Spielberg's Lincoln trailer lands

Cape Town - Steven Spielberg has debuted the new trailer for his much-anticipated historical drama Lincoln, which charts US president Abraham Lincoln's efforts to abolish slavery.

Lincoln stars British actor Daniel Day-Lewis as the much-loved 16th President of the United States, who served from 1861-1865, and led the US during its most turbulent period – the Civil War.

DreamWorks has announced that the film "will focus on the political collision of Lincoln and the powerful men of his cabinet on the road to abolition and the end of the Civil War."

The trailer features scenes of the bloody battlefields as Lincoln and his cabinet debate the 13th amendment to guarantee the promise of the Emancipation Proclamation – and has for months been generating heavy Oscar buzz, particularly for two-time Oscar winner Day-Lewis.

Acclaimed cast

As befits a Spielberg production, Lincoln's cast is fleshed out with a host of acclaimed actors such as Sally Field as First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as their only surving son Robert Todd, Tommy Lee Jones as radical abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens, David Strathairn as Secretary of State William Seward, Jared Harris as future president Ulysses S Grant, and Lee Pace as Mayor of New York City Fernando Wood, who strongly opposed Lincoln's plans.

While no audio recordings of Lincoln's voice exist, Day-Lewis' interpretation is bound to elicit debate as he declares: "This settles the fate for all coming time. Not only for the millions now in bondage, but of unborn millions to come."
 
Spielberg said in the Google+ Hangout video chat to launch the new trailer on Thursday: "We treat him as a man, not a monument."

Lincoln is set for release in the US in early November, while South Africa will only see it in cinemas in February 2013.

Watch the first Lincoln trailer here: