The Gettysburg Address (2017 film)
| The Gettysburg Address | |
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| Directed by | Sean Conant |
| Produced by |
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| Written by | Sean Conant |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Luke Richards |
| Cinematography | Sean Conant |
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Production
companies |
Rising Picture Company
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Gettysburg Address is a 2017 American documentary written, produced and directed by Sean Conant. The film examines the many influences upon and impacts of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, delivered in the midst of the American Civil War. A soundtrack and companion book to the documentary were released before the film.
Through interviews, period photographs, and archival audio and video, The Gettysburg Address traces the literary, political, and spiritual influences for Abraham Lincoln's historic speech—from Shakespearean cadences and biblical imagery rooted in the King James Bible, to the nationalistic oratory of American statesman Daniel Webster and the ideological stylings of reforming Boston minister Theodore Parker. Civil War soldier sacrifice and Lincoln's personal sufferings are also examined as additional influences for the speech, as well as the Victorian romanticism of death which prompted the rural cemetery movement and provided the inspiration for landscape architect William Saunders' design of the new cemetery in Gettysburg where Lincoln delivered the speech.
The film's wide-ranging themes are cohered by a main narrative centering around Lincoln at Gettysburg, beginning with his invitation to speak at the consecration of the new Soldiers' National Cemetery honoring the fallen heroes of the bloodiest battle in American history. The duress under which the townspeople of Gettysburg survived the battle and assisted in the gruesome aftermath is detailed. The middle of the film chronicles Lincoln's journey to, and footsteps through, Gettysburg—as he interacted with various figures; dined at the home of his host, Gettysburg lawyer David Wills; and continued to work on the speech he would deliver at the Soldiers National Cemetery the following day. The film closely examines the day of November 19, 1863—as Lincoln toured the Gettysburg battlefield, which prompted last-minute alterations of the speech; the procession of all parties from the Gettysburg town center to the cemetery; and the ceremony itself, which featured a main oration by the renowned Massachusetts statesman Edward Everett. The latter half of the film chronicles the legacy of the Gettysburg Address, highlighting historic invocations of the speech by various individuals and groups on their respective paths toward freedom and equality. Interviews with notable proponents of Women's Rights, Civil Rights, and LGBTQ rights are featured.
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