The Alamo
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Carlos Arruza, Frankie Avalon, Joseph Calleia, Linda Cristal, Veda Ann BorgBrand: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
Primary Contributor: Widmark, Richard
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0; Spanish (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0; French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 2.20:1
Running Time: 162 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-12-19
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Movie Reviews of The Alamo
Movie Review: Colorful Historical Fiction
Summary: 4 Stars
I love this film. It's entertaining as it can be but historically it is way off the mark. The lyrics of one of song goes as follows: "...let the legend grow and grow....'bout those thirteen days of glory at the siege of Alamo..." I think this demonstrates Wayne's philosophy..."let the LEGEND grow and grow..." He had no problem with bending the facts a little to emphasize the glory that was Alamo.
I'm in total disagreement with this philosophy. I think that the actual story of Alamo is so compelling that it shouldn't be fictionalized. So what if a few men, including possibly Davie Crockett, tried to surrender at the end? Outnumbered, out of ammunition and with a bayonet at your throat, ANYONE would have surrendered. It doesn't diminish the heroism by one iota.
That fact is that the men at Alamo--against all military logic--decided to stand despite the possibility/probability of bloody death, says it all. Travis summed it up for all of them, "I'll never surrender. I'll never retreat." He didn't, either. None of them did. No, they didn't kill thousands of Mexicans and the big fight occurred in the darkness of early morning before the sun arose, providing little opportunity for Hollywood cinematography.
Davie Crockett wasn't lanced and he didn't blow the powder room up. The powder and ammunition were captured virtually intact by the Mexicans. Jim Bowie probably was in no condition to put up a last ditch struggle and Joe didn't die protecting his master. Joe, who probably was an actual combatant, survived to become Santa Ana's personal servant.
Still, the movie is grand and the maneuvers of the colorful Mexican army are a thing to behold...not accurate but wonderful. Santa Ana was not only the bastard as portrayed but was also a physical coward. When given the opportunity to die for his country, he surrendered Texas to save his own skin.
Yes, the movie although nonhistoric, does reflect something of the glory and tragedy that was the siege of Alamo.
Ron Braithwaite, author of novels, "Skull Rack" and "Hummingbird God" on the Spanish Conquest of Mexico
Summary of The Alamo
John Wayne drew on what he learned from John Ford, Howard Hawks, and practically everyone who directed him during his long career when he made his own directorial debut on this labor of love. The Alamo is a sprawling, unabashedly patriotic epic of the sacrifice made by 187 men defending the Alamo from Santa Ana's bigger and better equipped army. Wayne stars as Col. Davy Crockett, the straight-talking, fun-loving frontiersman turned senator, with Laurence Harvey as the stiff, by-the-book Col. William Travis and Ricahrd Widmark as the legendary Jim Bowie who bristles under Travis's military protocol. The mix of regular army soldiers, Texican irregulars, scouts, and civilians makes for a volatile melting pot, but they all come together in a time of crisis in this metaphor for Wayne's heroic vision of America. Wayne spared no expense in this, one the last of the old fashion Westerns, re-creating the Alamo in exacting detail and corralling a cast of Western icons and old friends, including Richard Boone, Chill Wills (who earned an Oscar nomination), Hank Worden, Denver Pyle, Ken Curtis, and Olive Carey, in addition to teen heartthrob Frankie Avalon and Wayne's son Pat. Even old pal and spiritual godfather John Ford lent a hand shooting second-unit footage. Wayne is no Ford, but despite himself (and a talky script), he delivers an entertaining film full of intriguing characters and excellent action scenes, earning the film an Oscar nomination for Best Picture in 1960. Remember the Alamo! --Sean AxmakerJohn Wayne produces directs and stars in this "bigger than life" (Life Magazine) chronicle of one of the most remarkable events in American history. At the Alamo -- a crumbling adobe mission -- 185 exceptional men joined together in a sacred pact: they would stand firm against an army of 7000 and willingly give their lives for freedom. Filmed entirely in Texas only a few miles from the site of the actual battle The Alamo is a visually stunning and historically accurate celebration of courage and honor. Co-starring Richard Widmark Laurence Harvey and Chill Wills and garnering seven Oscar?* nominations it is a "truly memorable movie spectacle" (Leonard Maltin).System Requirements: Running Time 162 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: NR UPC: 027616855503 Manufacturer No: 1001270
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