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Customer Reviews of Alamo

Excellent Alamo collection from Frank Thompson
Alamo DVD is an excellent collection of old and new Alamo movies and documentaries. If you're an Alamo fan, I recommend getting this 3-pack rather than just buying the three DVD's separately. The Alamo Documentary discusses everything from the Alamo's history to its pop culture significance to the Alamo in the movies over the years. There are countless interviews with Alamo historians and buffs which make it all very interesting. "Martyrs of The Alamo" is D.W. Griffith's take on the birth of Texas. If you can get past the completely racist depictions of Mexicans, this is an entertaining movie with surprisingly good battle scenes for 1915. In Martyrs, the Texas War of Independence is started because a Mexican officer flirts with Susannah Dickinson. "Heroes of the Alamo" is a B-western that tells the courageous story of the Alamo defenders from the Dickinson's perspective. Alamo fans will love seeing these early depictions of the Alamo while also learning some new facts about the myths involved with the famous mission in San Antonio.

The 3-pack DVD offers a ton of worthwhile extras that are not available anywhere else. The Alamo documentary DVD includes an hour long documentary, a trailer from John Wayne's The Alamo, Remember The Alamo(an educational film made from a cut down Heroes of the Alamo) and a brief interview with Alamo buff Joe Musso. The Martyrs of the Alamo DVD includes D.W. Griffith's movie, "The Alamo, Shrine of Texas Liberty(a very low budget movie made at Mission San Jose in San Antonio), and a five-minute cartoon. The Heroes of the Alamo DVD includes the movie, and the remaining footage from Davy Crockett At The Fall of The Alamo, a silent film starring Cullen Landis. Because of their age, the movies are not in the best of condition, but they are worth watching. For a great collection of Alamo movies, check out this very entertaining collection from Frank Thompson!

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A great collection about the Alamo!!
The first disk, a documentary, explores the history and pop culture of the Alamo: it explores how the Alamo became a cultural icon, and tours Alamo collections (including some rare John Wayne memorabilia!). There is also a re-enactment battle scene, which I found rather interesting as I may not ever get a chance to see it in person.

Also included in this set is the D.W. Griffith film "Martyrs of the Alamo" (1915, known for being racially slanted) and "Heroes of the Alamo," (1937) both pretty good prints considering their age!

There are also some special extras like a few shorts about the Alamo, which I found interesting, as well as the original movie trailer for John Wayne's "The Alamo." Worth the watch!!

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For History Buffs
I thank Delta and Frank Thompson for releasing this 3-disc set. These early films have helped to fill the gap in Alamo cultural history, and every Alamo film buff should have this set. The silent "Martyrs of the Alamo" is in fairly good shape, considering it comes from 1914. Thompson indicates that the other movie, "Heroes of the Alamo", looks like a B-western. I think he being too kind - it looks more like a D-western to me, with some of the worst "acting" I have ever encountered. The extras on these discs make for nice fillers.

Now, if only "The Last Command" (from the 1950's) would make its DVD debut, all would be right with the world. And, while they're at it, how about releasing the IMAX film, "Alamo - The Price of Freedom" on DVD. Other IMAX films have made it to the new medium, so how about this one.

I have less enthusiasum for the documentary on the first disc, which comes across as less professional, and looks like it was put together on a shoestring budget. I was hoping for more history of the cultural impact the Alamo has played on our lives, and not just browsing through a fans collection of posters and costumes. Some historians make an appearance here and there, but I was hoping for a video version of Frank Thompson's indispensable book, "The Alamo - a Cultural History". Well, I guess we can't have everything.