey here, but I think Henry Fonda was more believable in his portrayal of Lincoln's character and mannerisms, including his high-pitched Kentucky twang, also emulated by Sam Waterston and Daniel Day-Lewis in their portrayals of Honest Abe.

Whenever I see the last shot of Lincoln slowly moving out of view while standing on the train car, it makes me wish that they could have made a sequel about his presidential years. However, Spielberg's Lincoln does seem to make up for that, even if it just covers the last few months of his life. It would be great if there was a scene in which Raymond Massey delivers the Gettysburg Address as a bearded Lincoln.

Okay, well... filibuster.

Thanks, Mcode.