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Will Patton
- John Wilkes Booth
- (voice)
Guy Gane
- John Wilkes Booth
- (as Guy W. Gane III)
Gregory Labenz
- Union Cavalry Officer
- (as Greg Labenz)
Chris Cooper
- Self - Narrator
- (voice)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
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Featured review
Very well done.
This episode of "The American Experience" is about the Lincoln assassination--the events leading to it, the killing and the aftermath. I was surprised, a bit, by this episode because I've seen several other documentaries on these events and "The American Experience" version stuck much closer to the actual facts. Very little supposition or talk of a more vast conspiracy were missing. For the most part, I appreciated this as some shows seem more interested in creating controversy than anything else--such as asking whether Secretary Stanton or guards were part of the plot (even though there really isn't any evidence of this). The only thing I wish they had questioned was the guilt or innocence of Dr. Samuel Mudd--as MANY historians have questioned whether his life sentence in very harsh conditions in the Tortugas was merited as he MIGHT have been innocent and might not have known who Booth was when he patched him up that night. Perhaps this might make for a good documentary by itself, as later Mudd became a hero, of sorts, during an outbreak of some plague and earned his release.
Aside from my questions about Mudd that were not discussed at all in the show, this is an outstanding episode of an outstanding series. Once again, PBS shows that their documentaries about America are simply the best you'll find. Well worth watching, thorough and interesting.
By the way, one portion of the film I really appreciated was talking about the 'Myth of Lincoln' following his death. He really was NOT a popular president and many hated him--yet when he became the first president assassinated, everyone suddenly thought he was among the very greatest men in American history!
Aside from my questions about Mudd that were not discussed at all in the show, this is an outstanding episode of an outstanding series. Once again, PBS shows that their documentaries about America are simply the best you'll find. Well worth watching, thorough and interesting.
By the way, one portion of the film I really appreciated was talking about the 'Myth of Lincoln' following his death. He really was NOT a popular president and many hated him--yet when he became the first president assassinated, everyone suddenly thought he was among the very greatest men in American history!
- planktonrules
- Mar 23, 2012
- Permalink
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