The Alamo
(DVD-2004)
Touchstone Home Video
Reviewed by Dennis Kwiatkowski
The Alamo was not
one of the blockbuster hits of this past summer’s movie season, but that is all the more reason to enjoy the film’s
considerable delights in it’s just-released DVD edition. Starring Dennis Quaid
and Billy Bob Thornton, The Alamo is perhaps as close an authentic recreation of
the famed historical battle that liberated Texas as we are
likely to see.
No expense
was spared in recreating a full size replica of the Alamo itself and the surrounding
town. This resulted not only in one of the largest sets ever built for the movies,
but also in truly spectacular shots and epic filmmaking. If the story slows down a
bit here and there, it is compensated by the scope of the production itself.
The DVD
includes behind-the-scenes featurettes and documentaries which provide a wealth of information and detail about the integrity
of the filmmaking and the process of bringing this important historical event to the screen.
This reviewer would have preferred a bit more information about the history of the Alamo and the ultimate significance of the battle itself—which would have made it another DVD that educated and
entertained at the same time. But aside from that, this is an underrated and epic
scale production. The Alamo is certainly
worth checking out on DVD.
