Fist official trailer of Steven Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln’

The first full official trailer for Steven Spielberg‘s Lincoln is now out.

Based on the book from Doris Kearns Goodwin’s non-fiction best-seller “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln,” Spielberg gets back behind the camera to direct two-time Academy Award winner Daniel Day-Lewis in a revealing drama that focuses on the 16th President Abraham Lincoln’s tumultuous final months in office. In a nation divided by war and the strong winds of change, Lincoln pursues a course of action designed to end the war, unite the country and abolish slavery. With the moral courage and fierce determination to succeed, his choices during this critical moment will change the fate of generations to come.

Liam Neeson spent several years attached to reunite with his Schindler’s List director on the project, but took a pass in 2010. Pulitzer Prize-winner Tony Kushner handled scripting duties on Lincoln, reuniting him with Spielberg after their previous historical drama collaboration on Munich. Kushner’s capacity for crafting eloquent dialogue should befit the conversation-heavy proceedings in Lincoln; his screenplay also shouldn’t suffer from the same problems as other biographies more sprawling in scope, such as Clint Eastwood’s (clunky) J. Edgar.  

This is the second Lincoln movie this year, similar to what Snow White went through. Spielberg elaborated on that idea, saying:“Our movie is really about a working leader who must make tough decisions and get things done in the face of overwhelming opposition… [We begin with] Lincoln’s realization that the Emancipation Proclamation, the thing he is most known for, was simply a war powers act that would easily be struck down by any number of lawyers after the cessation of hostilities after the Civil War. He needed to abolish slavery by constitutional measure — and that’s where we start.”

Lincoln stars Oscar-winners Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph-Gordon Levitt (The Dark Knight Rises), David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck.), John Hawkes (Martha Marcy May Marlene), Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen), Jared Harris (Mad Men), Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies), Walton Goggins (Justified), James Spader (Boston Legal), and Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man).

Lincoln begins a limited U.S. theatrical release on November 9th, 2012 (it opens wider on the 16th).