... declares the Frenchman Lewis Rose. He fought under Napoleon, and now he finds himself in Texas in 1836, in the army of Texas.
A made-for-tv version of the Alamo, filmed at the Alamo Village, the same film location constructed for John Wayne's 1960 film.
Clocking in at nearly two -and-a-half hours long, this 1987 version takes its time and presents a clear picture of the background to the Alamo. For people like me - a history buff, but with no knowledge of the Texan Revolution or what the Alamo was about - I found that I understood more about the history by the end of the film, and did not feel lost at any point. In this regard, the film does a good job.
As it is a TV movie, the film suffers when it comes to scale and special effects. It looks like it was made in the 1970s, and the blending of stock footage from an earlier film - "The Lost Command" from 1955, I believe - can be distracting at times. The acting is solid. A very baby-faced Alec Baldwin is strong in one of the leads as Colonel William Travis. But I thought that Brian Keith stole the show as the legendary Davie Crockett, followed closely by the superb Raul Julia as the commander of the Mexican army, General de Santa Ana. He strikes fear into the viewer in the scenes where he berates his subordinates.
Overall, the film naturally suffers from some of its made-for-TV tropes and low-budget, but when looking beyond that, it is an informative introduction to the Texan Revolution and very entertaining. Also, it is a far-sight better than John Wayne's 1960 version.
A made-for-tv version of the Alamo, filmed at the Alamo Village, the same film location constructed for John Wayne's 1960 film.
Clocking in at nearly two -and-a-half hours long, this 1987 version takes its time and presents a clear picture of the background to the Alamo. For people like me - a history buff, but with no knowledge of the Texan Revolution or what the Alamo was about - I found that I understood more about the history by the end of the film, and did not feel lost at any point. In this regard, the film does a good job.
As it is a TV movie, the film suffers when it comes to scale and special effects. It looks like it was made in the 1970s, and the blending of stock footage from an earlier film - "The Lost Command" from 1955, I believe - can be distracting at times. The acting is solid. A very baby-faced Alec Baldwin is strong in one of the leads as Colonel William Travis. But I thought that Brian Keith stole the show as the legendary Davie Crockett, followed closely by the superb Raul Julia as the commander of the Mexican army, General de Santa Ana. He strikes fear into the viewer in the scenes where he berates his subordinates.
Overall, the film naturally suffers from some of its made-for-TV tropes and low-budget, but when looking beyond that, it is an informative introduction to the Texan Revolution and very entertaining. Also, it is a far-sight better than John Wayne's 1960 version.