VHS CASE/SIDE
Length of film: 162 Minutes (Directors Cut: 203 Minutes) (1967 Re-Release: 140 Minutes)
Rated: Approved (Not Rated)
Genre: Adventure, Drama, History
Director: John Wayne
Starring: John Wayne, Richard Widmark, Laurence Harvey, Frankie Avalon, Patrick Wayne, Linda Cristal, Joan O’Brien, Chill Wills
IMDB Rank: 6.9/10
Part 1 Time: 80 Minutes (Directors Cut: 96 Minutes) (1967 Re-Release: N/A)
Part 2 Time: 82 Minutes (Directors Cut: 107 Minutes) (1967 Re-Release:N/A)
Where does the first part end? Col. Jim Bowie (Richard Widmark) and Col. Davy Crockett (John Wayne) watch as Col. William Barrett Travis (Laurence Harvey) uses a cigar to light a cannon that fires upon a detachment of Mexican soldiers.
Final line of dialogue on the first part: Col. Jim Bowie speaks to Col. Davy Crockett. “I hate to say anything good about that long winded jackanapes, but he does know the short way to start a war.”
First line of dialogue on the second part: “The sixth!” Col. William Barrett Travis speaks to his army as Mexican soldiers begin taking positions in front of the fort.
How jarring is it when the first part ends? Somewhat, the siege at Fort Alamo in San Antonio de Bexar is about to begin. Will the Texan’s be able to defeat the tyrannical rule of Gen. Santa Anna?
Which part is better? Part two is significantly better as it shows the entirety of the 13 day siege.
Academy Awards: Best Sound, Best Picture (Nominated), Best Supporting Actor (Nominated- Chill Wills), Best Cinematography- Colour (Nominated), Best Film Editing (Nominated), Best Music- Original Song (Nominated), Best Music- Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (Nominated)
THEATRICAL POSTER
Hollywood Half-Time 
What happened to this film was awful. The original negative AND the protection prints (As negatives easily faded back then) was severely cut for the theatrical release with all the trimmings being destroyed so they could not be used. And the last surviving print of the 70mm Roadshow used in the VHS and Laserdisc transfers deteriorated so badly that an attempt at a high definition restoration is impossible now. I think the current Blu-ray actually uses upscaled elements of the old transfer.
Of course it’s a miracle that we even have the roadshow in the first place, But it could have looked so much better since it was shot in 65mm which when scanned in 4K, looks absolutely amazing.
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