They call it the “bargain bin,” the big basket of discount DVDs of questionable quality. We assume that the paltry $5 price tag still gives these films too much credit. Is there anything of use in these wire crates worth the implied value in the word “bargain”? One man braves the bin to find out.
Gone to Texas was a made-for-TV movie originally aired on CBS, lumped in as a “Sam Elliott Double Feature” onto a DVD with another TV vehicle, Blue River. I am an enormous fan of Westerns–I’m still sorting out a long-winded, forthcoming post about the role of Westerns in modern cinema–and Sam Elliott is rightfully included among the greatest actors in the genre. A $5 two-fer has got to be worth the price of admission alone, or at least that’s what my poor mind managed to convince me when I paid for this set.
Gone to Texas tells the story of Sam Houston, a legend in Texan lore and a real frontier hero–the leader of Texan independence and American interests in the contested frontier. This is, ostensibly, what the film attempts to impart upon its patriotic and flag-waving, ruggedly individualistic American viewers–the story of a great and noble American fighting for freedom and independence. However, the real message here is that General Sam Houston is completely and utterly insane.
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