The Alamo (2004)

It is 1835 in Washington DC and Sam Houston (Dennis Quaid) is trying to sell land in Texas.  He runs into Congressman David Crockett (Billy Bob Thornton), who doesn't seem interested.  Though Crockett enjoys fame - The Kentuckian (based on him) is the most popular play around, his electoral prospects don't look good.  Some months later in Texas, the Mexican Army has been chased across the Rio Grande and the bigwigs of the Texas Revolution have met to determine what to do next.  Houston is opposed to an attack on Matamoros.  Those present strip him of his army command for his reticence to fight.  Jim Bowie (Jason Patric) supports Houston but isn't keen on Houston's order to abandon the Alamo.  Bowie's home is in San Antonio.

In San Antonio, William Travis (Patrick Wilson) is given command of the Alamo while Colonel Neill is away.  Neill expects to return long before there is any action.  Travis and Bowie do not see eye to eye.  Their constant bickering is quelled by the arrival of Davy Crockett and his Tennessee Boys.  Crockett had not been re-elected to Congress and opted to come to Texas.  He was surprised to hear the fighting wasn't over.

In late February, Santa Anna arrived with an army.  He spent the next two weeks toying with the fortress, hoping to lure Sam Houston to a battle.  Though Houston has called for troops, he doesn't have enough to relieve the siege.  On March 6, 1836, the Mexican assault begins.

After the Alamo fell, the Texians demanded that Sam Houston fight.  Instead, Houston retreated east in search of the right battlefield.  Santa Anna split his army to keep pace.  Finally, Houston found his battleground and turned to attack.  The ensuing Battle of San Jacinto took 18 minutes and ended with a route of the Mexican Army and the capture of Santa Anna.

The movie makes a serious effort to credit as many participants as possible.  Though the big three are well-known, there are many other Alamo defenders and survivors who are not often mentioned.  Susanna Dickinson, wife of one of the defenders, survived the siege and provided an internal account of events.  Juan Seguin (Jordi Molla) was sent with dispatches after the siege began and later took part in the Battle of San Jacinto.  James Bonham, William Ward, Almeron Dickinson, Micajah Autry, and several others are given their due.

Billy Bob Thornton is a very different Davy Crockett than previous interpretations.  Fess Parker, John Wayne, and Brian Keith played up the buckskins with the coonskin cap.  Thornton dresses in the style of the period and also is the first to play the fiddle.  This Davy Crockett is not so eager to fight to the death.  He comes across as a conflicted but noble man who has to live up to the heroic image of himself.  The major change that caused a lot of fuss when this was released was that Crockett survives the battle only to then be executed.  A Mexican soldier reported that this was how Crockett died.  However, this contradicts some of the survivors' accounts.  Overall, Thornton is the best Davy Crockett so far.

Jason Patric plays Bowie as a tragic figure.  Obviously, he's dying from consumption, but here we see some of his history beyond a retelling of the Sandbar Fight.  There are flashbacks to his early times in San Antonio, before his wife and children died from cholera.  He is not particularly friendly and initially takes a dark pleasure in slapping down Travis.  Patric's Bowie exudes a natural magnetism where it is easy to accept that, despite his weakened state, his words carried a lot of weight with the Alamo defenders.  One of the best things that Jim Bowie did for his reputation was die at the Alamo; he had not lived an admirable life.

Emilio Echevarria was 20 years too old to play Santa Anna.  He didn't have the charisma for the role.  Yes, Santa Anna had an immense ego but he was also charming.  With this Santa Anna, it isn't clear why anyone is loyal to him.  However, his comment where he views soldiers as expendable is true to character.  Santa Anna was never concerned with casualties, only victory.  Raul Julia was a much better Santa Anna (1987).

Dennis Quaid bookends the movie as Sam Houston.  His Houston is 'prickly' and stubborn.  Houston will have his way or not at all.  That the movie included the Battle of San Jacinto was different from the usual Alamo movies.  However, it does make for an uneven narrative.  The movie is more than The Alamo, it is selected battles from the Texas Revolution.

History buff that I am, I liked this film quite a lot.  It covers a lot of ground and the research staff was better than most.  This is an excellent telling of those historic events.  Recommended.

The Long Riders (1980)

While robbing a bank, Ed Miller (Dennis Quaid) becomes anxious and shoots the bank teller.  In the gunfire that follows, Jesse James (James Keach) is wounded.  After the gang makes good their escape, Jesse ejects Ed from the gang.  Ed's brother, Clell (Randy Quaid), agrees with Jesse and rides away with the rest of the gang.  The James-Younger gang consists of Frank (Stacy Keach) & Jesse James, Cole (David Carradine), Jim (Keith Carradine), & Bob Younger (Robert Carradine), and Clell Miller.  After returning to their Missouri home, the Ford brothers, Charlie (Christopher Guest) and Robert (Nicholas Guest) try unsuccessfully to join the gang.  Despite their rough profession, the gang pursues a fairly ordinary life when not robbing banks, trains, and stagecoaches.  While Jesse woos Zee (Savannah Smith Boucher), Cole has a long-standing arrangement with Belle Starr (Pamela Reed), whom he gladly calls a whore, which is why he likes her.  The Pinkertons' pursuit of the gang figures heavily and the fact that many Missourians preferred the James-Younger gang to the law explains how they often lived normal lives.

The movie pieces together some of the tales of the gang in an entertaining fashion.  The climactic battle in Northfield, Minnesota, is well done.  The famous gang met its match in a bunch of armed civilians.  Though the Northfield Robbery was in 1876, the story jumps to 1882 when Jesse has the Ford brothers over to discuss 'business.'  Of course, Bob Ford was more interested in the price on Jesse's head.

The big selling point of this version is that four sets of siblings were cast to portray these criminal families.  Though that is cool, it is beside the point.  In fact, it may have detracted from the film.  This is a good story and mostly well-acted.  The weakest parts are James Keach, who is surprisingly wooden, and David Carradine, who lacks range.  This is a problem because these are the two leading characters.

Good popcorn fun and recommended.