The Alamo Movie Review 2004

Dry as a tumbleweed epic is the latest and not so greatest in a dozen odd big-screen tries of dubious success at depicting the historic Texas battle. Thornton stars as Davy Crockett along with Wilson, Patric, and Quaid as William Travis, Jim Bowie, and Sam Houston who, along with 189 others, form the "Texican" holdouts who, after nearly two weeks of anxious waiting, battle the Mexican army of nearly 2,500 and their General, Santa Anna (Echevarria). Mostly tedious waiting, while the actual battle is surprisingly sterile. Thornton (if not his character) emerges unscathed with an excellent performance, especially in the winning rooftop fiddle serenade scene. Supporting work is more uneven. Big-budgeter looks great and is exacting in historical accuracy but ultimately lacks dramatic punch and a cohesive plot.

Distribution

Buena Vista Home Entertainment, 500 S. Buena Vista St., Burbank, CA 91521-1120, Toll-free: 800-723-4763, URL: http://www.bvhe.com

Available on DVD
Running time 137 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Historical Drama, Mexico, Period Piece: 19th Century, Westerns, Big Battles, Gunslingers, Texas

Screenplay

John Lee Hancock, Leslie Bohem, Stephen Gaghan

Cast

Dennis Quaid, Billy Bob Thornton, Jason Patric, Patrick Wilson, Emilio Echeverria, Jordi Molla, Leon Rippy, Marc Blucas, Tom Davidson, Robert Prentiss, Ken Page, Joe Stevens, Steven Prince, Tom Everett, Brandon Smith, Rance Howard, Stephen Bruton, Emily Deschanel, Laura Clifton, Edward "Blue" Deckert

Cinematography

Dean Semler, John O'Connor

Director

John Lee Hancock

Music

Carter Burwell

Other

John Pritchett, Eric L. Beason, Dan Webster, Lauren E. Polizzi, Daniel Orlandi, Michael Corenblith

Producer

Ron Howard, Mark Johnson, Imagine Entertainment, Touchstone Pictures, Buena Vista