The Martyrs of the Alamo

Rating:
Summary: Worth A Look.
Review: I purchased this disc on the recommendation of someone else but wasn't quite sure what to expect when it arrived. What I found was one of the few examples on video of a film that was supervised by D.W. Griffith after he left Biograph. Griffith had just completed BIRTH OF A NATION and was supervising several projects for Fine Arts at this time (their logo of an artist's palette is displayed on the title cards). However he was heavily involved with his plans for an even bigger film, INTOLERANCE, and so he oversaw these movies in a very minimal way. The director of MARTYRS OF THE ALAMO, Christy Cabanne, began his career as an actor for Griffith before moving behind the camera. His career would stretch well into the sound era ending in 1948 which ironically was the year of Griffith's death. He specialized in action films especially westerns and this was his first big film. The scale of the film is very impressive with a great Alamo set and large scale battle scenes resembling the Civil War films of the past 4 years as well as BIRTH OF A NATION itself. The performers were mostly Griffith regulars like Walter Long and Alfred Paget with Sam DeGrasse in a rare heroic role (he was one of the silent era's most successful villians). It's easy to see that Griffith did not direct this film as the performances are broader than usual for a Griffith film and the camerawork while epic in scope is very unimaginative. As is typical of most patriotic films even to this day the heroes are relentlessly noble to the last drop of blood while the bad guys are one-dimensional cardboard villians who deserve everything that the heroes can dish out. Funny how some things never change although the most recent film of THE ALAMO attempts to rewrite history in the opposite direction and was a collosal flop because of it. The DVD was put out by Delta Entertainment who specialize in budget releases and, unlike most budget purveyors, they have done a first class job here. The 16mm print used is in pretty good shape with decent picture quality although it occassionally cuts the image off at the top (a frequent problem with 16mm transfers). The music score provided by Michael Boldt is a good one creating maximum martial effects wirh minimal resources. There are also a generous number of extras about the Alamo including a rare 1930's short film produced locally in San Antonio. All in all this DVD is certainly worth a look and you do get more than your money's worth but it's unlikely to appeal to anyone outside of history buffs or silent film enthusiasts like myself.

Rating:
Summary: A Treat for Alamo and History Buffs
Review: This special edition by Delta Entertainment turned out to be much better than I had first expected: not only is the feature film a D.W.Griffith production from 1915, it is also now the oldest surviving Alamo film, and this edition adds a brief but helpful commentary by Alamo expert, Frank Thompson, a 16-minute rare educational film on the Alamo from the early 1930s, and two other rare and unusual short films from more recent times. "The Martyrs of the Alamo" has been digitally remastered and the picture quality is fairly good throughout, with fine acting performances (by silent era stars like Sam de Grasse, A.D. Sears, Walter Long) good battle scenes and overall excellent direction by Christy Cabanne. The modern orchestral score also impressed me, and I found it quite stirring and very fitting to the scenes. I'm sure that most Alamo or history buffs in general would find this early silent version about the Alamo very interesting despite some differences and special features which are explained by the Alamo expert. The rare 1930s educational film made locally in San Antonio also has some special features, and despite its very small budget and extras taken from the unemployment queues, I found it interesting and complementary to the feature film. Overall, I believe this nice DVD edition should please the history and old/rare film buff, as well as add a significant piece of film history to any collection.