Texas (1994)

In the beginning of the 19th Century, many white Americans are settling in the Mexican province of Texas. As the years go by, political conflicts between the settlers and the Mexican ... See full summary »

Director:

Richard Lang

Writers:

James A. Michener (novel), Sean Meredith (teleplay)

Stars:

Maria Conchita Alonso, Benjamin Bratt, Frederick Coffin

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Maria Conchita Alonso	...	Lucia
Benjamin Bratt	...	Benito Garza
Frederick Coffin	...	Zave (as Fred Coffin)
Patrick Duffy	...	Stephen Austin
Chelsea Field	...	Mattie
Anthony Michael Hall	...	Yancey Quimper
Stacy Keach	...	Sam Houston
David Keith	...	Jim Bowie
John Schneider	...	Davy Crockett
Grant Show	...	Travis
Randy Travis	...	Capt. Sam Garner
Ricky Schroder	...	Otto MacNab (as Rick Schroder)
Charlton Heston	...	Narrator
Daragh O'Malley	...	MacNab
Miguel Sandoval	...	Gen. Cos

Storyline

In the beginning of the 19th Century, many white Americans are settling in the Mexican province of Texas. As the years go by, political conflicts between the settlers and the Mexican government are escalating which would lead to war and Texan independence.

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Plot Keywords:

revisionist western | one word title | place in title | 19th century | male objectification | 

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Taglines:

An epic as big as the land that shaped it.

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Genres:

Adventure | History | Western

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

A TV movie for the ABC network.

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Alternate Versions

Home video versions feature gore and nudity not present in the broadcast version.

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Connections

Features The Last Command (1955)

User Reviews

It was good history, whether it was good Michener or not.

It's interesting that none of those who panned this movie were Texans. Whether or not it followed Michener's book closely is not the point; it followed history very well.

The whole reason Americans came to settle in Texas in the first place - as the movie made abundantly clear through Patrick Duffy's Stephen F. Austin - was that Mexico had not and could not properly settle such a vast land. Austin's colony was established at the invitation of Santa Anna.

It was only as Santa Anna systematically denied the Texicans - or Texians, if you prefer - basic rights that any citizen of any nation should reasonably expect from his government that they revolted. As the movie made clear, Austin did everything he could - with Sam Houston's concurrence - to keep his agreement with Santa Anna. The Mexican dictator literally drove him and the Texicans to revolt in order to give him an excuse to invade and slaughter them. His cruelty was best shown by what happened at Goliad - where the Texicans surrendered, only to be lined up and murdered after giving up all their weapons.

This last could have been emphasized a little more to show the bleak reality of trying to deal with this despot, but that's my only quarrel with the entire movie. I gave it an 8 - and wondered how IMDB managed to come up with a weighted average of 4.1 when 55% of the voters gave it a 7 or better.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 April 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

James A. Michener's Texas

Filming Locations:

Alamo Village - Highway 674, Brackettville, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Broadcasting Company (ABC), Branded Productions, Spelling Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

180 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1