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Gone to Texas

Gone to Texas

List Price: $14.98
Your Price: $13.48
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "REMEMBER THE ALAMO!"
Review: "Gone to Texas" is one of those films that resonate with truth. Sam Elliott is one of the great actors of our time, and his portrayal of Sam Houston is incredible! A fine supporting cast, and a brilliant recreation of the battle of San Jacinto! This is a movie worth owning! An awesome made-for-television historical epic! Grade: A+

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "REMEMBER THE ALAMO!"
Review: "Gone to Texas" is one of those films that resonate with truth. Sam Elliott is one of the great actors of our time, and his portrayal of Sam Houston is incredible! A fine supporting cast, and a brilliant recreation of the battle of San Jacinto! This is a movie worth owning! An awesome made-for-television historical epic! Grade: A+

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: POOR, POOR, and POOR
Review: Badly filmed, badly written, and the editing was beyond bad. Sam Elliot should be ashamed of himself for getting involved with this turkey. Do yourself a big favor pass on this one.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: POOR, POOR, and POOR
Review: Badly filmed, badly written, and the editing was beyond bad. Sam Elliot should be ashamed of himself for getting involved with this turkey. Do yourself a big favor pass on this one.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Slow moving Sam Houston autobiography
Review: Gone to Texas is a good TV movie about the life of Sam Houston. It follows Houston from his days as the Governor of Tennessee all the way through to his time as the commander of the army during the Texas War for Independence. Interweaved through it all is depictions of the fall of the Alamo, the Goliad massacre, and also the government convention at Washington-on-the-Brazos. This is also one of the only movies to show the taking of San Antonio by the Texans three months before the siege of the Alamo.

This may not be very interesting to people who do not already know something about Houston or at least some background about the time. Sam Elliott is pretty good as Sam Houston with Michael Beck giving a decent performance as the knife fighter Jim Bowie. There is a very good presentation of the battle for San Jacinto as well. Interesting movie which does take a while to get going.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Slow moving Sam Houston autobiography
Review: Gone to Texas is a good TV movie about the life of Sam Houston. It follows Houston from his days as the Governor of Tennessee all the way through to his time as the commander of the army during the Texas War for Independence. Interweaved through it all is depictions of the fall of the Alamo, the Goliad massacre, and also the government convention at Washington-on-the-Brazos. This is also one of the only movies to show the taking of San Antonio by the Texans three months before the siege of the Alamo.

This may not be very interesting to people who do not already know something about Houston or at least some background about the time. Sam Elliott is pretty good as Sam Houston with Michael Beck giving a decent performance as the knife fighter Jim Bowie. There is a very good presentation of the battle for San Jacinto as well. Interesting movie which does take a while to get going.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Worth Watching
Review: I have never been much of a history buff, but lately Texas History has become a passion of mine.

I thought this movie had some outstanding acting (with the exception of Sam Houston's part Cherokee wife) and told a story that you rarely get to see in such honesty. Watching previous accounts of the battle at the Alamo between Santa Ana and General Travis...one might be led to believe that Houston was a coward for not going to go help them fight. But watching this movie, and reading more about what he did, you understand his reasons for refusing..and you find a new found respect for the man. Well, at least I did. Very well done and very informative! I give it an enthusiastic two thumbs up!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: waste of money
Review: I was excited when this DVD arrived today, however, as I sat and watched it my excitement quickly disappeared. It was very obvious that this film had a low budget, the acting (apart from Sam Elliott) was pathetic, and the editing, along with the effects demonstrate that the makers of this film could not really be bothered. A waste of money and since the Australian exchange rate is poor, the waste for me was even more so! Very disappointed!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: OK for a Cold Winter Day
Review: This is not the best TV movie ever made, but it's got it moments. In particular, several actors truly bring to life the people they portray. John P. Ryan personifies the jerk history knows David Burnett to have been. Richard Yñiquez and Peter Gonzales Falcon had roles much too small, as General Santa Anna and Juan Seguin, but they played them so very well. Sam Elliott, particularly in exhibiting Houston's oratorical skill, was fascinating. It comes closer to portraying the time than do many other depictions of the Texas Revolution.

Given a choice between this one and The Alamo (2004), I'll take Gone to Texas.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Worth Watching
Review: This made for TV movie is a decent attempt to portray one of the central figures in the Texas Revolution and the subsequent history of Texas. Told from the perspective of Sam Houston, the story begins with a cameo of Houston's election as Govenor of Tennessee and a very brief explanation of his subsequent journey to Texas on the eve of revolution.

The history portrayed is largely correct, and the scenes of battle (at the Alamo and at San Jacinto) are carefully portrayed and present viewpoints and information rarely seen elsewhere. I would like to have seen Sam Elliot shave off his famous moustache for the film, but I guess I can overlook that. As one of the many Jacksonian era living history reenactors whose time, effort, and presence made the movie, and especially the battle scenes, more accurate and memorable, I am somewhat prejudiced about the film's merits. Still, viewed from a historical perspective, it gives a good overview of the passions and politics that forged the Republic of Texas. If you want to learn something about the way Texas became an independent Republic, this movie beats reading almost any single account of the story. There are a few glaring flaws in the movie, but they pale in comparison to the overall product. Academy Award material? No, but a long way from boring.


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