American Experience: The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

"It was with the assassination that the myth of Abraham Lincoln was born," says James L. Swanson, author of the book on which this documentary is largely based. Thus, it is the events surrounding that day that come to life in this film. With Will Patton providing the voice of John Wilkes Booth and Chris Cooper the narration -- and a bevy of Lincoln scholars adding commentary -- the film tracks the converging paths of Lincoln and his killer.