Product reviewsHow the West Was Won (DVD, 2008, 2-Disc Set, Special Edition)

The wild West.

It has all the necessary western ingredients, action, love, drama, suspense and great characters.

ReMaster Production Problems-Affects Special Edition's

Great in the theaters; original Cine-A-Rama was great ! All Star Cast was wonderful ! Special Collectors Edition did not make the grade. I purchased 2 : 1) Collector's 2) Ultimate Collector's... Both have the same problem...Disk 1 plays beautifully Disk 2 is where the problem comes in; Part of the movie part 2 goes black, other parts freeze, hangs and jumps missing half of the second half of the movie. I do not recommend either of these versions of the movie. I have now purchased the single disk version in the 1998 release and after it's arrival will review and write a review to report the value and quality. Hope this helps any one interested in owning or seeing this wonderful movie of Historical value as well as lovers of westerns. Great family viewing... Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: ontimedelivery

How the West Was Won

Many years ago my high school band performed the theme song from How the West Was Won and I had never read the book or seen the movie, but loved the music. Though E-Bay, I was able to purchase the book with the same title. Naturally, upon completion of the book, we were interested to see the movie. The famous actors and actresses were well chosen for their parts. Unfortunately, the movie was probably produced in a hurried mode. The explanation was at the beginning of the DVD set. It seems there was great competition when it was filmed to be the first to bring a format of film and projection that had, until that time, been used only by the military, to the big screen. I am certain the result was awesome for those who watched it for the first time. In our era, so many advances have been made in movie making, that surround film is not such a rare thing. In an effort to highlight this format, I think they tended to neglect some things that the producer should have not omitted. I am grateful that Mr. L'Amour chose to take this group of three stories and expound upon them to fill in some loopholes. As in many cases, the book was better than the movie. I will say that the movie was entertaining enough that I plan to watch it many more times.
Based on the life and times of the rugged characters who chose to search new places to build their lives in the West, and the hardships they encountered, the viewer senses the struggle our forefathers faced. We should all have an appreciation for the sacrifices these people made and now, I am more grateful to them. This would be a fun and entertaining semi-history lesson for many ages.Read full review...

How the West Was Won #1 Review

Filmed in panoramic Cinerama, this star-studded, epic Western adventure is a true cinematic classic. Three legendary directors (Henry Hathaway, John Ford, and George Marshall) combine their skills to tell the story of three families and their travels from the Erie Canal to California between 1839 and 1889. Spencer Tracy narrates the film, which cost an estimated 15 million dollars to complete. In the first segment, "The Rivers," pioneer Zebulon Prescott (Karl Malden) sets out to settle in the West with his wife (Agnes Moorehead) and their four children. Along with other settlers and river pirates, they run into mountain man Linus Rawlings (James Stewart), who sells animal hides. The Prescotts try to raft down the Ohio River in a raft, but only daughters Lilith (Debbie Reynolds) and Eve (Carroll Baker) survive. Eve and Linus get married, while Lilith continues on. In the second segment, "The Plains," Lilith ends up singing in a saloon in St. Louis, but she really wants to head west in a wagon train led by Roger Morgan (Robert Preston). Along the way, she's accompanied by the roguish gambler Cleve Van Valen (Gregory Peck), who claims he can protect her. After he saves her life during an Indian attack, they get married and move to San Francisco. In the third segment, "The Civil War," Eve and Linus' son, Zeb (George Peppard), fights for the Union. After he's forced to kill his Confederate friend, he returns home and gives the family farm to his brother. In the fourth segment, "The Railroads," Zeb fights with his railroad boss (Richard Widmark), who wants to cut straight through Indian territory. Zeb's co-worker Jethro (Henry Fonda) refuses to cut through the land, so he quits and moves to the mountains. After the railway camp is destroyed, Zeb heads for the mountains to visit him. In the fifth segment, "The Outlaws," Lilith is an old widow traveling from California to Arizona to stay with her nephew Zeb on his ranch. However, he has to fight a gang of desperadoes first. How the West Was Won garnered three Oscars, for screenplay, film editing, and sound production.Read full review...

How the west was won DVD set.

The picture was clear, but very small do to the space they used for sub-titles and you have to turn them off each time you play the disk.

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: coursefan

The digital restoration was great. If you have not seen this film in a while than tak

If you have not seen this film for a while than take a look at this new version, it's great.

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: spuffs2

Three Screens Look Like One

I had not seen this movie in many years and they did a great job combining the three screens. The last time I saw this on TV, probably 10 or so years ago, it was almost unwatchable. I remember seeing this at the drive in when I was 8 or 9, the only other movie I really remember from those days was Ben Hur. Great MovieRead full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: thetaterbut

Interesting

Great time travel to see old-Hollywood stars and the way movies were made and stories presented.

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: new | Sold by: blowitoutahere

Good product

Good product, good price

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: decluttr_store

Great Movie, But Needs Special Equipment

This redo of this classic Cinerama film is so good that you really need special equipment to do this film justice. This film is perfect for the
large home theatre in which the screen can be enlarged to two to three
times normal and be curved in such a manner as to imitate the original
Cinerama type presentation. The transfer is that good on the DVD to be
able to do this. The film has been digitally enhanced to remove the
vertical deviding lines that appeared in the Cinerama presentation.
Technically this film is awsome and includes Cinerama Adventure that presents
a history of the medium and its' founding fathers. Kudos to all that created
this version of the film. ADRead full review...