Search - The Alamo on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Questionable for Children Movie Release: 1960 DVD Release: 12/05/2000 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English, French, Spanish Subtitles: French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 42 mins Studio: MGM Members Wishing: 0 Genres: Western, Historical Film, Epic Western, Historical Epic

John Wayne's directorial debut The Alamo is set in 1836: Wayne plays Col. Davy Crockett, who, together with Colonels Jim Bowie (Richard Widmark) and William Travis (Laurence Harvey) and 184 hardy Americans and Texicans, defends the Alamo mission against the troops of Mexican general Santa Ana. There's a lot of macho byplay before the actual attack, including the famous "letter" scene in which Wayne craftily rouses the patriotic ire of his subordinates. Also appearing are Richard Boone as Sam Houston, and Chill Wills (whose somewhat tasteless Oscar campaign has since become legendary in the annals of shameless self-promotion) as Beekeeper. Wayne's production crew was compelled to reconstruct the Alamo in Bracketville, Texas, about a hundred miles from the actual site. Dimitri Tiomkin's score, including The Green Leaves of Summer, received generous airplay on the Top-40 radio outlets of America. Rumors persist that Wayne's old pal John Ford directed most of The Alamo; cut to 161 minutes for its general release, the film was restored to its original, 192-minute length in 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John Wayne - Col. David Crockett
Richard Widmark - Col. James Bowie
Laurence Harvey - Col. William Barrett Travis
Frankie Avalon - Smitty
Richard Boone - Gen. Sam Houston
Patrick Wayne - Capt. James Butler Bonham

In the early 1990's, MGM/UA released a triple-disc laserdisc box of the complete, restored 192 minute version of The Alamo which, for all of its flaws, is a fairly powerful and compelling movie, however one may feel about the actual historical event represented; that laserdisc box came with all manner of supplementary materials, and it was very impressive. But when the company issued The Alamo on DVD in late 2000, for reasons best known to themselves they used the edited 162 minute version, which is missing some key and very exciting scenes, and is generally a less impressive movie. The mastering is not quite a match for the triple-disc laser set, though it is superior to the image on the older double-disc 162 minute laser edition. The color is solid if not exactly rich, and the image reveals greater detail than the laser, mostly by virtue of the lack of the playback anomalies that marred laser. There are two supplementary features, a trailer and the documentary "John Wayne's The Alamo," which is sort of frustrating since the complete movie isn't here. The chaptering is adequate to the limitations of the source that was used, and the disc opens to the menu automatically. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide