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How The West Was Won on DVD (1963)

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Average rating: 72%
1214391220813
3.5
from 176 members
 
Starring: Carroll Baker, Lee J. Cobb, Henry Fonda, Carolyn Jones, Karl Malden, Gregory Peck, George Peppard, Robert Preston, Debbie Reynolds, James Stewart, Eli Wallach, John Wayne, Richard Widmark
Director: Henry Hathaway, John Ford, George Marshall
Studio: WARNER HOME VIDEO
Run time: 162 mins
Certificate: PG
Genres: Action/Adventure
Languages: English
Released: 29/09/2008
Also Available on: Also Available on: BLU-RAY

Brief synopsis of How The West Was Won

Hollywood's most celebrated luminaries--behind the camera as well as in front of it--combined talents to present this epic tale of the development of the American West from the 1830s through the Civil War to the end of the century, as seen through the eyes of one pioneer family. The film, divided into three chapters--'The Civil War' (directed by John Ford), 'The Railroad' (directed by George Marshall), and 'The River, the Plains, the Outlaws' (directed by Henry Hathaway)--tells the story of the Prescotts, a spirited group of easterners who make a declaration to migrate west. When their parents are lost in a tragic river accident, Eve (Carroll Baker) and Lilith (Debbie Reynolds) go their separate ways. Eve remains on the land that took her parents, settling down with the well-intentioned Linus Rawlings (James Stewart), while Lilith becomes a singer who is courted by the conniving Cleve Van Valen (Gregory Peck) when he learns that she has inherited a fortune in California. As time passes and the Civil War takes the life of Linus, the newest generation of Prescott offspring struggles with even greater danger and loss, in the form of fierce Indians as well as family archrivals. Top-notch production values and an endless string of solid performances have earned HOW THE WEST WAS WON the well-deserved label as one of Hollywood's most revered classics.

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Rated - 5 starsEpic!

Richard from Reading [Highly rated reviewer] , 24/10/2008

How the West Was Won is an epic movie in every sense of the word. It tells the story of 4 generations of one American family over some 70 years, structured in 6 segments filmed by 3 directors with the cream of Hollywood's actors.

But it is impossible to discuss the film without commenting on the format. HTWWW is one of only 2 feature films filmed in Cinerama - the world's first widescreen format, using 3 cameras in one unit (the size of a refrigerator) to capture the image, which would then be projected in 3 panels onto a 146 degree curved screen, accompanied by a 7 track stereo soundtrack.

The film is 162 minutes long (complete with overture and intermission music) and comes on 2 discs. The third disc carries the full length documentary Cinerama Adventure - which is worth watching in it's own right. It tells the story of Cinerama and is excellent (although for my money it could be slightly more technical).

Warner's technicians have done a fine job digitally re-mastering the print and removing the joins (and 2 degree overlap) between the 3 panels. Alas this DVD does not consider the distortion that you get showing an image intended for a curved surface on a flat screen - and occasionally you get some strange effects.

This is rectified on the documentary by the use of the Smilebox format, where the image is distorted as though it WAS on a curved screen (the black bars at top and bottom become curves). Bizarrely this works perfectly and all the geometry issues are resolved. It's a shame that the main feature is not treated this way - although I understand the Blu-ray is.

Cinerama’s legacy (apart from anything ending -rama) is widescreen photography itself, and so we are all in its debt.

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