The Alamo

Texas, 1836. Some hundred and eighty men shut themselves inside an abandoned mission at San Antonio and hold off Santa Anna's army for thirteen days. Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie and William Travis spend the siege fighting each other at least as much as the enemy. The real subject is not battle but volunteering. The line drawn in the dirt near the end makes choosing to stay identical to choosing to die, and everything before it is built as preparation for that choice. The production story is as outsized as the film. John Wayne directed it and played Crockett, took it on through his own company Batjac, and mortgaged his house, his cars and his yacht to put one and a half million dollars of his own money in. The budget passed twelve million. A full-scale San Antonio was built on Happy Shahan's ranch near Brackettville, and that set still stands today as the tourist site Alamo Village. Shot in Todd-AO 70mm, released at two hundred and two minutes, later cut down. Richard Widmark plays Bowie, Laurence Harvey plays Travis. Who it is for: anyone who likes wide-screen epics and long siege narratives. Who it is not for: anyone looking for historical fidelity. The film does not question the Texas legend, it reproduces it, and the Mexican side stays almost entirely scenery.