Amazon.com: The first feature film to be photographed and projected in the panoramic three-camera Cinerama process, this epic Western is almost as expansive as the West itself, chronicling a pioneering family's triumphs and tragedies in numerous episodes spanning three generations and a half century of westward movement. Divided into five segments directed by veteran Hollywood filmmakers Henry Hathaway, George Marshall, and the legendary John Ford (and including uncredited sequences directed by Richard Thorpe), the film was one of the most ambitious ever made by the venerable MGM studio. Its stellar cast reads like a virtual who's who of Hollywood's biggest stars. Debbie Reynolds plays a sturdy survivor of many pioneering dangers, and the eventual widow of a gambler (Gregory Peck), who is later reunited with her nephew (George Peppard), a Civil War veteran and cavalryman who heads for San Francisco as the transcontinental railroad is being built. Many more characters and stories are woven throughout this epic film, which is dramatically uneven but totally engrossing with its stunning vistas and countless outdoor locations in Illinois, Kentucky, South Dakota, Monument Valley in Arizona, California, Colorado, and elsewhere. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - The birth of widescreen
A superb restoration (on Blu-Ray) of what is a mediocre film. Not even all of the featured Hollywood stars could rescue this Disneyesque look at America's westward expansion. The most interesting thing was the documentary extra on the Cinerama process and how it influenced all subsequent films. This is how widescreen was born. But the use of Cinerama for this film makes many scenes look awkward, as the characters eyes don't quite meet in a number of scenes, since the camera used three lenses and the actors had to "guesstimate" where, exactly, the other actor would appear on the curved Cinerama ... Read More
Rating: - Magnificent western saga!
I am very pleased that this wonderful mini-series is finally available on DVD. I live in Colorado, and I was fascinated with Michner's story. The actors are mostly well chosen, and you can't beat the real scenery of the area around Boulder, CO. You might quibble with some 1970's production values, but there's no CG here! Some of the extra's on the DVD version include interviews with surviving actors about the filming experience. This is a very long mini-series, and I recommend viewing it one disk per night. There is just so much to experience. The earlier episodes are the best, and the message ... Read More
Rating: - BluRay really Rocks
well everybody here has already said it, the movie is great and the bluray transfer is fantastic, great movie all round, this was my first bluray purchase, well worth it.
Rating: - WOW!!!!!
WOW!!!! In Blu Ray this special addition is fantastic!
Can't wait to have our Grand Children over to learn and see," How the West Was Won!!!!!!!
GJH
Rating: - Magnificent restoration
How the West was Won finally gets the treatment it deserves. For years we have had to watch a third of the picture on our 25" television sets with the old pan and scan trick. Later released on dvd it still was a far cry from the original aspect ratio of 2.89 to 1. Now we can watch it in the "smilebox" version which closely replicates the curve of the Cinerama screen giving us a pretty good idea of how the movie was meant to be seen. The only drawback is that the smilebox version is available only on the blu ray version as an alternative to the letterbox version which looks long and skinny when shown as ... Read More
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