THE ALAMO
DIRECTED BY JOHN LEE HANCOCK
PRODUCED BY TODD HALLOWELL/ K.C. HODENFIELD/ RON HOWARD
IMAGINE ENTERTAINMENT/ TOUCHSTONE PICTURES
Information from IMDb
Plot Summary
Historical drama detailing the 1835-36 Texas revolution
before, during, and after the famous siege of the Alamo
(February 23-March 6, 1836) where 183 Texans (American-born Texans)
and Tejanos (Mexican-born Texans) commanded by Colonel Travis,
along with Davey Crockett and Jim Bowie,
were besieged in an abandoned mission outside San Antonio
by a Mexican army of nearly 2,000 men under the personal command
of the dictator of Mexico, General Santa Anna, as well as detailing
the Battle of San Jacinto (April 21, 1836) where General Sam Houston's
rag-tag army of Texans took on and defeated Santa Anna's army
which led to the indepedence of Texas.
Written by Matthew Patay
Full Cast
Dennis Quaid ... Sam Houston
Billy Bob Thornton ... Davy Crockett
Jason Patric ... James Bowie
Patrick Wilson ... William Travis
Emilio Echevarría ... Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana
Jordi Mollà ... Juan Seguin
Leon Rippy ... Sgt. William Ward
Tom Davidson ... Colonel Green Jameson
Marc Blucas ... James Bonham
Robert Prentiss ... Albert Grimes
Kevin Page ... Micajah Autry
Joe Stevens ... Mial Scurlock
Stephen Bruton ... Captain Almeron Dickinson
Laura Clifton ... Susanna Dickinson
Ricardo Chavira ... Private Gregorio Esparza (as Ricardo S. Chavira)
Steven Chester Prince ... Lieutenant John Forsythe
Craig Erickson ... Tom Waters
Nick Kokich ... Daniel Cloud
Richard Nance ... Grey #1
Jett Garner ... Grey #2
Estephania LeBaron ... Juana
Afemo Omilami ... Sam
Edwin Hodge ... Joe
Emily Deschanel ... Rosanna Travis
Blue Deckert ... Colorado Smith
Turk Pipkin ... Issac Millsaps
Brandon Smith ... Lieutenant Colonel J.C. Neill
Tommy G. Kendrick ... T.J. Rusk
W. Earl Brown ... David Burnet
Tom Everett ... Mosley Baker
Rance Howard ... Governor Smith
Stewart Finlay-McLennan ... James Grant
Matt O'Leary ... Boy in Store
John S. Davies ... Store Owner
Kit Gwin ... Mrs. Ayers
Castulo Guerra ... General Castrillon
Francisco Philbert ... General Cos
Mauricio Zatarain ... Colonel Jose Batres
Flavio Hinojosa ... Colonel Juan Almonte
Hugo Pérez ... Charging Mexican Soldier
Jesus Mayorga ... Battery Private
Hector Garcia ... Battery Sergeant
Roland Uribe ... Colonel Duque
Ruben G. Rojas ... Francisco Esparza
Lanell Pena ... Ana Esparza
Michael Crabtree ... Deaf Smith
Anna Reyes ... Tejano Child
Sonia Montoya ... Stunning Tejana's Mother
Elena Hurst ... Stunning Tejana
Lynn Mathis ... James Hackett
Charles Sanders ... Stage Manager
Rutherford Cravens ... Mr. Smith
Dameon Clarke ... Mr. Jones
Tim Mateer ... Bill The Rider
Nathan Price ... Charlie Travis
Don Javier Castillo ... Don Jose Palaez
Lonnie Rodriguez ... Mexican Scout
Julio Cedillo ... General Cos' Messenger (as Julio Cesar Cedillo)
Buck Taylor ... Settler
Oscar D. Silva ... Firing Squad First Lieutenant
Marc Menchaca ... Fifer
Safia Gray ... Ursula Veramendi
Eric Montoya ... Enrique Esparza
Michael Clossin ... Tennessean #1
Robert Bassetti ... Bowie Man in Street
Nathan Walker ... Goliad Man
Bert Beatson ... The Messenger (uncredited)
Aidan Black ... Jackson Rusk (uncredited)
Wendy Bonn ... Lady in Blue Dress (uncredited)
Charles E. Gray ... Alamo Defender (uncredited)
Celina Hernandez ... Tejano Prostitute (uncredited)
Richard Jones ... Drinking Old-Timer (uncredited)
Crystal Marie Lee ... Camp Follower (uncredited)
Frank Matthews ... Joseph M. Hawkins (uncredited)
Krystal Morton ... Angelina Dickinson (uncredited)
Robert C. Pemelton ... Texan Soldier (uncredited)
Alyssa Petersen ... Settler (uncredited)
Amanda Petersen ... Settler (uncredited)
Ann Taylor ... Theatre Patron (uncredited)
Frank Thompson ... Texian Politician (uncredited)
Clint Tidwell ... Texan Defender (uncredited)
Tony Wolford ... Crockett's Group of Men (uncredited)
Daniel Zubiate ... Texian Sergeant (uncredited)
Produced by
Todd Hallowell .... executive producer
K.C. Hodenfield .... associate producer
Ron Howard .... producer
Mark Johnson .... producer
Philip Steuer .... executive producer
Louisa Velis .... associate producer
Writing Credits
Leslie Bohem (written by) and
Stephen Gaghan (written by) and
John Lee Hancock (written by)
Original Music by
Carter Burwell
Cinematography
Dean Semler
Trivia
Ethan Hawke was up for the role of William Barett Travis but eventually dropped out.
At 51 acres, the set was the largest and most expensive set built in North America to date.
It took seven months to shoot the movie. The final battle, which actually lasted less than 6 hours in the pre-dawn morning of 6 March 1836, took over a month to shoot.
Disney had originally planned to release the film at Christmas 2003 but revised the date, citing that director John Lee Hancock was still working on the film.
'Ron Howard' was originally set to direct, with 'Russell Crowe (I)' set to star, but both left the film when 'Ron Howard' and Disney had a major disagreement over the film's budget (Howard had sought $200 million). John Lee Hancock was then brought on board as director with Howard as the film's co-producer and the budget reduced to $95 million.
During production, local news stations sent helicopters to get aerial footage of the Alamo set. This was causing so much interference that everyone on the set was told to give the copters "the finger" so they could not use any footage.
Production wrapped $82,000 dollars under budget.
Billy Bob Thornton learned to play the violin for some scenes that required it.
An extra had grabbed a bag of Doritos from Craft Services before being called to the set. He stuffed it into his costume and got into formation. When action was called, the group charged across the field. When he was "shot" and fell dead to the ground, his bag of Doritos popped out. The scene had to be re-shot and from then on everyone had to be checked frequently.
Crockett plays the "Mockingbird Quick Step" on his fiddle. The song is a version of "Listen to the Mockingbird". It was composed in 1855 and later used by The Three Stooges as a theme song.
During the battle of San Jacinto the Texans yelled, "Remember the Alamo." During the actual battle they also yelled, "Remember Goliad." The massacre at Goliad was left out of the movie. Goliad was where Colonel Fannin and his unarmed men were executed at the order of Santa Ana.
Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson was an extra and appears after the Battle of San Jacinto in a crowd scene shouting, "Hang him!" Patterson is shown briefly in costume in a cut-away shot with another extra while Houston makes a speech. Patterson also did several "PSA" announcements from the Alamo set to promote the "Save Texas History" web site.
The death of David Crockett as depicted in this film is corroborated by the account of a Mexican soldier, Jose Enrique de la Pena. Though not translated into English until after the earlier Alamo film was made, his account makes the claim that Crockett was recognized by the Mexicans, and was executed after the battle rather than killed during it.
Several people that played Texan extras in the movie are actual descendants of the defenders of the Alamo.
The role of Susanna Dickinson, the only adult Anglo survivor of the siege and the mother of the only child Anglo survivor, was much larger in the script than what it ended up being in the final version of the film. The role was one of the major roles in the script and the actress who portrayed Susanna, Laura Clifton, was the only female member of the permanent cast for the film. After Disney finished editing the theatrical release of the film, the character has only one line (screaming for her husband, Almaron Dickinson, during a cattle stampede) and a few appearances in other scenes (during Travis' speech and in the chapel during the siege) and is not even identified anywhere in the movie so that audiences would know who this significant figure in Texas history was. In fact, the role, far from being Laura Clifton's big break, actually hurt her career because of how insignificant it ended up being in the theatrical release.
Disney forced Director John Lee Hancock to put clothes on the images of liberty on the Texan's drums. Images of that era depicting Liberty always showed her with a breast or both breasts exposed.
John Wayne's film featured only Anglo men fighting at the Alamo, although this is not historically accurate. The film includes the character of Juan Seguin, a real Hispanic veteran of the Texas Revolution. Sadly, after the war, Texans began to suspect him of betraying them to the Mexicans, so he was forced to return to Mexico to avoid persecution. He ended up serving in the Mexican army and having to fight against his fellow Texans in the Mexican-American war.
Goofs
Anachronisms
The defenders of the Alamo, near the start of the movie, are singing "Listen to the Mockingbird." The Alamo siege took place in 1836 and "Listen to the Mockingbird" was written by Septimus Winner under the name of Alice Hawthrone and copyrighted in April 1855, 19 years after the siege of the Alamo.
Continuity
When Lt. Colonel Travis is departing from the house where he drops his son off, we see his black assistant standing next to his horse. In the next shot, the assistant is already mounted.
When Lt. Colonel Travis is leaving the house where he drops his son off, the knot on the rope on his son's hat changes sides between shots.
At one point, Bowie pulls his famous knife out of the sheath and allows Crockett to examine it. When the camera cuts back to Bowie, his knife is back in its sheath, despite the fact that Crockett is still holding it.
Factual errors
Several Mexican diaries state that Davy Crockett surrendered. But he surrendered with five other men, instead of just him, like the movie shows.
In March of 1836, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was about 42 years old. Emilio Echevarria, while his birth date is publicly unknown, is (visibly) significantly older, not close to resembling how Santa Anna looked at the time.
Revealing mistakes
When Houston and his men are charging Santa Anna's army there is a shot of a man being shot and falling to the ground. Midway through his fall the shot cuts to another take and the man jumps from one part of the frame to another and the people in the background change.
When Jim Bowie returns to his home in San Antonio, he enters the courtyard and stands for a moment. While standing there a light turns on illuminating part of the back wall.
The shell defused by Travis is too large to have been fired by any of the Mexican guns.
Filming Locations
Texas, USA
Austin, Texas, USA
Bastrop, Texas, USA
(battle of San Jacinto)
Dripping Springs, Texas, USA
Driskell Hotel - 604 Brazos Street, Austin, Texas, USA
Jim Small's Big Thicket, Bastrop, Texas, USA
(lake camp scenes)
Paramount Theatre - 713 Congress, Austin, Texas, USA
Pedernales Falls State Park - 2585 Park Road 6026, Johnson City, Texas, USA
(Zacatecas and Mexican command scenes)
Reimer's Ranch - 23610 Hamilton Pool Road, Dripping Springs, Texas, USA
(Alamo and Bexar scenes)
Steiner Ranch - 896 Sayers Road, Bastrop, Texas, USA
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The New Alamo Picture
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