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The story of the battle at The Alamo has been told many times in film, with perhaps the most famous being the 1960 John Wayne version. The historical tale gets a big budget facelift for 2004, and will address many of the intricacies that were glossed over for the sake of patriotism in the 1960 version.

This epic tale from The Rookie director John Lee Hancock takes us to San Antonio de Bexar and the tiny, ruined mission that is its landmark -- the Alamo. Looking at both myth and reality, the story will be told from a fairly impartial point of view, imparting both the nationalistic and the Mexican perspective. For those unfamiliar with the events, they took place in the spring of 1836 as less than 200 "ordinary men" who believed in the future of Texas held their ground for 13 days against thousands of Mexican soldiers under the leadership of dictator General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.

The 200 men who protected the fort and their ideals were commanded by the impetuous, youthful Lt. Colonel William Barret Travis (Patrick Wilson), the obsessive James Bowie (Jason Patric) and the infamous Davy Crockett (Billy Bob Thornton). These men would eventually sacrifice their lives for what they believed so fervently, and became a rallying call for General Sam Houston (Dennis Quaid) as he sought Texas independence.

One interesting note about the film is that it will address some of the ugly sides of the men-who-would-be-heroes. Travis was known for serial marital infidelities, Bowie was a slave trader, and Crockett was just simply politically incorrect in general.

With fantastic special effects already in evidence in previews, The Alamo looks to be very interesting both for history buffs and movie fans alike. Disney's marketing team tends to be very successful when it comes to pushing films such as this one -- and it will need to be if the studio hopes to recoup its enormous $95 million budget. (Kim Hollis/BOP)

Vital statistics for The Alamo Main Cast Dennis Quaid, Billy Bob Thornton, Jason Patric, Jordi Molla Supporting Cast Emilio Echevarria, Marc Blucas, Patrick Wilson, Wes Studi, W. Earl Brown, Laura Clifton, Mark Brauner, Stephen Bruton, Rutherford Cravens, Blue Deckert, Nick Kokich Director John Lee Hancock Screenwriter John Sayles, Stephen Gaghan Distributor Touchstone Trailer Click Here for Trailer Official Site http://alamo.movies.com/ Rating PG-13 Running Time 137 minutes Screen Count 2,609 Awards Awards page for The Alamo Talent in red has entry in The Big Picture

Comparison films for The Alamo
Title	Date	Opening	Adjusted Opening	Screens	PSA	Adj PSA	Total BO	Adjusted Total	Mult
Pearl Harbor	5/25/01	59.08	63.05	3214	18382.00	18870.0	198.54	211.90	3.36
Black Hawk Down	1/18/02	33.63	34.96	3101	10844.00	10844.0	108.58	112.89	3.17
Patriot, The	6/30/00	22.41	25.07	3061	7321.00	7877.9	113.30	126.74	4.64
Gods and Generals	2/21/03	4.68	4.68	1533	3050.00	3050.0	12.88	12.88	2.75