Story Synopsis:
With 4,000 Mexican troops closing in, fewer than 200 Texan soldiers, led by General Sam Houston (Quaid), and a group of volunteers-including William Travis (Wilson), Davy Crockett (Thornton), and Jim Bowie (Patric)-defend The Alamo. Their sacrifice for freedom would become one of the most significant events in American history and would decide the fate of Texas in 1836. (Suzanne Hodges)

DVD Picture:
The anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 DVD picture exhibits a beautiful color palette that is complementary to the setting of the film. With rich, warm yellows and bold reds, lots of dirty browns typically found in western settings, as well as natural fleshtones, and deep blacks, colors are nicely saturated throughout. The picture is sharp and detailed, with satisfying textures and definition. Contrast and shadow delineation are also nicely presented. Occasionally the picture has a slight “pasty” appearance, and edge enhancement and pixelization are also noticed at times. Still, overall this is a very pleasing picture. (Suzanne Hodges)

Soundtrack:
The overall performance of this Dolby® Digital 5.1-channel soundtrack is much quieter than originally expected. Even in Chapter 15 when the actual battle at The Alamo takes place, the sounds of battle and those of war never really jump out and immerse you into the on-screen action. It’s a well-mixed battle sequence, but it didn’t have the in-your-face aggression or sonic impact of the more successful soundtracks on DVD. All the ingredients are present for a very effective soundtrack, but the overall performance was somewhat muted without any sort of emotional bond with the soundtrack that would propel it to greatness, just mediocrity. Dialogue is naturally reproduced with good overall soundstaging, especially across the front three screen channels, but as previously mentioned, the overall impact of the soundtrack is basically underachieving. (Jeffrey Kern)