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How the West Was Won (Three-Disc Special Edition) | 
 enlarge | Actors: Rodopho (rudy) Acosta, Mark Allen, Beulah Archuletta, Carroll Baker, Brigid Bazlen
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $20.98
Buy New: $13.83
You Save: $7.15 (34%)
New (43) Used (12) from $13.41
Rating:  113 reviews
Sales Rank: 4545
Format: Ac-3, Box Set, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Original Recording Remastered, Restored, Special Edition, Widescreen, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: G (General Audience)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.55:1
Number Of Discs: 3
Running Time: 164 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.5
MPN: WARD019114D
UPC: 012569799714
EAN: 0012569799714
ASIN: B0018O4RT2
Theatrical Release Date: 1962
Release Date: September 9, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.
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| Editorial Reviews:
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
Product Description
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 09/09/2008
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| Customer Reviews: Read 108 more reviews...
 How the West Was Won January 9, 2009
Gary Garbin (New Albany, Ohio)
I originally saw the film in Cinerama at the theater (7 times) - it's my favorite of all time. I've seen it a few times on TV but a bit disappointed about the lines dividing the 3 screens and the distortion that created. However, I was shocked to see how this version did a supurb job of putting the three screens together to give the viewer the closest resemblace to the original experience! I find the "Smilevision" a bit too corney. The brochure telling of the behind-the-scenes facts are very informative as well.
Excellently restored, but.. January 9, 2009
J. F. Hodge (Ingham, NQ Australia)
The restorers have done a superb job of turning this movie into a home cinema experience but the nature of the beast that is Cinerama isn't easy to tame. This comes as a 2 Blu-ray set with one done (very) widescreen and the other done in the odd smilebox format. Neither is perfect nor could they be but it's certainly a grand experience either way.
It's not my favourite film but the reason for buying was the grandeur of it, some miscolouring still appears from time to time where the film stocks were joined but it doesn't hurt the overall feel of it.
It's understandable after seeing this as well as home video allows why only two Cinerama films were made, for all its grandeur it doesn't present any better than the extra wide but normal films that followed, with the distorted fish-eye like view sometimes detracting.
However it does present as a very collectible film and the quality is quite superb overall.
How Cinerama DVD Was Won December 14, 2008
Jean Michel Colson (France)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Wow !!! What a wonderful transfer either for image and sound ! watched on Plasma screen (with HDMI connexion) and through Dolby Digital 7.1 ("Adventure" YAMAHA DSP type), it's impressive!Of course I knew this movie in Cinerama Theater (EMPIRE HALL in PARIS). Congratulations for "3 screen" separate lines treatment which make possible a domestic watch in good conditions. the original version was interesting in Cinerama theater but a torture on a domestic screen! The "Cinerama adventure" bonus includes very persuasive highlights of the "smile-box" version available only in Blue-Ray edition. I don't have Blue-Ray player yet but after seeing that, I think about !!!
Beautiful! December 1, 2008
M. Gale (Fort Collins, CO USA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
The Blu Ray release of How the West Was Won is by far the best version released to date. The frames are nearly perfectly aligned and synchronized. The "smile box" format is a real treat. It simulates the Cinerama theatre experience very well. The soundtrack sounds great. Blu Ray has definitely improved home theatre audio which has suffered from low resolution and high data compression with DVD. If you are a fan of this film, an audiophile, a videophile, or a Cinerama enthusiast, you must own this. If you don't already own a Blu Ray player, get off your butt and go buy one! It is worth it for this version of How the West Was Won.
 The birth of widescreen November 30, 2008
Scorpio69 (Hawaii, America's Paradise)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
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 screen. Closeups were also impossible. Cinerama was made for big, expansive scenes, of which HTWWW has many. The directors actually had to compose their shots based upon the camera's unique characteristics. While some scenes were gorgeous, even displaying it in HD on my 106" projection screen looked awkward, because it was made for Cinerama's curved screen. All in all, an interesting, if underwhelming, movie.
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