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The West Details

1996

70
from 903 members

Starring	Peter Coyote, Gary Sinise, Matthew Broderick, Martin Moran
Director	Ken Burns
Genres	Documentary

The West

Ken Burns' follow-up to his brilliant 'American Civil War' is 'The West' spanning the history of the American West from 1500 to 1914, intricately weaving together evocative and never before seen still photographs and newsreels from 74 different archives, journals, songs and music, diaries and artefacts that together tell one of the most fascinating and epic stories in human history.

The Spanish Conquistadors and missionaries. The great Indian nations. The pioneers and settlers. The gold miners. The gunfighters, lawmen and cowboys. The terrible and bloody wars and massacres. The building of the railroads. The frontier towns, forts and ranches. The West tells the real story behind the myths and legends.

Episode titles: The West - Empire Upon The Trails, Death Runs Riot, Fight No More Forever, One Sky Above Us.

Starring	Peter Coyote, Gary Sinise, Matthew Broderick, Martin Moran, Ken Little Hawk, Terrence Currier, Blythe Danner, August Schellenberg, Adam Arkin, Pamela Reed, Tony Plana, Julie Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael Potts, Robert Prosky
Director	Ken Burns
Studio	SIMPLY HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Run time	DVD: 11 hrs 44 mins
Certificate
Genres	Documentary
Language	DVD: English
Released	Production year: 1996 To Rent: DVD: 18 Jan 2010

The West (4 discs) (1996)

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Most helpful member's review of The West
View all members' reviews (15)
- - 30
  - 2
  This will teach about the real west, not the one you see in the movies
  
  Stephen Ives directs this mammoth undertaking of the
  
  history of the West in America produced by Ken Burns. The film is
  
  mammoth in its ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 21198
- [Highly rated reviewer]
  - a customer
  - London
  - 09 Oct 2004 at 00:55
Most recent members' reviews of The West
View all members' reviews (15)
- - 0
  - 1
  Dismal, Pedestrian and Disappointing
  
  Having been very impressed by Ken Burns' series on The Civil War I had very high hopes of this documentary/ How I was disappointed! It is pedestrian in the ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 904869
- - a customer
  - South East England
  - 12 Jul 2010 at 09:42
- - 2
  - 0
  A Documentary Masterpiece
  
  The West is an exhaustive history of the American West from pre-columbian times to the early 20th century in eight feature-length parts, which despite its epic ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 896604
- [Highly rated reviewer]
  - dodrade
  - 21 reviews
  - Strabane
  - 06 Jun 2010 at 19:22
- - 1
  - 0
  The West
  
  Its not a spellbinding film. Its a documentary of course, interesting but a bit plodding. Quite a serious study of the subject on the whole but it doesnt leave ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 840740
- - me1me1me1
  - 24 reviews
  - Osmotherley, Northallerton
  - 18 Dec 2009 at 09:56
View all members' reviews (15)
News and features
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The Big Gundown
- 11 Sep 2007
The shoot-out. As both Shoot Em Up and 3:10 to Yuma demonstrate this week, this is one of those dramatic situations that's essentially cinematic. Writers, painters and playwrights might convey something of the tension and excitement, but none of them can compete with the full-blown experience of the expertly staged movie gunfight. That said, it was a novelist who started it all. Owen Wister's "The Virginian" was published in 1902, and set the template for what became the standard climax of the Read more
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- The West
  
  Ken Burns' follow-up to his brilliant 'American Civil War' is 'The West' spanning the history of the American West from 1500 to 1914, intricately weaving together evocative and never before seen still photographs and newsreels from 74 different archives, journals, songs and music, diaries and ...