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 "The
Alamo" is the tale of a handful of men who stood up for what they
believed in and made the ultimate sacrifice against an overwhelming
force. In the spring of 1836, in the face of insurmountable odds,
fewer than 200 ordinary men who believed in the future of Texas
held the fort for 13 days against thousands of Mexican soldiers
led by dictator General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna (EMILIO ECHEVARRęA),
ruler of Mexico. Commanded by three men -- the young, brash Lt.
Col. William Travis (PATRICK WILSON); the zealous, passionate James
Bowie (JASON PATRIC); and the living legend David Crockett (BILLY
BOB THORNTON) -- the Texans would die for their beliefs, but their
deeds at the Alamo would make history as General Sam Houston's (DENNIS
QUAID) emotional rallying call for Texas independence.
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 "I'd
been to the Alamo several times growing up," Thornton remarks.
"I didn't go to the real Alamo during filming of the movie
because I thought it would be too emotional for me. When I
did go, I felt a sense of comfort.We got to know all these
guys in the movie. And, when I went to the Alamo, you see
their names on the wall. I related to the guy, this character,
I had just played in the movie. And, I didn't have the sadness
that I thought I was going to have. The only time I teared
up was when I saw a lock of Crockett's hair. There's also
a vest of Crockett's there, and I wear an exact replica of
it in the film.When I saw the vest and the lock of hair, I
got a little funny."
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Gen. Sam Houston (commander-in-chief of the Texian army), although
admiring the victory staged by the Texian settlers at Bexar and
the Alamo, had no intention of sacrificing more troops to the savage
Santa Anna. Houston, knowing that the dictator was planning an invasion
of Texas, questioned the wisdom of maintaining the garrison at the
Alamo, and informed his officers to abandon the mission, feeling
it was impossible to defend against such formidable forces.
 Lt.
Col. James C. Neill, part of the effort to rid Bexar of Gen. Cos,
yielded his commanding post to a young, inexperienced, 26-year-old
Alabama soldier and lawyer named William Barret Travis. He, along
with Col. James Bowie (an acquaintance of Houston), the legendary
frontiersman Davy Crockett, and almost 200 other volunteers defied
Houston's orders and stayed at the Alamo. On February 23, 1836,
Santa Anna's forceful army, numbering somewhere around 2,400 besieged
the Alamo.
Early (approximately 5:30 am) on the morning of Sunday, March
6, Santa Anna's troops stormed the fort's north wall. The general
ordered that no prisoners be taken. At sunrise, the brief 90-minute
battle ended, and all 189 Texians (an approximation) lay dead, but
not before gallantly defending the fort and killing several hundred
Mexican soldiers.
On April 21, Houston, leading his charge of 910 pioneers with
the cry of "Remember the Alamo," surprised Santa Anna and defeated
the merciless Mexican general in the hostile engagement fought at
San Jacinto near present-day Houston. The victory at the Battle
of San Jacinto, which lasted only eighteen minutes, resulted in
Gen. Santa Anna's surrender to Houston giving Texas its independence.
On December 29, 1845.
© Touchstone Pictures/Imagine Entertainment.
All Rights Reserved.
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