Texas Rising is a 2015 television miniseries based on the Texas Revolution against Mexico and how the Texas Rangers were created. It was directed by Roland Joffé and premiered on May 25, 2015 on the History Channel. The series stars Bill Paxton, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Ray Liotta, Brendan Fraser, Olivier Martinez and Cynthia Addai-Robinson.
Contents
Premise
Opening Introduction: (narrator): 1836—Republic of Texas. The Mexican territory is home to thousands of U.S. settlers. Tensions rise as Comanche and Karankawa fight to keep their lands. Outlaws roam free, and slaves are caught in the crossfire. Mexican General Santa Anna battles to reclaim the land. U.S. President Andrew Jackson is hesitant to intervene and Texas has no choice but to declare itself an independent nation. Outnumbered, General Sam Houston's Texas Republic Army and Steve Austin's Ranging Company are all that stand between Santa Anna's tyranny and independence. Texas in flames; the Alamo in ashes. Pioneers, Mexicans, Tejanos, Indians, Soldiers, have no choice ... fight or die!
Unlike most films or television series that focus on the Texas Revolution, Texas Rising does not center on the Battle of the Alamo and starts after its fall. The series focuses on General Sam Houston and the Texan Army as Santa Anna marches eastward to face finish off the Texans. Battles shown include the Goliad Massacre and the Battle of San Jacinto. There is also special focus on a company of Texas Rangers under Deaf Smith and Henry Karnes who serve as scouts for Sam Houston.
Production
Filming began around June 2014 in Durango, Mexico. The series is from A+E Studios and ITV Studios America, produced by Thinkfactory Media with Leslie Greif as executive producer. Actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan ate a can of tuna a day to lose 40 pounds for his role as Deaf Smith.
Release
The first teaser trailer was released on January 25, 2015, during Sons of Liberty, which revealed a "Memorial Day" release date and featured the tagline, "The Alamo wasn't the end. It was the beginning."
The series premiered in Australia on 19 August 2015 on FX Australia.
Cast
Reception
Critical response
The media coverage about the series was somewhat negative, with some debate over whether or not the right blend between historical accuracy and poetic license had been reached - with some sources saying that a channel calling itself "History" invited greater scrutiny on the question. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the miniseries a rating of 13% based on 15 reviews, with an average rating of 5.1/10. The site's consensus states, "Tedious and forgettable, Texas Rising is full of offensive stereotypes and a messy multitude of unfocused characters and narratives." Metacritic gives the miniseries a score of 52 out of 100, based on 12 reviews, indicating "mixed reviews".
Days before the show aired, the Associated Press' Lynn Elber wrote that, inspired by the success of the series "Hatfields & McCoys" and "The Bible", History channel lined up several impressive elements for the Texas Rising series. Including shooting it in wide-screen CinemaScope and hiring Oscar-nominated Roland Joffe, "armies of extras [for use] in sprawling battle scenes, and getting Kris Kristofferson, George Strait and Jose Feliciano to add their own music along with the full symphonic score. Elber reported that executive producer Leslie Greif stated that "We wanted to try to tell the story from a lot of perspectives, so there are really no villains in our piece. There are villainous deeds. ... but we didn't want to have a paintbrush and say this side is right and this side is wrong." Greif also said that "The film was vetted by experts but does take liberties for dramatic purposes". He explained "Historically, the battles that occurred were true. We didn't kill anyone who didn't die and didn't keep anyone alive who died (among the real-life figures). The rest we used as a jumping-off spot to tell a great story." With this approach to the historical material Greif's concern was that too many people would miss all the work "spent perfecting each visual and sound element" because they would watch it on a laptop or smartphone, and he felt it best viewed in a darkened room on as big a screen as possible.
In a review Variety columnist Brian Lowry held that the show was "wonderfully cast and otherwise completely wooden". He maintained that it "juggles too many indifferently written, tough-talkin' characters, as if "Lonesome Dove" had experienced a sharp blow to the head." Lowry held that the series did not live up to the level of History channel's previous series "Hatfields & McCoys". Lowry did hold that the concept of trying to fill in the gap for audiences of what happened after the Alamo was a good one, but that the series was unable to do so effectively. He held a major flaw was "the wholly one-dimensional way the Mexican are depicted and that the portrayal of Santa Anna invoked memories of the cartoon Snidely Whiplash and the character The Most Interesting Man in the World from the Dos Equis advertising campaign. Lowry held that the show "pays more attention to the marketing campaign than the script".
Awards and nominations
Won
New York Festivals
Gold World Medal - Night 3 and 4
Golden Reel Awards
Best Sound Editing - Long Form Sound Effects and Foley in Television
Nominations
Emmy Awards:
Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Limited Series Or A Movie - "Night 4"
Outstanding Sound Editing For A Limited Series, Movie Or A Special - "Night 4"
Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music
Online Film & Television Association Awards
Best Costume Design in a Non-Series
Best Visual Effects in a Non-Series
Screen Actors Guild Awards
Best Male Actor in a TV movie/miniseries - Ray Liotta
Women's Image Network Awards:
Best Actress in a Drama Series - Cynthia Addai-Robinson
Golden Reel Awards
Best Sound Editing - Long Form Dialogue and ADR in Television
International Film Music Critics Association
