On April 21, 1865 a train departed Washington, D.C. carrying the body of Abraham Lincoln. He would meet a grieving nation on the journey to his final resting place of Springfield, Massachusetts. At the same time, his assailant John Wilkes Booth and a conspirator hid tired, injured, and cold on the banks of a Maryland river, trying to stave off the biggest manhunt in the history of the United States. What possessed Booth, a young, handsome, and successful man to take the life of the President so shortly after the terrible and bloody Civil War had ended? "The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln" is a fascinating documentary that describes events surrounding the first presidential murder in our history, as well as insight into Booth's motives. The film is wonderfully assembled by director Barak Goodman, and the film is given wonderful narration by Chris Cooper. With this film, the exceptional task is achieved of blending the intriguing of true crime programming with the somber and elegiac tones surrounding the demise of one of our nation's foremost figures.
Note: Some of this material was presented earlier this year in Robert Redford's "The Conspirator", a reputable historical rendering.
