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| Available at Amazon.com |
It may be a tad weird for someone to have a “favorite president,” but I do. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy is by far my most favorite out of all those who have stepped into the White House and governed America. Close behind though in second place is President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln stood for just about everything that is right in the world and wanted to make it a better place, starting with the United States of America. And because he wanted to improve the way of living for many his life was ended early. I wonder if it is by sheer coincidence that my two favorite Presidents both had their lives ended far too soon thanks to assassinations.
On April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln decided to partake in the stage show “Our American Cousin” at the Ford’s Theatre in Washington D.C. It was mere days after the Civil War had ended and Lincoln was celebrating the Union’s win and the end of slavery as they knew it. Little did Lincoln know though that this would be his last night alive as a well-known stage actor by the name of John Wilkes Booth approached silently from behind and shot Lincoln in the back of the head. A day later, Lincoln had passed away and Booth, one of the biggest Confederate supporters, was on the run for his evil deed.
That is what most probably know about Lincoln’s assassination, but there is so much more to it and The Hunt For John Wilkes Booth shows all of that and then some. This documentary takes viewers back in time before his assassination all the way up to almost two weeks after when Booth was finally gunned down by a Union soldier in Virginia. Booth had been part of a group of conspirators that had many kidnapping plans in place for Lincoln and numerous other political figures. This group wanted to prove that their ideas were the right ones and that they could be the power authority in the United States. Oddly enough, they almost came close to proving their points.
In reality, the assassination of President Lincoln was due to be much more elaborate then just his death. Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward were both to be killed at the exact same time as Lincoln causing the Union to go into an absolute panic. This could have possibly opened the door for the Confederacy to rise again and regain control. Both of Booth’s co-conspirators failed in their attempts and were captured, but Booth ended up on the run causing one of the biggest manhunts in history as Union soldiers and officials set out to track him down.
It truly is amazing just how much history is out there that we never learn about in textbooks or classes. From what I recall, Booth’s assassination of Lincoln was talked about very little during my time in school and some friends of mine never even knew Lincoln had been shot. Through documentaries such as this and books by historians we are able to learn as close to the truths as possible without actually having been there. The Hunt For John Wilkes Booth does an excellent job of laying out the information so it is easy to follow along with. Not only are there filmed scenes with actors but also old photos, interviews, and maps that showcase his trails and escape. It really is a very exciting look in one of the greatest, and most tragic, plans in American history.
For those that aren’t big documentary fans, you can still get a lot of this information in a more entertaining way by checking out National Treasure 2: Book Of Secrets. In that film, much of this same information is shown in tne feature film starring Nicolas Cage and Ed Harris. You don’t get the full benefit of the information, but it is still worth checking out.
The film is shown in 1.78:1 Widescreen format looks pretty good for the most part, but the darker scenes appear to have lost a bit of their luster in the transfer to DVD. Some of them are just too dark and a lot of what is going on is hard to see.
The film is heard in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Sound and it more then does its job since this is a virtually dialogue driven documentary.
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You really have to be someone who enjoys history to appreciate this documentary or else you’re going to get bored rather quickly. Through interviews with historians, some beautiful old photographs, maps, and recreations; the story of Booth and Lincoln is told for all to not enjoy so much, but understand. So little is known about this whole time period and maybe it’s because we weren’t meant to or supposed to know. I don’t know about all of you, but this is not only something I want to know, but need to know. How can you go by not caring or knowing a thing about how one of our most beloved Presidents was shot down in cold blood? And it wasn’t just a senseless killing either but a well contrived plan that was carried out fighting for a cause so many stood for. That says something about the way our ancestors and forefathers lived, and many of us don’t even have a clue about it. I highly recommend that all check out this documentary because it will educate you and make you think about all the other things you could be missing out on. There may not be any special features, but the main documentary is more then enough to keep you glued to your seats.
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A&E Home Video presents The Hunt For John Wilkes Booth. Directed by: Tom Jennings. Starring: Michael C. Hall (narration), Jean-Pierre Parent, Dennis Farrell, Shaun C. Grenan, Janet Vincent Lee, John Neely. Running time: 94 minutes. Rating: Not Rated. Released on DVD: May 20, 2008. Available at Amazon.com
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