Last Night at the Alamo

I have often sat in a bar, as depicted in this film, just to observe the action (I'm the quiet guy at the end of the bar with his back to the wall, nursing his drink). The wonderful thing about this movie is it's realism. It takes you there without actually being there. You become that voyeuristic 'fly on the wall'. I will often come to imdb after watching a film to read member comments. At present there are 5 listed. I couldn't agree more with all of them. Well said. How gratifying when you find others that share your view. The characterizations and acting are superb. A wonderful ensemble production with both the writer and director appearing. Thanks for a great film. Somebody is missing the boat by not having this film out on dvd/vhs. Watch for it on IFC and be prepared to tape, you might want to share.

Steve Mattilla is amazing in this film. His portrayal of Ichabod is the epitome of physical acting. I loved this film and I think that anyone who longs for their wine and roses days (or their beer and beer nuts days,) will feel a twinge of pain at the demise of the Alamo.

This film was simply great. It has so much realism it seems almost unreal. Yeah, not a lot happens but it's a great character study. The way in which we get to see the characters exposed is amazing. Take for example Cowboy. He's a hot shot that everyone seems to like (except Steve). Everyone admires and looks up to him. Then we see him come undone. Cowboy knows he's a loser and now their taking the last thing that he cares about away from him. The way it was shot in black in white definately sets the tone for the film. It's a depressing drama in which everything falls apart for just about all of it's characters. However, we're left with the feeling that nothing that happened that night will matter in the morning. This is a typical night at the Alamo...

I was lucky enough to catch this on the Independent Film Channel, thinking it was a different film entirely. Within a few minutes, I was engrossed.

It seemed from the very beginning that I was watching real people, not actors; that someone was just filming what happened to be going on. The fact that several of the actors have no other credits besides Last Night At the Alamo bears out this theory.

These are real people with real jobs, real lives and real problems. You can go to any dank bar in America and find exactly the same people you're watching, here, and they'll act exactly the same way. They come in, tell lame stories, posture for each other, and get drunker and stupider as the night goes on.

The byplay between Cowboy and Claude was interesting; it felt like a seduction, at times. It would have added a new dimension to the film if Cowboy had actually been trying to put the moves on his friend, but the filmmakers copped out on that one.

As more and more characters showed up at the bar, I started to think that Cowboy didn't even exist, and I'd been suckered into a drunken version of 'Waiting for Godot'. When he did show up, I immediately began to wonder exactly why he was so popular with the patrons - and believe me, there's a guy like that in EVERY bar.

It's difficult to describe the rest; the concept was so simple, it boils down into very few words. It looks like this film hasn't been released to the home market, yet, so I'll have to keep my eyes open and tape it, next time it comes around. I suggest you do the same.

The Last Night At the Alamo is a GREAT movie. It took me forever to find it but when I did I was not disappointed. I have heard and read about it and many people have said that its a Texas classic. I had to buy it off EBAY and I had tried 3 times before only to outbid by 100$. That shows you how bad some people wanted this rare treasure. This movie had a very simple plot that anyone who has ever stepped foot in a bar can relate to. Its in black and white to give you that old western kind of a feel. Overall a great movie I just wish there was a way the video could be more distributed. If I am correct this movie is out of print and can only be bought or located by people who are willing to sell the video. If you stumble upon it buy it.