The Alamo

The Alamo is a 2004 American war historical drama about the Battle of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution. The film was directed by John Lee Hancock, produced by Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and Mark Johnson, distributed by Buena Vista Pictures (through its Touchstone Pictures banner), and starring Dennis Quaid as Sam Houston, Billy Bob Thornton as Davy Crockett, Jason Patric as Jim Bowie, and Patrick Wilson as William B. Travis. The screenplay is credited to Hancock, Stephen Gaghan, and Leslie Bohem. The film received mixed to negative reviews from critics and was a box office bomb, losing the studio over $146 million. Plot At a party in 1835, while trying to persuade people to migrate to Texas, Sam Houston encounters David Crockett, recently defeated in his bid for re-election to Congress. In San Felipe, the Texas provisional government is meeting to discuss what action to take after their capture of the Alamo and the town of San Antonio de Bexar in the recent fighting. Texas has rebelled against Mexico, and its dictatorial president Santa Anna is personally leading one wing of his army to retake San Antonio, then invade the settlements and put an end to the rebellion. Various members of the Texan War Party call for the Texas army to depart Bexar, cross into Mexico and capture the town of Matamoros. The Opposition Party seeks to rebuild the Texan army and establish a permanent government. The provisional government votes out Sam Houston as commander of the Texas army; a disgusted Houston tells Jim Bowie to go to San Antonio, destroy the fortifications (including the Alamo) and retreat eastward. The Texas government then orders William Barret Travis to Bexar, where Col. Neil, the Alamo's commander, gives Travis command of the post as Neil must leave to take care of a family emergency before returning with reinforcements. Travis, knowing that the Alamo's small force cannot withstand the Mexican Army, sends couriers with pleas for reinforcements. As small groups of Texans arrive, Travis oversees defense preparations, hoping that enough reinforcements will arrive before the inevitable final assault.