How the West Was Won (Ultimate Collector's Edition) | 
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| Directors: Henry Hathaway, John Ford, George Marshall
Actors: Carroll Baker, Lee J. Cobb, Henry Fonda, Carolyn Jones, Karl Malden
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $59.98
Buy New: $30.92
You Save: $29.06 (48%)
New (31) Used (11) from $29.02
Rating:  83 reviews
Sales Rank: 6099
Format: Ac-3, Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Original Recording Remastered, Restored, Special Edition, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), Japanese (Subtitled), Thai (Subtitled), French (Dubbed)
Rating: G (General Audience)
Number Of Items: 3
Running Time: 164
Aspect Ratio: 2.55:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5.6 x 2.1
MPN: 1000039866
UPC: 883929026487
EAN: 0883929026487
ASIN: B0018O50W0
Theatrical Release Date: February 20, 1963
Release Date: September 9, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: NEW FACTORY SEALED- ULTIMATE COLLECTOR'S EDITION- 1963 (MB)
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Product Description
With courage sinew and conflict: that?s how the West was won. With three directors five interlocked stories some of movie history?s most legendary action scenes and a constellation of acting talent: that?s how How the West Was Won was filmed. Henry Fonda Gregory Peck Debbie Reynolds James Stewart and John Wayne are among the big names in this big saga following a family?s move West through generations ? marked by the spectacles of a heart-pounding raging river ride a thunderous buffalo stampede and a bracing runaway train shootout. Via technological advances this panoramic winner of three Academy Awards can now be seen with a resplendent restored clarity eliminating its original ?three- panel join lines? and in roof-raising Dolby 5.1 audio. Westward ho!Explore a new home entertainment frontier with a classic movie adventure in a stunning new version never before possible!Includes 2-Disc Special Edition DVD: The Winner of 3 Academy Awards Digitally Remastered from Restored Picture Elements in New Dolby 5.1 Audio With 3-Panel Cinerama ?Join Lines? of Previous Theatrical/Video Versions Removed Via Pioneering TechnologyPlus 4+ Hours of Special Features Including New Star/Historian Commentary The Making of How the West Was Won Featurette and the Acclaimed Bonus Movie Cinerama Adventure Nostalgically Chronicling the History of How the West Was Won?s Unique Filmmaking ProcessBonus Collectibles Inside: ? 36-Page Cinerama Souvenir Book Reproduction ? 10 Color Production Photo Cards ? 10 Black-and-White Rare Behind-the-Scenes Photo Cards ? 24-Page Reproduction of the Original General Release Pressbook ? Mail-in Offer for a FREE** Poster(**Limited time offer. Not included with Club skus)Running Time: 162 min.System Requirements:Running Time: 162 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: WESTERN/CLASSICS Rating: G UPC: 883929026487 Manufacturer No: 1000039866
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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 78 more reviews...
 HD Home Theater (HDMI) w/Blu-ray brings CINERAMA Home (explained) October 2, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
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!!
A terrific transfer! September 29, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
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
 Ultimate Collector's Edition September 29, 2008
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
I'm afraid that I must agree with some of the less popular and more critical assessments of this newly remastered edition of "How the West Was Won" in that it's just not all that great. While the action sequences are spellbinding, most of this movie is tedious and difficult to watch. Somebody dumped a pile of cash on this picture to demonstrate what can be done with Cinerama but, unfortunately, not much can really be done, outside of the 'roller-coaster' shots.
This is a 'restored' version and it is miles better than previously released renditions of HtWWW; eliminating all dirt and scratches found on the old prints (what some here have described as 'dirt' spots in the opening ariel scene are just water droplets on the window); eliminating the 'join' lines between panels (except for a couple of pan shots where they are hard to ignore); also, color has been corrected and carefully matched between panels. Sound is very good, for the most part, but at times a bit distorted and the dialog volume is uneven and could benefit from some better equalization.
I would have given this 2 stars, except for the inclusion, on the third disc, of Dave Strohmaier's excellent documentary, "Cinerama Adventure".
There are a few big problems with this new DVD collection that bother me: First, there is some kind of digital "smoothing" that has been applied to the finished product, which may help to make visual discrepancies less noticeable during the transfer to disc, but makes the image a little less sharp than it could be, and really needs to be, for this movie. I've seen sharper digital transfers from WB and MGM on many other standard definition videos, and unfortunately, the documentary also suffers this fate. I know because I saw it in a theatre. Secondly; Don't get hung up over the "Smilebox" idea. You can see how it works in the documentary and, although it's suppose to give you an idea of what Cinerama would look like in a theater, it gets to be a bit too much after a while. This brings me to my third complaint: That (as others have already said here) the whole movie looks 'fisheyed' and is very distracting to watch, especially actor's faces where the nose is exaggerated and eyes and mouth are small. Rather unflattering that these gorgeous movie stars look like they're in a bad high school yearbook photo! Everything looks VERY far away, as though you are viewing through a distant keyhole, and I think the Smilebox effect accentuates this, making it look even farther away, as though you are in the back of the audience (which works well for the documentary, but not the feature). I kept reaching for my binoculars, even though I'm 6 feet away from a 120-inch screen! Maybe the Blu-Ray edition is sharper and bigger, but Cinerama was designed to be viewed on a very large, deeply curved screen, and there's just no way to make it look natural on a flat surface. Even close-up shots, which there are not many, feel distant and contribute to the 'big nose' problem. Making this issue even worse, the top and bottom edges of the frame has been cropped a bit (not the sides, as in previous versions) so the aspect ratio is up to 2.9, not 2.55 as it says here, or even 2.7, which Cinerama would be if projected flat. Talk about looking through a keyhole!
Problem #4: It's really a lousy movie. It's way too long; there's very little continuity and can often be rather confusing, even with a narrator to tie it together (somewhat). The script is terrible; the actors are doing the best they can with lousy dialog but are completely wasted in this picture; little is done with the camera compared to any other dramatic film - it just sits there most of the time, as if you are supposed to be a distant bystander ("distant" being the operative word here). Except for the very few extreme closeup shots (big noses) and one or two single-lens-camera shots inserted into the action sequences, it is impossible to see facial expressions. The major action scenes are great, but also suffer in continuity and can be confusing. How did the water tower sequence get into the trailer and not the movie???
The only reason to buy this title is for the documentary, a handful of action sequences, and the picture-postcard panoramas. The commentary tracks offer a lot of nice-to-know information but once you know it, better to turn it off and listen to the music. The booklets offer nothing except forgotten Hollywood hype and can't be read without a powerful magnifying glass! As a dramatic western, most others (like, "The Searchers") outclass this one by light-years. As entertainment, don't waste your money. See it only at a genuine 3-projector Cinerama theatre.
Fantastic Restoration September 28, 2008
This is a great restoration of an epic early 1960s film. The postcards and productions are very nice. And a smaller size but otherwise accurate reproduction of the original program. I know because I have an original.
"How The West Was Won" September 27, 2008
An epic movie presented as never before,in perfect high definition 1080p!Finally,you can see all the rich colors,details,as they have never been seen before,including digital 5.1 perfect surround sound!And the left and right "join"lines so often seen in earlier video/T.V. versions,have been technically made to vanish for the first time ever!The bonus trailer is good,but the documentary on "CINERAMA"is fantastic!And you get two[2]versions of the movie:the regular 'widescreen',and a curved screen 'smilebox'simulation version,packaged in a nice hard cover full-color book!Well worth it!
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