Making History Come Alive
A lot goes into making an effective film accurate. No small detail can be overlooked, or the movie will appear trite and un-researched. Take the latest Stephen Spielberg movie, for instance. Lincoln features superb actors, including Daniel Day Lewis, who is known to spend years researching a character before her portrays him to a tea, and Sally Field, who had to gain wait in order to portray her character, Mary Todd Lincoln.
Movies spend millions to bring history to life, including sets, extras, and costumes. The research that goes into it can often be painstaking. In the case of this movie, costume designers traveled to various locations to study Mrs. Lincoln’s beautiful dresses, including the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution Museum of American History in Washington D.C.
For more information about costume designer Joanna Johnston and the work she put in to accurately portray the designs, visit:
