Bad news for the alamo, anolther bomb for disney??

[CasualObserver]

"Lord of the Rings" is a bad example. The good guys make it out of Mordor.

"Titanic" is not in the same genre so the end can be quite different and still be successful. Typically, in action movies, like "Alamo" you want the good guys to succeed. In dramas, like "Titanic", the loss of a main character is a hinge to drive the emotions of the piece.

Casual Observer

 

[KNWVIKING]

***".....in action movies, like "Alamo" you want the good guys to succeed."***

Well... yeah, but not exactly practical in this case.

Maybe Private Ryan is a better example.

 

[raidermatt]

I don't think there is a magic formula here. The John Wayne version of The Alamo seems to be well loved, and they didn't let Crockett and company survive the end.

You just have to find a way to make it work with the audience. Apparently, the filmakers weren't able to do that this time, and its going to cost Disney a nice chunk of change.

 

[mitros]

Watched the news last night with an Alamo historian and Fess Parker being interviewed. The historian said that was NOT a true depiction of the Alamo. Diisney took their information from forged letters in their rewrite of the event. The movie made by John Wayne was more historically accurate as it was gleaned from letters of people that were actually there. One of them being an Anglo woman that was shown leaving the fort at the end of the movie, and the other information came from two mexicans that were there. Apparentley Hollywood is trying again to change American history. Why? You'll have to ask them for that answer.

 

[Uncleromulus]

There are--in fact--many historians who believe those "forged" letters.
Not sure Fess is the one to interview about Alamo history!! Wine, maybe---
The Anglo woman was Susanna Dickinson--who saw absolutelty nothing of the final battle, as she was in the Chapel at the time.
Her claim to have seen Crocketts body near where he was assigned to defend has been questioned --she changed her version of Alamo events several times over the years and many Alamo historians aren't quite sure what she saw (or even when she saw it) as no one knows exactly when she (and the others ) were led from the Chapel.
Suffice to say that no one will probably ever be certain as to what actually happened, but Disney went with the # of accounts that have Davy surrendering at the end.
There are a # of good Alamo websites out there where this debate has raged (and continues to rage) over the years.
Two good books--"Blood of Noble Men" and "The Alamo Reader" may help you form your own opinion irrespective of how the movie(s) have portrayed things.
And anyway--go see it. It's a good movie!!

 

[mitros]

They did not especially think that Fess Parker knew any of the real history of the Alamo. They had him on as he was the star of the first Disney show about the Alamo and they were making comparisons of the two. Hmm, depending on who you talk to, or where you go to read about it, there appears to be two totally different versions and both sides say their version is correct and the other guy lies.. Gee, too bad they didn't have polaroids back then.

 

[Grog]

No one will ever know for sure how Crockett died (the part of the alleged forgeries that were used in the movie). It wasn't until Fess Parker's version that the version of David's death that has him going down swinging ol' Betsy became widely accepted. Prior to that, many believed the execution story, which has been around since the battle ended. many accuse the new version of being revisionist, but it's hard to be revisionist when actual events are unknown. Other than that, the way events unfold in the movie are pretty much what is known or accepted as the most likely version.

As for Wayne's version being accurate, it was way off on some of the known history (the uniforms on the Soldados were correct in the new version. Wayne used whatever he could find in wardrobe that looked period, for an example). Still a good movie, but not accurate.

 

[Luv2Roam]

Disney chief Eisner facing his "Alamo" after latest film flop?

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040413/bs_afp/us_film_company_disney_040413230921

"The falling share price adds pressure on Eisner and the whole management team to perform," said Miller.

More serious than the failure of "The Alamo," he said, is that of "Home on the Range."

Disney immediately went on the defensive following the "Alamo" fizzle, with chief financial officer Thomas Staggs ignoring the debacle but boosting the company's operational earnings growth forecast for the current fiscal year to 40 percent from 30.