THE ALAMO (2004) - This one recieved some bad reviews, but I liked it and was able to sit all the way through. Yes, the portrayal of Davy Crocket was stretching it, but I think they were trying to catpure the spirit of his personality or the spirit of their created personality and called him David Crocket. I thought they were going to do a completely revised version of events based on the recent documents from a Mexican Captain of the times stating that Davy Crockett and some others tried to escape and where executed outside the walls of the Alamo. I'll give it a thumbs up.
(http://www.cinemasavvy.com/a/images/alamo.jpg)
Actually, the alternative execution scenario has been around for some time, but has been more prevalent over the past 20 years. Although it has validity, as do several alternative scenarios (as most of what is known of the Alamo is based on the sayings of a 15 year old girl who is always represented as a full grown woman), I still prefer the fighting to the death scenario (even though it is most likely fictitious). The best representation I have seen, based on the American version of events, is the made for TV movie which starred James Arness and Brian Keith. The John Wayne movie is well done and has beautiful cinematography, but it is seriously flawed in its historical representation; most notably in its representation of Jim Bowie. Although I would prefer the fighting to the death scenario, it would be interesting to see a version based more on the Mexican documents than on the accounting of a 15 year old girl.
Hey, where's Fess Parker?
Forgot about him (and how could I). Fess parker, like Arness, had the height to play Bowie. I felt that Parker was a bit too much of a pretty boy to pull off playing a grizzled character, but Arness didn't suffer from that.(:
It got alot of bad reviews, because alot of critics have a hard time separating historical fiction from historical fact, prefering historical fiction. And as much or as little we know about what really happened, this is regarded by historians as the most reliablely historical version yet.
I would like to know whether there is a director's cut, as from what I understand, a number of scenes were cut out of it, to get it down to its theatrical running time.
And if you can, lay your hands on the paperback tie-in, which I have, which was based on one of the early scripts. The book is quite good as well.
I saw this at a friends house awhile ago and I didn't like it to much. For some reason when comes to alot of these current epic movies (Troy, Alexander) I have grown a distaste for them. They try to hard to pass it as "real histroy". On that note don't know why I liked King Arthur.
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Most of all I hate dancing then work, exercise, people,stupid people
Could have been. The movie was supposed to be made by writer John Sayles and driector Ron Howard, but they couldn't fin a proper deal and it ended in other people's hands. The cast is alright, specially Billy Bob Thornton as David Crockett, but the direction is TV - movie like, flat and uninspired, and the script too unidimensional, as it presents the Mexican soldiers as if they were villains of an spaghetti western. A film to watch and forget.
Hey, Ron Howard was developing this pulled out because of script problems and Disney not giving him the budget for the actors he wanted.
Billy Bob was still going to be Davy Crockett, but Howard wanted Russell Crowe as Sam Houston, Viggo Mortensen as Jim Bowie, and Ethan Hawke as Travis. When Howard left Crowe dropped out , I believe he was the only to have been officially cast.
This was only John Lee Hancock's second film. The first was the baseball movie The Rookie with Dennis Quaid.
Post Edited (08-19-05 15:06)
It wasn't a great film, but kinda like 13 DAYS OF GLORY. The same in mediocre quality and look. Liked all four films about the Alamo by the way.
The Alamo (2004)
The Alamo (1960)
13 Days of Glory
Last Command
Also Howard wanted a more violent movie, as in "R" violent, but Disney wanted at most a PG-l3 film, so Howard went on to do the western "The Missing,"