History

Drama

The Alamo

Imagine Entertainment

Touchstone Pictures

United States of America

English

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Dennis Quaid

Billy Bob Thornton

Jason Patric

Patrick Wilson

Emilio Echevarría

Edwin Hodge

Emily Deschanel

Jordi Mollà

Leon Rippy

Marc Blucas

Robert Prentiss

Kevin Page

Joe Stevens

Stephen Bruton

Laura Clifton

Ricardo Chavira

Steven Chester Prince

Estephania LeBaron

Brandon Smith

Elena Hurst

W. Earl Brown

Rance Howard

Nathan Price

Tom Davidson

Afemo Omilami

Dean Semler

Carter Burwell

Philip Steuer

John Lee Hancock

Ron Howard

Todd Hallowell

Stephen Gaghan

Mark Johnson

Eric L. Beason

Leslie Bohem

Dan Webster

Carla Curry

Michael Corenblith

Edouard F. Henriques III

Daniel Orlandi

Ronna Kress

Lauren E. Polizzi

Dan Bronson

Mitchell Ray Kenney

Elaine Ramires

Charisse Cardenas

Phil Neilson

Al Hobbs

Jon Johnson

John Roesch

Kip Larsen

Tom Ward

David E. Fluhr

Larz Anderson

Jerry Evans

Ana Martinez

Van Redin

Christian P. Minkler

Ken Rogerson

Randy Severs

James J. Gilson

John L. Lewis

Randall D. Wilkins

Mark O'Kane

Kenneth Garrett

Stephany Baskin

Yvonne Wilburn

Bryan Lawson

Adam Milo Smalley

Laura Hodges

C.P. 'Phil' Schriber

Eric A. Williams

Laura Gary

Gina Grande

Kevin Cross

Dewey Rash

Patrick Thornton

Craig Barron

Deana Newcomb

Austin Anderson

K.C. Hodenfield

Louisa Velis

Andy deBruyn

Anna Abbey

Chelsea Carpenter

Thomas V. Johnson

Angela Angel

Shane Patrick

Tony Rivetti Sr.

Craig Byrom

William F. Gambill

Nanrose Buchman

Annette Hoffman

Raul V. Carrera

Carol F. Doran

Thomas Real

Gloria Ciraolo

Trevor Doyle Nelson

Mateo Barnstone

Kim Santantonio

Fred L. McLane

Kevin Lin

Simon Walton

Roger Basquette

Brown Cooper

Ross Macdonald

Wendy Bonn

Sonny Kompanek

Steve Allen

Erick Garibay

Steve Drake

Kathleen McGill

Don Thompson

Richard E. Chapla Jr.

David M. Roberts

John Arszyla

Chris Silver Finigan

Steve Salada

Joel Poage

Keith Bilderbeck

Charles Coulter

Jeff Schweikart

Meg Beatty

Bert Beatson

Peter McGinn

Welcome to the murky middle ground where legend and history meet. I enjoyed this movie as an earnest attempt to tell this iconic legend in a slightly different way. Its variance from the legend may make cinema purists uncomfortable, but I have read a lot about the Alamo over the past 40 years and don't feel threatened by it. History, after all, is written by the winners. I think the last scene with Davy Crockett is based on a book by a Mexican soldier, but I am not 100% sure. Some historians suggest the battle was begun while everyone slept and was over in minutes. The first best selling biography of David Crockett (his descendants say he never went by Davy, that that was a Walt Disney concept) may have made up some of the legend now accepted as nearly factual.

I like the line Billy Bob Thornton as David Crockett gives about the burden of being Crockett, the legendary Crockett, that is, rather than the private Crockett he is not allowed to be. It is just as well that the battle turned out to be such a rallying cry for Sam Houston's army, because it doesn't feel like it accomplished much else. Well, except for providing material for an entertaining movie, that is.

Didn't enjoy this.

<em>'The Alamo'</em>, to me at least, is an incredibly slow-paced and rather boring 137 minutes. Not even the free-for-all action sequences bring any true entertainment, due to the chaotic filming nature of them; I get there's supposed to be pandemonium, but the camera work is a mess.

Another negative to note is the score, which is one of the poorest I've heard. It's so soppy and full of itself at times it makes it almost unwatchable, though in fairness isn't helped by the direction. I get they were attempting to show the lives of the people involved, but two-second dialogues and dramatic music doesn't attach you to characters.

The cast don't do anything majorly wrong, but I couldn't find a connection with any of them. Billy Bob Thornton is probably the best in this, as he portrays Davy Crockett. Dennis Quaid doesn't get enough to work with as Sam Houston, while none of the others standout - not even Emilio Echevarría as Santa Anna.

This should be edge-of-your-seat stuff, it isn't - at least for me.

CinemaSerf

Unfortunately, you have to compare this with the John Wayne version from 1960, and it doesn't really hold up very favourably. Patrick Wilson is Colonel Travis trying to command a garrison of Texan freedom fighters holed up in an old Catholic Mission against the overwhelming forces of Mexican General Santa Anna. His task is made the harder by the fact that he is a bit inept, and has some very strong characters to try to lead - not least Davy Crockett (Tommy Lee Jones) and Jim Bowie (Jason Patric). Unlike the earlier version, this story takes us beyond the well told story of the siege, and as such better completes the story of the birth of Texas as an independent state. Better, but as to the acting - well that is all pretty mediocre, sterile even. The dialogue is wordy and lacking in much humour and these undoubted characters are underplayed by all concerned. The production is of an high standard - it looks good, but all told it comes across as a television movie frequently peppered with large scale re-enactments that would not be out of place supporting a country fair.

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The Alamo

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Cast

Dennis Quaid

Billy Bob Thornton

Jason Patric

Patrick Wilson

Emilio Echevarría

Edwin Hodge

Emily Deschanel

Jordi Mollà

Leon Rippy

Marc Blucas

Box office

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