The Alamo
A native Texan, director John Lee Hancock's labor of love is determined to get every detail historically accurate—at least, as accurate as you can get when none of the historical figures in question lived to tell the tale. The attention to detail provides some impressive battle sequences and interesting character studies, particularly Billy Bob Thornton's portrayal of Davy (or as he prefers it, David) Crockett, a man struggling to cope with an impossible reputation. Hancock also deserves credit for making his version of The Alamo the first to go inside Santa Anna's camp and offer insight into the general's personality and motivations, something that's always overlooked in the story. However, while the film makes strides in verisimilitude, it lacks the pizzazz of John Wayne's The Alamo (1960), which sacrificed historical accuracy for Hollywood drama to great effect, particularly the repartee between Wayne's Davy Crockett and Richard Widmark's Jim Bowie.
- April 2, 2005
DVD Extras
The DVD has two decent documentary-type features on the Alamo and the fight for Texas independence called Walking in the Footprints of Heroes and Deep in the Heart of Texans. There is also a "making of" featurette and some deleted scenes that seemed to have been cut for length.