• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Video Codec: AVC MPEG-4
• Resolution: 1080p/24 (23.976Hz)
• Audio Codec: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, English DVS Dolby Digital 2.0, French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
• Subtitles Color: White
• Region: A (B? C?)
• Rating: PG-13
• Run Time: 150 Mins
• Discs: 4 (2 x Blu-ray + 1 x DVD +1 x Digital Copy)
• Digital Copies: iTunes
• Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
  
• Blu-ray Release Date: March 26, 2013
• List Price: $45.99

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Overall
[Rating:4.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:3/5]

Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures

(The below TheaterByte screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG at 100% quality setting and are meant as a general representation of the content. They do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)

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The Film

[Rating:5/5]

Lincoln, the latest effort from Director Steven Spielberg, follows Abraham Lincoln and his attempts, during January 1865, to pass the 13th Amendment (which would eventually pass, thus abolishing slavery.) While the majority of his cabinet felt that he should instead focus on the end of the Civil War, Lincoln felt it imperative that this amendment pass as he didn’t want former slaves to become slaves once more following the end of the Civil War. Along the way, Lincoln finds some Republicans, known as the Radical Republicans, being led by Thaddeus Stevens (Tommy Lee Jones), fearing the amendment will not pass. The rest of the film deals with this, as well as the final four months of his life, ultimately leading up his to assassination. What results is nothing short of yet another brilliant effort by Spielberg, featuring a rather impressive performance by Lewis.

Going back as far as The Last of the Mohicans, I’ve found myself continuously enthralled  by Daniel Day-Lewis and his method acting. Not only is he able to methodically act out each and every scene, but his performances transform the audience back to whatever time period the character lives in. This trend continues in Lincoln. Here portraying quite possibly one of the most famous men in all of history, Lewis captures (one can assume based on history) the utter essence of who and what Lincoln was. Calm in one scene, serious in the next, Lewis is method acting is all about. In one of the included features below, Producer Kathleen Kennedy discusses how Lewis amazed her and Spielberg each and every day. “He’s very immersed into the character, in each and every scene.” While there are numerous other excellent performances here, Lewis defines this movie, making it, quite possibly, Spielberg’s finest film to date. 

Video Quality

[Rating:5/5]

Lincoln arrives with a 2:40:1 framed, AVC MPEG-4 encoded transfer, one of which brilliantly captures long-time Spielberg collaborator Janusz Kaminski’s visions. The film in and of itself has quite the dark look and feel to it, with a majority of sequences being shot with very little artificial light. While some may find scenes hard to make out, I found it actually helped to bring home the thematic elements of what Lincoln was both emotionally and psychically going through. With that said, Kaminski has a very keen eye for how he wanted this film to stylistically look. Low lit sequences, as I had mentioned, dominate here, however, detail is never lost. Close-ups result in fine texture details and the image as strong contrast levels. We can easily make out the fabrics on the coats worn by the varying characters. Anomalies like that of print damage, scratches and what not, are obviously absent here. Kaminski and Spielberg’s vision for Lincoln results in a truly splendid transfer.

Audio Quality

[Rating:5/5]

The film’s included DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix is excellent. Dialogue is, as one might expect, well reproduced via the center channel. Even though dialogue does dominate many sequences, atmosphere is still quite impressive. We continuously hear background activity, whether dialogue or little, intricate effects from John Williams’ sweeping score. Speaking of the score, I found this particular Williams effort to be one of his recent best. The score is touching at times when called upon, yet epic in tone when need be. LFE delivers, again, thanks in part to the splendid use of Williams’ score. Even though there aren’t many ‘demo’ sequences, I was still very pleased with what Disney has produced here.  All in all, like the video presentation, the film’s lossless effort is one of the best of the early 2013 titles.

Supplemental Materials

[Rating:3/5]

The included features are presented in High Definition:

• The Journey to Lincoln – Spielberg and his collaborators discuss the challenges and excitement of bringing this story to the big screen.
• A Historic Tapestry: Richmond, Virgina – Spielberg discusses the historical significance of Richmond, Virginia, and why he chose to shoot the film there.
• In The Company of Character – Daniel Day-Lewis, and his portrayal of Lincoln, are discussed here via cast and crew interviews.
• Crafting The Past – Here we get to examine the re-creation of Lincoln’s era through authentic period details in production design, costume and makeup.
• Living With Lincoln – Spielberg, and his cast and crew, discuss the battle at Jenkins’ Ferry, as well as the epic 13th Amendment showdown in the House of Representatives.
• In Lincoln’s Footsteps – The film’s sound design, film editing, and score by John Williams is touched upon.
• Digital Copy – A Digital Copy of the film has been included on a separate disc, playable in iTunes.
• DVD – A DVD of the film has been included on a separate disc.

The Definitive Word

Overall:

[Rating:4.5/5]

Simply put, Spielberg and co have created an epic film, highlighted by an excellent performance by Daniel Day-Lewis. Disney’s Blu-ray is perfect as well, with a truly fine technical presentation, as well as a few features. While I would’ve liked to hear a commentary by Spielberg or Lewis, I can’t overly fault this release. Highly, highly recommended!

Additional Screen Captures

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BestBuy.com:

Purchase Lincoln on 4-disc Blu-ray Combo Pack at CD Universe

Shop for more Blu-ray titles on Amazon.com

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[amazon-product]B00BOLFRKW[/amazon-product]

[amazon-product]B009AMANH4[/amazon-product]

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BestBuy.com:

Purchase Lincoln on 4-disc Blu-ray Combo Pack at CD Universe

Shop for more Blu-ray titles on Amazon.com

Overall
[Rating:3/5]
The Film
[Rating:5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1/5]

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