The Alamo

The Alamo (2004)

Timing: 2:17 (137 min)

5.787/10
314

6.161/10
2565

6.1/10
24000

All about film

Video 2

Photo 7

Actors and characters

Release date

2004-04-07

Country

United States

Production

Touchstone Pictures, Imagine Entertainment

Genre

History, War, Drama

Budget

$107 000 000

Revenue

$25 819 961

Website

Director

John Lee Hancock

Actors

Dennis Quaid, Billy Bob Thornton, Jason Patric, Patrick Wilson, Emilio Echevarría, Edwin Hodge, Emily Deschanel, Jordi Mollà, Leon Rippy, Tom Davidson
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Mark Johnson, Ron Howard, Philip Steuer, Todd Hallowell

Operator

Dean Semler

Composer

Carter Burwell

Artist

Al Hobbs, Kevin Cross

Audition

Ronna Kress

Editing

Eric L. Beason, Richard E. Chapla Jr.
All team (195)

• Ron Howard was originally slated to direct the film, with Russell Crowe, Ethan Hawke, and Billy Bob Thornton set to star. However, serious financial and creative disagreements between the studios Disney and Imagine Entertainment led to the first two actors withdrawing from the project, and Ron Howard limited himself to the role of one of the producers. One of the main reasons for this was Ron Howard's insistence on a $200 million budget, which Disney was unwilling to approve. Following this, Texas native John Lee Hancock was invited as director, and the budget was reduced to $107 million.
• With total expenses exceeding $140 million, 'The Alamo' went down in history as one of the biggest failures in film history. The film's box office receipts totaled just $22.4 million in North American theaters and $25.8 million worldwide.
• The film set, spanning over 20 hectares, became the largest and most expensive ever built in North America throughout the history of cinema.
• Approximately six months were spent filming the movie, including over a month on the final battle, which in reality lasted less than 6 hours at dawn on March 6, 1836.
• Disney originally planned to release 'The Alamo' for Christmas 2003, but due to director John Lee Hancock continuing to work on the film, its release was postponed to the Easter weekend of 2004.
• During filming, local news channels sent several helicopters to the film set area to obtain aerial footage. This disrupted the normal workflow so much that everyone present was ordered to make an obscene gesture so that uninvited guests could not use any of the material they filmed.
• For his role in the film, Billy Bob Thornton learned to play the cello.
• Several people who were invited as extras were, in reality, descendants of the defenders of the Alamo.
• One of the extras stole a bag of Doritos chips from the warehouse before being called to the set. He stuffed it under his clothes and joined the formation. During the filming of the final battle, the group he was in charged, and at one point the bag fell out. The entire scene had to be reshot, and afterwards all members of the film crew were periodically checked for similar incidents.
• The role of Susanna Dickinson, the only adult American of non-Spanish origin to survive the siege of the Alamo, occupied significantly more space in the initial script compared to the final version of the film. She was supposed to become one of the central characters in the film, and Laura Clifton, cast in the role, was the only actress constantly present on the set. After the final editing, her role was reduced to a single line and a few fleeting appearances. As a result, a film that could have been a turning point in the actress's career actually did her no good.
• The film was shot in the vicinity of Austin, Texas, between January and June 2003, primarily on the grounds of the Rymers Ranch.
• The depiction of David Crockett's death in the film is based on the testimony of Mexican soldier José Enrique de la Peña. He claimed that the hero was identified by Mexicans and executed by them after the battle, and not killed in it, as some others believed.