Lincoln

"The hours that changed history."

2012 2h 30m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 4,165

HistoryDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The revealing story of the 16th US President's tumultuous final months in office. In a nation divided by war and the strong winds of change, Lincoln pursues a course of action designed to end the war, unite the country and abolish slavery. With the moral courage and fierce determination to succeed, his choices during this critical moment will change the fate of generations to come.

“The hours that changed history.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Daniel Day-Lewis
Abraham Lincoln
Sally Field
Mary Todd Lincoln
David Strathairn
William Seward
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Robert Lincoln
James Spader
W.N. Bilbo
Hal Holbrook
Preston Blair
Tommy Lee Jones
Thaddeus Stevens
John Hawkes
Robert Latham

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Steven Spielberg
Writers: Tony Kushner
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America, India

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 150 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $65M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.2× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 14 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United States of America, India.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Steven Spielberg, shot by Janusz Kamiński. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Michael Kahn shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Steven Spielberg directs. Janusz Kamiński behind the camera. John Williams scores. Michael Kahn cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America, India. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 150 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
2Mid-budget at $65M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
3Made its money back 4.2× over at the box office.
4Released 14 years ago.
5International production across 2 countries: United States of America, India.
6Directed by Steven Spielberg, shot by Janusz Kamiński. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by John Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Michael Kahn shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Daniel Day-Lewis and Sally Field and David Strathairn carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "The hours that changed history.".
11IMDB entry: tt0443272 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 19 themes, including "mutiny", "usa president", "based on true story", "speech".
13Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Janusz Kamiński
Original score: John Williams
Editing: Michael Kahn
Production design: Rick Carter
Costume design: Joanna Johnston
Makeup / hair: Lois Burwell
VFX supervisor: Ben Morris
Sound: Ben Burtt
Stunt coordinator: Garrett Warren
Runtime: 150 min · 2h 30m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $65,000,000
Box office: $275,300,000
Return: 424% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Lincoln (2012)

Awards

Satellite Award for Best Film
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
Academy Award for Best Production Design
Academy Award for Best Actor
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Steven Spielberg

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

n22kwhips2013-07-19
Very powerful journey back into history!
Andres Gomez2015-02-13
★ 7/10
It lacked a big deal of rhythm but the revision of the history and, specially, the great performance by Day-Lewis makes it a movie worth watching.
Peter McGinn2020-11-13
★ 9/10
This is a flat out great movie. I first watched it several years ago and enjoyed it, so recently I noticed it on the IMDB streaming service and decided to watch it again. I still think it is great. I guess I had forgotten that it was a Spielberg film, so why wouldn’t it be great? It was many years in the making and was partially based on Doris Goodwin Kearns excellent non-fiction book Team of Rivals. The cast is excellent: Daniel Day-Lewis is really impressive as President Lincoln. Lincoln is believable, human, showing several sides of his personality. He is at times funny, wise, empathetic, coarse, tortured and — well, everything I would expect after reading so much about him over the years. For me, the movie lost a little of its energy when it shifted to the political maneuvers undertaken concerning the obtaining of votes to pass the amendment Lincoln wants to push through Congress, but it is integral to the plot, illustrating that Lincoln was pragmatic and willing to play the game to achieve his goals. Because he narrowed the scope of this Lincoln biopic to the last months of the great president’s life, Spielberg was able to cover a lot of ground, and explore the issue of slavery and the war from numerous perspectives. I do regret watching it through that streaming service. I don’t mind ads, but they popped in randomly, sometimes twenty minutes apart, once five minutes apart, and always right in the middle of scenes. I plan to watch it again, with no commercials. I suggest you do the same.