Good movie for anyone wanting a dramatization of battles fought for Texas' independence.

Rating: Null/10 (14 October 2004)

I live pretty near Washington, Tx, where the Republic of Texas began almost 200 years ago. The park, Washington on the Brazos, has a remarkable visitor center with displays which tell the story of Texas. This movie, The Alamo, was made by Texans to show, as accurately and entertainingly as possible, the fall of The Alamo to Santa Anna, followed closely by the eventual defeat of same by Sam Houston to secure Texas' independence from Mexico. Santa Anna saved his life by agreeing to sign away the territory. Dennis Quaid, a native Houstonian, plays Sam Houston very effectively. Billy Bob Thornton is a hoot as Davy Crockett, violinist and sharpshooter, and spinner of tall tales. Overall a very satisfying movie for anyone who is interested in the subject.
The DVD's sound and picture are first rate. The extras are worth seeing. During the filming of the Alamo scenes and battles, the extras were asked to look over a list of all those who died defending the Alamo, and pick an actual person to portray. Some of the extras actually descended from those deceased hero's, and played their own great grandfather or distant uncle. When you see the scene in the movie, you can see it on their faces. They were not 'just extras', they were standing in the place of those real hero's, and it made a difference.