Alamo, the: Amazon.ca: DVD: DVD

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John Wayne drew on what he learned from John Ford, Howard Hawks, and practically everyone who directed him during his long career when he made his own directorial debut on this labor of love. The Alamo is a sprawling, unabashedly patriotic epic of the sacrifice made by 187 men defending the Alamo from Santa Ana's bigger and better equipped army. Wayne stars as Col. Davy Crockett, the straight-talking, fun-loving frontiersman turned senator, with Laurence Harvey as the stiff, by-the-book Col. William Travis and Ricahrd Widmark as the legendary Jim Bowie who bristles under Travis's military protocol. The mix of regular army soldiers, Texican irregulars, scouts, and civilians makes for a volatile melting pot, but they all come together in a time of crisis in this metaphor for Wayne's heroic vision of America. Wayne spared no expense in this, one the last of the old fashion Westerns, re-creating the Alamo in exacting detail and corralling a cast of Western icons and old friends, including Richard Boone, Chill Wills (who earned an Oscar nomination), Hank Worden, Denver Pyle, Ken Curtis, and Olive Carey, in addition to teen heartthrob Frankie Avalon and Wayne's son Pat. Even old pal and spiritual godfather John Ford lent a hand shooting second-unit footage. Wayne is no Ford, but despite himself (and a talky script), he delivers an entertaining film full of intriguing characters and excellent action scenes, earning the film an Oscar nomination for Best Picture in 1960. Remember the Alamo! --Sean Axmaker

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Customer Reviews

57 Reviews

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(8)

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3.7 out of 5 stars (57 customer reviews)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still Waiting For the 2-Disc Special Edition, May 22 2004

By

F. Adcock (Silsbee, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alamo, the (DVD)

One could easily say that seeing this film for the first time was a turning point in my life (it probably had a great impact on a lot of other 6-year old boys, too). To this day, John Wayne's "The Alamo" still has a firm grip on me emotionally.

True, the film is not accurate to history, but I dare anyone to name a movie that is! As I stated in my review of "The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc", Hollywood makes "movies", not documentaries (and most documentaries don't agree on the details of the Alamo, anyway). Movie producers, like John Wayne, try to make an "entertainment", to sell tickets and make money. Anyone who thinks film makers are honor-bound to tell the truth on the screen is kidding him or herself.

So the question is: Does this movie entertain? Speaking subjectively, I say a resounding "Yes!". I guess there's still a lot of 6-year old in me.

One suggestion I have for Ted Turner (or whoever makes the DVD decisions over at MGM) is to release the roadshow Director's Cut version on a 2-Disc Special Edition. Include the 40-minute documentary found on the current disc, and any other archival footage pertaining to the film (Oscars, premiere, interviews). I would also like to see the television special, "Spirit of the Alamo", that John Wayne hosted in 1960. A part of it was used in the aforementioned documentary, but it would be nice to see the program complete for a change. Perhaps the discs could also include a printed history of the Alamo and other events during the Texas Revolution, so viewers won't come away from the film thinking they just witnessed the truth.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars John Wayne shoulda got a Best Director Oscar, April 15 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Alamo, the (DVD)

John Wayne's version of The Alamo is one of my favorite Alamo movies, next to the recent epic blockbuster The Alamo with Billy Bob Thornton as Davy Crockett, Jason Patric as James Bowie, Patrick Wilson as Col. William B. Travis, and Dennis Quaid as General Sam Houston.
John Wayne wanted to tell the story of the famous battle at the Alamo and it's sacrifice, but he couldn't do it because the movie studio, Republic Pictures, the one he was under contract with, said he could only act in it and not direct it or he could direct it and not act in it.
So Wayne decided to strike out on his own to make his picture, he selected the principal actors and the extras, he built his own set of the Alamo mission and it's inner courtyard and the town of San Antonio de Bexar, and most of the money that Wayne spent on the movie came from his own pocket.
I mean, John Wayne wanted to make The Alamo and he did, I personally think that he should have been nominated and perhaps, awarded a Best Director Oscar for his direction of The Alamo.
I have the DVD version of this movie, but the one I have is the one with John Wayne standing in front of the Alamo holding his rifle on his shoulder, I don't this version yet.
John Wayne: Best Director: The Alamo

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4.0 out of 5 stars They should rate this movie PG or PG-13, April 13 2011

By

Kevin Barton (Whitby, ON Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Alamo, the (DVD)

Although this movie has some western and war violence and action, this movie should be rated PG or PG-13 because of western and war violence and action. I wonder why in the 60's they did not rate this movie to be PG? Why not M for mature audiences?

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun to watch
There are histories and histories. Until recent time's history was told by the winner and we could not help but adjust it to make it more interesting. Read more

Published on Jun 29 2006 by bernie

2.0 out of 5 stars A few good scenes, mostly nonsense
The script of this movie is awful. There are so many historical inaccuracies. There's also a lot of schlock in the movie. Read more

Published on May 21 2004 by Susan J. Bybee