Save the alamo before it's lost forever!!!!

[Azores26]

Didn't know "The Alamo" was so endangered, guess I was ten years late to the news. Never watched it and just noticed that it was only released on blu-ray in Germany and France. I wonder if anything changed since 2014, would be great to see it released by the Warner Archive.

[Mr. Chaverria]

I forgot about that film. And what was going on w/ it.

Never really found it to be good. And as a Texan, such a weird film even as a kid.

The real Alamo kind of sucks though. It is boring to me. Neat but boring. The story of the Alamo is much more impressive than what was left of it, hahaha.

[anomaly7]

I was actually just listening to the score by Tiomkin the other day, and was wondering if this would ever get a blu-ray release. I only saw the film once back on TV many years ago, and I remember liking it.

Oddly, the other Alamo film from the mid-2000's also never got a blu-ray release. I remember seeing that one in theaters with my dad. Don't recall a lot about it, but I'd be willing to give it another chance.

[Jaymole]

I bought the German Mediabook blu-ray of The Alamo which includes the roadshow version with the added scenes inserted upscaled. I am glad I bought it but would love to see a restored version.

The Alamo was one of my favorites as a child. The 1st time I saw it was went I was in the boy scout camp for the summer. I got sick and had to spend a couple off days in the scout hospital. It was playing that evening on the TV in the room I was convalescing in. After that I would watch anytime it was on TV.

[WonkaBedknobs83]

How much can you actually upscale from the video master used for that laserdisc if it comes down to that?

[CinemaScope]

Originally Posted by WonkaBedknobs83

How much can you actually upscale from the video master used for that laserdisc if it comes down to that?

It doesn’t sound like a good idea, but I was pleasantly surprised how good those scenes looked on the German Blu-ray of the Roadshow version, having said that, I have to say that I much prefer the general release cut (that I saw in the cinema a lifetime ago). The Roadshow version is gone, those extra scenes just survived as a print, & I understand that print is unusable now. The German Blu-ray does look very nice, but as far as I know there’s no reason that they can’t scan the original large format negatives & produce something spectacular…general release version that is, forget the Roadshow: it’s gone.

[WonkaBedknobs83]

MGM/UA's mishandling of that roadshow print was criminal. Of course, in their defense, they were run by one at the time. They still produced some impressive laserdiscs for being flat broke. The "Ultimate Oz" box set of The Wizard of Oz came from the same era as the Alamo and Mad World reconstructions along with similar reconstructions of other United Artists roadshow attractions.

Universal and Disney managed to back up their respective 1990s reconstructions of Spartacus and Bedknobs and Broomsticks on film for future preservation. That's what MGM/UA should have done, but they didn't. They did what was the cheapest and easiest route at the time for what was good enough for bulky high-end NTSC TV sets long since supplanted by 4k and 8k flat screens and projectors. But it was better than nothing, and without it, these scenes might never have been seen again.

[Shane Rollins]

Originally Posted by Robert A. Harris

To me, the real 65mm challenge remains The Alamo, which is in far worse condition. Now owned by Amazon, all I need is an approval to save it. $$ aren’t the obstacle.

https://www.hometheaterforum.com/com...6/post-5291086

[Vilya]

I am glad that I own the laserdisc with the extended cut and I have backed it up, too. I still find it quite watchable despite the limitations of the laserdisc format.

I only care about an actor's performance when watching a movie. They, like myself, are free to believe whatever they want.