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

This movie has never looked better! The smile box presentation was fascinating and the letterbox was a joy to watch. The removal of the "overlap" lines was especially welcome! Buy and enjoy!

James R. Webb's original screenplay for the screen won an Oscar in 1962 and it involves an episodic account of the Prescott family and their contribution to settling the American west in the 19th century. We first meet the Prescott's, Karl Malden and Agnes Moorehead going west on the Erie Canal and later by flatboat on the Ohio River. They have two daughters, dreamy romantic Carroll Baker and feisty Debbie Reynolds. The girls meet and marry mountain man James Stewart and gambler Gregory Peck eventually and their adventures and those of their children are what make up the plot of How the West Was Won.

Three of Hollywood's top directors did parts of this film although the lion's share by all accounts was done by Henry Hathaway. John Ford did the Civil War sequence and George Marshall the sequence about the railroad.

The Civil War piece featured John Wayne and Harry Morgan in a moment of reflection at the battlefield of Shiloh. Morgan did a first rate job as Grant in his brief cameo and Wayne was playing Sherman for the second time in his career. He'd previously played Sherman in a cameo on his friend Ward Bond's Wagon Train series. I'm surprised Wayne never did Sherman in a biographical film, he would have been good casting.

If any of the stars could be said to be THE star of the film it would have to be Debbie Reynolds. She's in the film almost through out and in the last sequence where as a widow she goes to live with her nephew George Peppard and his family she's made up as a gray haired old woman and does very well with the aging. Debbie also gets to do a couple of musical numbers, A Home in the Meadow and Raise A Ruckus both blend in well in the story. Debbie's performance in How the West Was Won must have been the reason she was cast in The Unsinkable Molly Brown.

Cinerama was rarely as effectively employed as in How the West Was Won. I well remember feeling like you were right on the flatboat that the Presscott family was on as they got caught in the Ohio River rapids. The Indian attack and the buffalo stampede were also well done. But the climax involving that running gun battle between peace officers George Peppard and Lee J. Cobb with outlaw Eli Wallach and his gang on a moving train even on a formatted VHS is beyond thrilling.

There is a sequence that was removed and it had to do with Peppard going to live with buffalo hunter Henry Fonda and marrying Hope Lange who was Fonda's daughter. She dies and Peppard leaves the mountains and then marries Carolyn Jones. Lange's part was completely left on the cutting room floor. I was hopeful in this version we'd see Hope Lange and more of Henry Fonda.

Considering you have all those Hollywood legends in one exciting film. They really don't make them like this any more.

It's hard to convey to today's younger audience the impact that the "Cinerama" theater experience had on 1950's-60's audiences. It was the ulimate 3D of its day. Three giant screens - two of which curved around the front sides of the theater -- with three separate projectors plus surround sound channels -- all combined into a memorable movie experience. How the West was Won was an attempt to use this process in a story telling movie script. This may not have succeeded per se, but some of the scenery and acting by Hollywood's legendary actors makes it interesting, especially if you fast-forward some of the less interesting scenes.

Now thanks to digital technology the Cinerama effect can be simulated at home, particularly for those with big front-screen projection set-ups. This Blu-ray edition includes perhaps the most unique-to-date disc projection called "SmileBox". It attempts to recreate that 3-screen, wrap-around affect using an optical hour-glass display of the original film. The bigger your screen the more realistic. We have a 14-foot wide Elite screen and leverage a Panasonic AX100U projector in our family room. Wow! If you are a techie film buff and ever had attended a 'live' Cinerama show, this is for you. Again, this best on large screens only I suggest.

Also, some real digital clean-up work was spent on this newest release making the purchasing a worthwhile addition to a home video library.

Experiencing the 1963 version at a CINERAMA theater was breathtaking and unbelievable with that 146 degree 3 projector screen bigger than life.

Not since then have we been able to re-experience that magical event until NOW. Yes my fellow movie buffs this Blu-ray Hi-def Picture and Hi-Def Sound 2008 version with its pioneering technology can be enjoyed once again. In fact with the true HD Blu-ray HDMI Home Theater you can experience a better "HOW THE WEST WAS WON" visual wonderland!

My qualifying statement: My HD Home theater weighs in at about $2000 plus movies. A break down is; a Mitsubishi Projector(HC-1500) $800 (orig $1495), a Sony 5.1 Sound system (HT-SS2300) $400 (orig $500) and a Sony Playstation 3 with Blu-ray player $400 (orig $500). Sony HDMI cables $150 and HD Screen paint and kit $180 for my 108" viewing wall screen. With this 1080p system I've created a HD Home Theater presentation sight and sound equal to an IMAX (on a smaller scale) experience.

The 1080p Blu-ray showing blows your minds eye, period. Their are 2 discs and 2 versions. Whats incredible is watching the SmileBox transfer replicating the CINERAMA wraparound theatrical experience right in your own home. By curving the flat 2D picture (disc 1) into a smile simulates the 146 degree 3D image (disc 2)of CINERAMA. Whats truly amazing is the people on the edges appear to be in the foreground on opposite sides talking to each other. You have to see it to believe it. The clarity is so clear you think your living the experience today not 1963. Only seeing the youthful movie stars brings you to the realization on the true date of this spectacular epic eye candy. With Blu-ray you are swept off to where ever they take you.

Bottomline: Blu-ray, HD HDMI 5.1 Home Theater is the only way to enjoy this SmileBox version of "HOW THE WEST WAS WON". Bonus extra CINERAMA ADVENTURE is a 96 minute documentary about the CINERAMA process and history. This alone is worth the price of the set NOTE: I suggest you watch this documentary prior to watching the movie for the appreciation of the entire magical process. Have fun and Enjoy!!

I saw this movie in Washington, DC, at the Uptown Theater, the only true Cinerama theater in town. The 3-70mm camera Cinerama experience was far more important than the actual movie but it was fantastic! Actually, I went back and saw this movie three times, all because of Cinerama.

I love westerns, always have, but this one, from a pure movie standpoint, is not great. You can easily see the different director's styles as the film moves from era to era and sometimes the acting and writing is, to be charitable, weak. Nonetheless, the scope and beauty is undeniable.

Now, this digital transfer is here and it's outstanding in every way. Blu Ray really does it justice and anyone who considers older films unworthy for HD release should see this. It's not pristine but it's up there with the best and the "lines" separating the three camera screens, so evident in the original, has been nearly eliminated . Surprisingly, the "Smilebox" format works very well, simulating the original three camera experience. I found myself sitting on the floor in front of my usual sofa seating position and creeping closer and closer to my 60" Sony. It brought back fond memories of the original viewings at the Uptown.

In fact, I'm going back to see it again tomorrow night!

arkiedan