The video release of this film contains approximately 30 minutes of footage excised from the version shown at the Los Angeles premiere in 1960. The story is that the studio wanted a shorter print in circulation so more screenings could be fit into a single day, thus increasing the box office receipts. Art sacrificed for money is nothing new, but the dilution of "The Alamo" is extraordinary. It is remarkable how much the deleted scenes add to the narrative. Character development is deeper, motivation is clearer, the viewer is much closer to the story and its impact, particularly after the finale, is potent.
As it was, the studio-butchered print that circulated for years was a wonderful tribute to the struggle for Texas freedom in 1836. Releasing the original version, or director's cut, makes it an even more wonderful tribute.
The film has had a generally more appreciative following among Western-movie aficionados in the United Kingdom through the years, perhaps because the British can better appreciate a true epic when they see one and perhaps because the political factions bent upon vilifying John Wayne, are absent there. Now, thanks to the release of the uncut version on video, any movie fan who appreciates a true epic can more fully understand what the director, John Wayne, wanted to tell the world about the Alamo.
As it was, the studio-butchered print that circulated for years was a wonderful tribute to the struggle for Texas freedom in 1836. Releasing the original version, or director's cut, makes it an even more wonderful tribute.
The film has had a generally more appreciative following among Western-movie aficionados in the United Kingdom through the years, perhaps because the British can better appreciate a true epic when they see one and perhaps because the political factions bent upon vilifying John Wayne, are absent there. Now, thanks to the release of the uncut version on video, any movie fan who appreciates a true epic can more fully understand what the director, John Wayne, wanted to tell the world about the Alamo.