The film was shown at the New York Film Festival in October 1983 and received mostly good reviews. The movie then played the USA Film Festival in 1984. It won the Special Jury Prize: Dramatic at the January 1984 Sundance Film Festival. Last Night at the Alamo started distribution in a limited commercial release in July 1984. It was released on VHS by the defunct home video company Continental Video in the mid 1980s. It as of yet has not received a DVD or Blu-ray release.
