Rated: NRSynopsis: A sprawling, long-winded, and unabashedly patriotic spectacle, John Wayne's The Alamo provides the definitive motion-picture representation of the 13-day siege that enabled Texas to secure its independence from Mexico. This 1960 epic, a deeply personal project that obsessed Wayne for years and sapped his personal fortune, plays fast-and-loose with historical reality; nonetheless, it admirably conveys the indomitable spirit of the martyred "Texicans" whose heroic defense of an old mission in San Antonio bought precious time for the burgeoning rebel army that ultimately defeated Mexican general Santa Anna. Wayne, who produced and directed the picture (reportedly with some assistance from his old friend and mentor, John Ford), plays Davy Crockett to Richard Widmark's Jim Bowie and Laurence Harvey's William Travis. The battle scenes are lavishly mounted and impeccably staged, but there's more to The Alamo than gunsmoke and cannon fire: James Edward Grant's script is peppered with stirring odes to democracy, and Dimitri Tiomkin complements Wayne's images with one of his most evocative musical scores. MGM's latest DVD release presents the film in its traditional release version of 161 minutes; a longer cut -- the film's "roadshow" version -- appeared on laserdisc some years ago. John Wayne's directorial debut The Alamo is set in 1836: Wayne plays Col. Davy Crockett, who, together with Colonels Jim Bowie (Richard Widmark) and William Travis (Laurence Harvey) and 184 hardy Americans and Texicans, defends the Alamo mission against the troops of Mexican general Santa Ana. There's a lot of macho byplay before the actual attack, including the famous "letter" scene in which Wayne craftily rouses the patriotic ire of his subordinates. Also appearing are Richard Boone as Sam Houston, and Chill Wills (whose somewhat tasteless Oscar campaign has since become legendary in the annals of shameless self-promotion) as Beekeeper. Wayne's production crew was compelled to reconstruct the Alamo in Bracketville, Texas, about a hundred miles from the actual site. Dimitri Tiomkin's score, including "The Green Leaves of Summer," received generous airplay on the Top-40 radio outlets of America. Rumors persist that Wayne's old pal John Ford directed most of The Alamo; cut to 161 minutes for its general release, the film was restored to its original, 192-minute length in 1992. Hal EricksonPRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES:Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1)Presentation: Wide ScreenSound: Dolby DigitalFeatures: "John Wayne's The Alamo" documentary; Collectible booklet; Original theatrical trailerLanguage: English, Français, EspañolSubTitles: Français, EspañolTime: 2 Hours 42 Minutes
Rated: PG13Synopsis: One of American history's most colorful (and increasingly controversial) episodes is dramatized on the big screen yet again in this lavishly appointed epic, which combines fact and fiction in a genuinely engaging manner. The year is 1836, and American-born settlers in Mexican-controlled Texas stage a revolt against military dictator Santa Anna (Emilio Echevarria). Holed up in an old Spanish mission outside San Antonio, squabbling Texans Jim Bowie (Jason Patric) and William Travis (Patrick Wilson) are joined by legendary frontiersman Davy Crockett (Billy Bob Thornton) and a small band of fortune-seeking Tennesseans, only to be outnumbered and besieged by an army of thousands, while awaiting reinforcements lead by General Sam Houston (Dennis Quaid). Director John Lee Hancock (The Rookie), perhaps overly encumbered by the script's wealth of factual material, doesn't always maintain a strict timeline in depicting the 13-day siege. The complexities of the Texan-Mexican quarrel are never really addressed, and key historical figures -- such as Stephen Austin -- are either given short shrift or ignored altogether. But the Battle of the Alamo is vividly staged and incorporates both recently discovered facts and hotly contested suppositions -- among them the belief that Davy Crockett survived the battle. At times The Alamo is confusing, mostly due to choppy editing and inadequately elucidated motivations, but on balance it's a rousing historical drama depicting an event that even today continues to have surprising relevance to Americans. Re-teaming Dennis Quaid with John Lee Hancock, the director of 2002's The Rookie, The Alamo retells the story of the historic 1836 battle in the Texan War of Independence. Facing 4,000 Mexican troops, 186 Texan soldiers and volunteers -- including William Travis (Patrick Wilson), Davy Crockett (Billy Bob Thornton), and Jim Bowie (Jason Patric) -- retreat within the walls of the Alamo, a Franciscan mission that was converted into a military fort. Once inside, the men prepare themselves for what will be a bloody battle to the death, as General Sam Houston (Quaid) leads the charge from the outside. Emilio Echevarria and Jordi Molla co-star. Matthew TobeyPRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL NOTES:Presentation: Pan & ScanFeatures: Walking in The Footsteps of Heroes; Deleted scenes; Return of the Legend: The making of The Alamo; Deep in the Heart of Texans; Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound; THX-Certified - Includes THX optimizer; Fullscreen (1.33:1); French language track; French and Spanish subtitlesLanguage: EnglishTime: 2 Hours 17 Minutes
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