Which Alamo Movie Do You Prefer?

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bulltaco

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I'm watching the John Wayne movie from 1960 right now. I remember seeing it at the theater when I was about 7 years old. I think this version is way better than the version from 2004 starring Billy Bob Thornton and Dennis Quaid. I love the weaponry like Jim Bowie's pepperbox rifle and of course that knife. Musical score was outstanding too. Everytime I watch it I keep thinking the Texicans might win the siege this time!
 
Yeah, I always get a kick out of Frankie Avalon decked out in buckskins and coonskin hat.
 
I think the only one I've seen was the John Wayne one, and the only reason I saw that one was because my father liked to watch all the old westerns when I was younger, particular the John Wayne ones.
 
My opinion is that the Billy Bob Thorton version was really bad.

Fess Parker as Daniel Boone is the Daniel Boone. I grew up with Fess playing D. Boone and when he put just the right amount of black powder in ol' Bess and touched off that round that nailed the cannon operator - that made the movie for me.
 
i was in San Antonio in the 60s for a pistol tournament. i asked a local where the Alamo was. go to this street and turn left. k, i did that and drove to the edge of town. no alamo. i stopped at a gas station and asked. i went back the way i came, watching on my right and there it was. i parked, walked over. it was totally differnt than the movie set, as those things tend to be. first thing was the wall was about waist high and the yard about like my own. there was the church so i stepped inside. for an Alamo buff, it was well worth it. after a bit, i stepped back outside and stopped a few minutes gazing out and envisioning me indide and thousands of uniformed troops firing at me. no thanks.

if you happen down that way, you gotta visit it. win/lose, John Wayne or not, it is definitely worth a looksee.
 
Even at a young age putting a coonskin cap on Big Jake and calling him Davey Crockett didn't do it for me

Billy Bob's portrayal was more historically accurate as was the movie in general.
No watered down versions of what were truly unkempt men who smelled bad
A visit to the close quartered Alamo puts that into a little more significant light

I loved Duke but he did make some Presleyesque movies, this one of those in my opinion

I have been to the Alamo once and found the name of my ancestor who died there
It had an overwhelmingly sad feel to it,not at all what I expected to feel.
I couldn't stay long
 
I grew up to Fess Parker as Davey Crockett. We were kids (I was 9 at the time) when our parents took us to see the John Wayne version at the drive-in. First words out of our mouths were "That's not Davey Crockett!".

I have been to tha Alamo twice. First time in late 2001. I have to admit it was quite a disappointment. Sitting in the middle of the city like it does it looses a lot of the athmosphere of what really happened there. Best show about the Alamo I ever saw was the Steve Spielberg TV show Amazing Stories. 16 year old Texan gets shoved out a door during the battle and winds up in modern San Antonio. After a few adventures he finds out what really happens there and makes up his mind to go back in.
 
was in San Antonio in the 60s for a pistol tournament. i asked a local where the Alamo was. go to this street and turn left. k, i did that and drove to the edge of town. no alamo. i stopped at a gas station and asked. i went back the way i came, watching on my right and there it was. i parked, walked over. it was totally differnt than the movie set, as those things tend to be. first thing was the wall was about waist high and the yard about like my own. there was the church so i stepped inside. for an Alamo buff, it was well worth it. after a bit, i stepped back outside and stopped a few minutes gazing out and envisioning me indide and thousands of uniformed troops firing at me. no thanks.
Click to expand...
Most of the original Alamo is not standing any longer.
 
"Republic. I like the sound of the word. It means people can live free, talk free, go or come, buy or sell, be drunk or sober, however they choose. Some words give you a feeling. Republic is one of those words that makes me tight in the throat. The same tightness a man gets when his baby takes his first step, or his first baby shaves, and makes his first sound like a man. Some words can give you a feeling that make your heart warm. Republic is one of those words."

That speach alone is enough to make the John Wayne version come out on top. Of course I'm a big Duke fan so I liked it anyway but that speach hits ya right above the bread basket and just left of center.
 
I like the John Wayne version better. Every time I see Billy Bob Thornton I'm expecting him to slash someone with a lawnmower blade.

I was in San Antonio in 1981. While I was there the city permanently banned Ozzy Osbourne for urinating on the Alamo a day before his concert.
 
I just finished watching the John Wayne version about an hour ago. It is the best.
 
remember the Alamo

I havn't viewed the current version, but the John Wayne depiction was memorable. Very poignant. It portrayed the loss and sacrifice of men and family so well.

I had visited my son in May to celebrate his graduation from the USAF BMT
in Lackland AF Base. When my son was released for off base leave, we toured the Alamo. It was our first time. I enjoyed that much more than, say, any theme or amusement park, and knowing that those brave men sacrificed their lives made the place sanctified.

I had read somewhere else that a current singer celebrity had disrespected the Alamo somehow, and I find it brings anger to me that people can be so contemptable. It is a good thing I had not witnessed such a thing while I was there.

Something I hadn't realized until I visited was that there was representation of many of our states by the fighters there, and many from my home state of Pennsylvania too.

Now, when I hear of illegal Mexicans stating how this is their land, I want to reach for my Pennsylvania rifle!
 
The last Command from about 1955 or 56 is the best one.(This was after Fess Parker as Davey Crockett) Is about Bowie and the Alamo. Then John Wayne.
The last one was the worst Alamo movie ever made .
 
The Battle Of The Alamo

I gotta say that the John Wayne Alamo movie is my choice. The musical score and the supporting cast make it for me. Chill Wills as Beekeeper and Denver Pyle as Thimblerig. Ken Curtis who use to play Festus on Gunsmoke as Captain Dickinson. He sings a song to his character's daughter. Then there's Laurence Harvey as Travis and James Widmark as Jim Bowie. Frankie Avalon and Richard Boone as General Sam Houston.

I will say I liked Billy Bob Thorton's character telling the Mexicans, "I must warn you, I'm a screamer" as they prepared to execute him, in the 2004 version.

It is not often that several larger-than life characters meet their end in one event such as the Alamo. It is definitely hallowed ground. As an American History fan, the Alamo is one place on my list to visit before I get too old to travel. The Little Bighorn battlefield is another.

What's the attraction of "Last Stands"?
 
Speaking of History?

What was the typical arms carried by the soldiers? Brown Bess musket. Kentucky (Pennsylvania) rifles? Cold steel for sure.
 
The Mexicans used Brown Bess smoothbore muskets. The Texicans used whatever they had, Longrifles, both smoothbore and rifled, muskets, fowling guns, pistols, knives and swords.:evil:

Oneshooter
Livin in Texas


I did like the Nock Volly Gun that Jim Bowie had in the J.W. version.
 
I will say I liked Billy Bob Thorton's character telling the Mexicans, "I must warn you, I'm a screamer" as they prepared to execute him, in the 2004 version.
Click to expand...

I kind of cringed at that scene. 90% of the people who watched it totally didn't understand the term "screamer" and thought he was telling the Mexicans that he was going to squeal like a little girl while they killed him.
 
Was Davy Crockett Alive After The Battle?

Did Davy Crockett really survive the final assault of the Alamo. I read/heard that a diary or journal of one of Santa Anna's officers recorded an account of the execution of some prisoners that survived after the Mexican stormed the fortifications. Davy Crockett being one of them. Was this factual or was this liberty taken by the scriptwriters?
 
For anybody interested in the historical events that led up to the battle at the Alamo, I would recommend this thread:

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=139745

which contains a terrific scholarly discussion from The Firing Line members well versed in Texas history.

If that’s not enough, that thread also contains an amazing response by one of the TFL members (post #50) to a post (#46) made by a new poster (probably a socialist elitist) who thought he could jump in and buffalo everyone with his revisionist version of events. ahenry’s response is still my favorite of any thread on TFL or THR. Don’t mess with Texas.
 
I live less than ten miles away from the John Wayne Alamo set in Brackettville. Time has kinda worn it down some but they have a museum and western town set out there and still do some filming. Mainly independant stuff but there has been some major productions through the years. The locals talk about the stars that have passed though the years, Wayne (untouchable), Richard Boone (drunken jerk), Jimmy Stewart (nice man) and many more. Yes, the locals have lots of stories about that movie. A river scene was filmed within a half a mile of my house. All pretty cool stuff for someone who grew up with that movie.

Here's a link to the Alamo Village website.

http://www.homestead.com/thealamovillage/AlamoVillage.html
 
I preferr the John Wayne version. I did not even bother to see the BillyBob Thorton version, as I heard they were going to extend the "Surrendered and executed" myth - the Hollywood media does not want us to have heroes anymore (sigh).
Wayne said is Alamo movie would be a testimant to the American spirit. I think it was. I have not seen any of the other Alamo movies equal it.
 
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