The Alamo [Region 2]
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Movie Reviews of The Alamo [Region 2]
Movie Review: The 'Battle Cry' that broke Santa Anna's back!
Summary: 4 Stars
John Wayne's directorial tribute to the struggle for "The Alamo" symbolized the spirit of resistance of a small group of determined fighters for Texan independence from Mexico...
Texans established a provisional government in 1835 and appointed Sam Houston (Richard Boone) commander in chief of their army... There followed a seesaw battle for control of San Antonio, including the ill-advised defense of the Alamo by a force of fewer than 200 Texas volunteers... General Antonio Lopez De Santa Anna was determined to take this key location in order to impress upon the Texans the futility of further resistance to Mexican ruler...
After a 13-day siege, every fighting man perished under the onslaught of 7,000 Mexican troops... Among the fallen defenders were Cols. William B. Travis, James Bowie and the legendary Davy Crockett... Only Mrs. Dickinson (Joan O'Brien), her little daughter and a black boy survive to provide the eyewitness story of the Siege and the Battle of the Alamo...
John Wayne portrays Davy Crockett, a frontiersman and politician, who saw the future of an independent Texas as his future and he loved a good fight... Crockett and his brave combatants - the Tennesseans, expert marksmen, held their position until death...
Richard Widmark is cast as Colonel Jim Bowie, a reckless adventurer, known for his famous 'Bowie knife'. Bowie has come to fight for Texas independence with a small force of volunteers. He had strong personal friction with Travis which threatens to develop into a private war... The difference in their personalities resulted in the two men sharing a somewhat antagonistic competition for command of the entire garrison... On one point they did agree: "The Alamo" is the most important stronghold of Texas...
Laurence Harvey plays Colonel Travis, "the grand Canyon of Texas," who arrives with 25 men to establish the first line of defense against Santa Anna... Travis is a disciplinarian officer who commanded the Texas defenders during the siege and battle of the Alamo, a genuine hero who anticipated a battle to the death, a polite gentleman who gave the men an opportunity to retreat with honor the ill-fated garrison but explained how important their defense of the Alamo is... His appeal from the Alamo of reinforcements becomes an American symbol of unyielding courage, heroism and self-sacrifice... Travis high moment in the film was when he fired his answer to Santa Anna with a cannon blast: Victory or Death!
With its seven Oscar nominations, including the Oscar-nominated hit song "The Green Leaves of Summer" and a superb score written by Dmitri Tiomkin and song-writer Paul Webster, and featuring some of the most spectacular battle sequences ever seen, "The Alamo," - a sacrifice on the altar of liberty - becomes the 'Battle Cry' that broke Santa Anna's back...
Movie Review: This version has EVERYTHING a great film should have!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is THE definitive version of the battle at the alamo..Not the politically correct,historically accurate version,mind you,but what this version lacks in accuracy it more than makes up for in exciting visual images...
John Wyane was apparently miffed,in the early 1950s,when Republic pictures was making the film"The Last Command"and did not ask him to star in it(not as Davey crockett but,instead,as Jim Bowie,the main charecter in this film)..Fortunately for Wyane,he was able to produce,direct and star in his own academy award nominated version just a few short years later...
John Wyane's vision is more mythical than historic,but so what..Unlike the recent version starring Billy Bob Thornton,Wyane's film seeks to entertain,and on a lavish scale...And unlike the Thornton film,Wyane's film succeeds...
The battle scene at the end of John Wyane's version is among the most exciting ever filmed..Yes,it is filmed in broad daylight,while the actual,historical battle took place in near darkness,but so what?It looks glorious,even if it does depict death and agony...If one is going to make a statement,either in favor of"glory"or against war one must do so in a way in which what is seen will be remembered...Wyane,whose choice was in favor of "Glory"succeeds wildly..The Thornton film,whose battle scene is filmed in near darkness fails because of this choice to be historically accurate rather than otherwise..
The various charecters in the John Wyane film are likeable,especially "the beekeeper"as played by Chill Wills(a performance that earned him an academy award nomination)..Travis,as played by Laurence Harvey is a trifle stiff,but heroic nonetheless..Bowie,as played by Richard Widmark,is blustering but good-natured,and Crockett,as played by the duke himself is larger-than-life...
Sure,some of the dialouge seems stilted,but this seems to be a hazard in any historical feature...one can hardly imagine any figure speaking in such windy terms ,but screenwriters apparently can,and do..I,for one,would love to see historical personages portrayed on screen speaking like they no doubt did when they were alive and could do so..
The music in this film is first-rate,and why not?Dimitri Tiomkin,one of the golden age greats,wrote it and it is stellar..
This is the film version of the alamo saga for the ages..
Movie Review: Flag-waving!
Summary: 5 Stars
Boy you sure wouldn't want a film to have any flag-waving propaganda would you? Whatever happened to loving and being proud of your country even with its faults? I love John Wayne for his flag-waving and wish Hollywood would do more of it instead of much of the trash they spew out now. A great film!Movie Review: Stiff, but entertaining
Summary: 4 Stars
I love John Wayne, but the direction here is a little stiff.
Another reviewer complains about Lawrence Harvey's accent being British instead of southern. We really don't know what type of accent someone born in the south around 1800 would have. It might be closer to British than the southern accent of today, or 1959 when this was filmed.
The road show version is about 3-1/2 hours and is only available on TCM. They showed it last month. It probably has not been released on DVD because it would require 2 disks for a proper treatment and wouldn't sell all that well. It's a really long 3-1/2 hours. Few movies, like "Ben Hur," can go that long without falling on their face.
The Amazon descriptions indicate Dolby Digital 2, but my copy of the 2000 DVD release has the original Todd-AO 6 channel sound used to create a Dolby 5.1 surround sound track.
Fabulous score!
Movie Review: The 'Battle Cry' that broke Santa Anna's back!
Summary: 4 Stars
John Wayne's directorial tribute to the struggle for "The Alamo" symbolized the spirit of resistance of a small group of determined fighters for Texan independence from Mexico...
Texans established a provisional government in 1835 and appointed Sam Houston (Richard Boone) commander in chief of their army... There followed a seesaw battle for control of San Antonio, including the ill-advised defense of the Alamo by a force of fewer than 200 Texas volunteers... General Antonio Lopez De Santa Anna was determined to take this key location in order to impress upon the Texans the futility of further resistance to Mexican ruler...
After a 13-day siege, every fighting man perished under the onslaught of 7,000 Mexican troops... Among the fallen defenders were Cols. William B. Travis, James Bowie and the legendary Davy Crockett... Only Mrs. Dickinson (Joan O'Brien), her little daughter and a black boy survive to provide the eyewitness story of the Siege and the Battle of the Alamo...
John Wayne portrays Davy Crockett, a frontiersman and politician, who saw the future of an independent Texas as his future and he loved a good fight... Crockett and his brave combatants - the Tennesseans, expert marksmen, held their position until death...
Richard Widmark is cast as Colonel Jim Bowie, a reckless adventurer, known for his famous 'Bowie knife'. Bowie has come to fight for Texas independence with a small force of volunteers. He had strong personal friction with Travis which threatens to develop into a private war... The difference in their personalities resulted in the two men sharing a somewhat antagonistic competition for command of the entire garrison... On one point they did agree: "The Alamo" is the most important stronghold of Texas...
Laurence Harvey plays Colonel Travis, "the grand Canyon of Texas," who arrives with 25 men to establish the first line of defense against Santa Anna... Travis is a disciplinarian officer who commanded the Texas defenders during the siege and battle of the Alamo, a genuine hero who anticipated a battle to the death, a polite gentleman who gave the men an opportunity to retreat with honor the ill-fated garrison but explained how important their defense of the Alamo is... His appeal from the Alamo of reinforcements becomes an American symbol of unyielding courage, heroism and self-sacrifice... Travis high moment in the film was when he fired his answer to Santa Anna with a cannon blast: Victory or Death!
With its seven Oscar nominations, including the Oscar-nominated hit song "The Green Leaves of Summer" and a superb score written by Dmitri Tiomkin and song-writer Paul Webster, and featuring some of the most spectacular battle sequences ever seen, "The Alamo," - a sacrifice on the altar of liberty - becomes the 'Battle Cry' that broke Santa Anna's back...