Alamo: The Price of Freedom

Alamo: The Price of Freedom is a 1988 American IMAX film depicting the Battle of the Alamo directed and written by Kieth Merrill and starring Merrill Connally, Casey Biggs, Enrique Sandino, Steve Sandor, Don Swayze, and Derek Caballero.[1] It was distributed by Macgillivray Freeman Films. It is based on the George A. McAlister book of the same name.[2][3] It is shown at San Antonio's IMAX Theater in Rivercenter.[4]

Alamo: The Price of Freedom
Directed byKieth Merrill
Written byKieth Merrill
Based onAlamo: The Price of Freedom
1988 book
by George A. McAlister
Produced byRay Herbeck Jr.
Starring
CinematographyReed Smoot
Edited byBen Burtt
Music byMerrill B. Jenson
Production
company
Bonneville Entertainment
Distributed byMacgillivray Freeman Films
Release date
  • 1988 (1988)
Running time
45 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Premise

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In 1836, soldiers sacrifice their lives in combat in the new Republic of Texas.

Cast

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Production

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The movie was filmed in the summer of 1987 at Alamo Village, the same set location as John Wayne's The Alamo,[3] using 65 mm IMAX film. The filmmakers leveraged 450 historic reenactors.[3] During production the film generated much controversy among the Tejano population of San Antonio who protested that it was demeaning to their contributions to the city's history,[5][6] and portrayed hispanics as the bad guys.[3] Final editing reduced the runtime from 73 to 45 minutes, removing some objectionable content.[3] The film debuted at the Rivercenter IMAX on March 5, 1988.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "Alamo: The Price of Freedom". Turner Classic Movies. Turner Broadcasting System. Archived from the original on 2018-07-17.
  2. ^ McAlister, George A. (1990). Alamo... The Price of Freedom: A History of Texas (2nd ed.). Big Spring, Texas: Docutex, Inc. p. iv. ISBN 9780924307003. OCLC 22733567.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "George McAlister watching his Alamo dream film come true". The Marshall News Messenger. Associated Press. March 7, 1988 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Jarolim, Edie (2001). Frommer's San Antonio & Austin. New York: Hungry Minds. p. 82. ISBN 9780764562013. OCLC 46978652.
  5. ^ Linenthal, Edward Tabor (1991). Sacred Ground: Americans and Their Battlefields. Champaign, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. pp. 75–78. ISBN 978-0252061714. OCLC 22710231.
  6. ^ Garcia, Gilbert (October 13, 2018). "Alamo plan delivers improvement, if not perfection". San Antonio Express-News.
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