The screenplay is credited to John Lee Hancock, John Sayles, Stephen Gaghan and Leslie Bohem. In contrast to the earlier 1960 film, the 2003 script makes an effort to depict the political points of view of both the Mexican and Texan sides; Santa Anna is a more prominent character.

Production

The film was originally set up with Imagine Entertainment with Ron Howard in the director’s chair and producing partner Brian Grazer as producer. Russell Crowe was originally cast as Sam Houston, Ethan Hawke as William Barret Travis and Billy Bob Thornton as David Crockett. But there were financial and creative disagreements between Imagine and Disney, particularly with Howard wanting a $200 million budget. Disney rejected Imagine’s proposal for the film, and Howard, Grazer, Crowe and Hawke left the project. Disney opted to go with director John Lee Hancock instead with a budget of $95 million. Thornton was the only member of the original team to remain throughout the project.

The film was shot near Austin, Texas between January and June 2003, mostly on a local property named Reimers Ranch. The film’s art direction focused on historical accuracy and verisimilitude; for instance, the mission’s facade does not feature the well-known “hump” at the top, a detail that was actually added years after the battle during a restoration.

The film was shot in 2003 and scheduled for release in December of that year, but was then rescheduled for release in April 2004.

Controversies

This latest version of the Battle of the Alamo was the first to show Crockett being killed as a prisoner of war. All others had depicted his death as occurring during the battle, rather than him having been captured then executed along with six others. This sparked debate and criticism from many Alamo enthusiasts and some historians.  This version of his death came from memoirs written by former Mexican officer José Enrique de la Peña, who was an officer in Santa Anna’s army and who fought in the battle. It is controversial in that de la Peña also described the death of Col. William Travis, the garrisons commander, in his book With Santa Anna in Texas, during which he describes Travis bravely facing his charging attackers.

Cast

• Dennis Quaid – Gen. Sam Houston
• Billy Bob Thornton – David Crockett
• Jason Patric – Col. James Bowie
• Patrick Wilson – Lt. Col. William B. Travis
• Emilio Echevarría – Antonio López de Santa Anna
• Jordi Mollà – Cpt. Juan Seguín
• Leon Rippy – Sgt. William Ward
• Tom Davidson – Col. Green Jameson
• Marc Blucas – James Bonham
• Robert Prentiss – Albert Grimes
• Kevin Page – Micajah Autry

Background

As early as 1945, John Wayne decided to make a movie about the 1836 Battle of the Alamo.Wayne hired James Edward Grant as scriptwriter, and the two began researching the battle and preparing a draft of the script. The two hired Pat Ford, son of John Ford, as a research assistant. As the script neared completion, however, Wayne and the president of Republic Pictures, Herbert Yates, clashed over the proposed $3 million budget. Wayne left Republic over the feud, but was unable to take his script with him. That script was later rewritten and made into the movie The Last Command.

Themes

Historical accuracy

The film does very little to explain the causes of the Texas Revolution or the reasons why the battle took place. Although Grant and Wayne had done significant research, according to Alamo historian Timothy Todish, “there is not a single scene in The Alamo which corresponds to an historically verifiable incident”. Historians J. Frank Dobie and Lon Tinkle demanded that their names be removed from the credits as historical advisors.

Politics

Wayne’s daughter Aissa later wrote, “I think making The Alamo became my father’s own form of combat. More than an obsession, it was the most intensely personal project in his career.” Many of Wayne’s associates agreed that the film served as a political platform for Wayne. Many of the statements that his character made were indicative of Wayne’s own views. Roberts and Olson point to an overwhelming theme of republicanism, veering closely towards libertarianism. They point to a scene in which Wayne, as Crockett, remarks; “Republic. I like that word. Means that 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 film draws many elements from the Cold War environment in which it was produced. According to Roberts and Olson, “the script evokes parallels between Santa Anna’s Mexico and Khruschchev’s Soviet Union, as well as Hitler’s Germany. All three demanded lines in the sand and resistance to death.”