How the West Was Won (Ultimate Collector's Edition)

Wonderful video and audio; better than any previous showing I have witnessed, including the original roadshow. Smilebox version does an amazing job of imitating Cinerama and is addictive; outstanding job by technicians of minimizing three-camera lines and cleaning audio. A fun movie with an excellent cast and breathtaking cinematography. A genuine must own. I look forward to future Smilebox releases.

All star cast, Panoramic display [nothing ever this big], great story line , camera work and acting!

Three cheers are much in order for Warner Home Video with their release of this superb Blue Ray issue of "How The West was Won".
Firstly the five star rating adjudged this disc is NOT for the movie - which I think we all agree is something of a flawed epic western - but
for the quite amazing presentation of the film this time round on Blue Ray. Virtually gone are the once irritating panel lines that were left by the filming with three cameras and we now have a Blue Ray version of the movie that is nothing short of stunning. With extremely well defined and sharp as a button images, pluperfect colour resolution and great sound (Alfred Newman's score comes across with dynamic clarity) the entire visual experience is something to behold.

The first disc presents the movie in a terrific 2.35 widescreen version
with excellent extras that includes a film giving us the history of
Cinerama and how the public responded to its introduction in the early fifties. Also there are some great clips from the first Cinerama picture "This Is Cinerama" (1953) presented by Cinerama pioneer Lowell Thomas.

But it is disc two that really takes the biscuit! Here we get a "smile box" version of the complete movie. This is the "wrap around" totally curved format of the film which simulates the cinema Cinerama viewing experience. And by simply moving your seat closer to your TV (the greater your TV screen the greater the effect) you can well imagine watching the movie in your local Cinerama theatre. And it also makes a great fun demo.to show off to your friends!
Amazingly this unique presentation - with all its technical brilliance actually makes the movie better than it really is!
GO FETCH!! Hip, Hip................

Portuguese review:
Para quem gosta de clássicos e ainda de westerns que fizeram história, este disco é imperdível por três razões, no mínimo: a imagem está impecável, a versão em tela cinerama é super charmosa e tudo, inclusive os extras, está legendado em bom português brasileiro e de Portugal. É isso!

Having owned an earlier version of this movie on DVD, the new version is so much better. They did an excellent job of removing the lines between the three cameras. What was really obvious in the different colors from frame to frame has been removed and the whole screen seems to blend together as one piece of film. Plus the surround sound is just like I remember it in the theater. The extra disc highlighting the beginning of Cinerama is very interesting. Anyone who is a fan of this movie will enjoy this Collector's Edition.