[13] Other roles would go to Gregory Peck, Debbie Reynolds, Russ Tamblyn and Carroll Baker, while Henry Hathaway and George Marshall would also direct, from a script by James Webb. This item: How the West Was Won [Blu-ray] by Gregory Peck Blu-ray $15.99. The scene then shifts to Zebulon Prescott and his family. Please enter your email address and we will email you a new password. Gant and his entire gang (one member played by Harry Dean Stanton) are killed in the shootout and resulting train wreck. The film was restored frame by frame at Prasad Corporation to remove dirt, tears, scratches, and other damage—restoring the original look. The film wastes no time in slipping up on a fairly amateur level, with the first segment being riddled with repetition and absurd melodrama attached to an already structurally unbuyable romantic subplot. Cleve leaves. How the West Was Won (1962) 8.4k. How the West Was Won is widely considered one of Hollywood's greatest epics. | Rating: 4/5 of How The West Was Won (Note that the lyrics may differ between the movie, the single CD soundtrack, and the two CD soundtrack versions.) |, September 4, 2008 His shots are beautifully composed, exploiting the unique sense of depth the format was renowned for. The rebel realizes he has the opportunity to rid the South of two of its greatest enemies and tries to shoot them, leaving Zeb no choice but to kill him with the bayonet from his shattered musket. After the film was shot, MGM ordered a new ending which rounded out the story of the family and involved shooting for another month. And if you love movies and series in genres like western, then SCEEN IT is the place to be. For instance, in the final shot, the Golden Gate Bridge appears to curve in perspective as the camera flies underneath it, whereas in the Cinerama version, it breaks into three straight sections at different angles. |. Released by Rhino Movie Music (R2 72458) containing music from How The West Was Won (1962). Casts of thousands were often reduced to no more than ten centurions and half of Liz Taylor's face. Full Cast & Crew: How the West Was Won (1962) Cast (96) Carroll Baker. |, August 26, 2008 While some romantic subplots are considerably more believable than others, just about every bit of romance - of which, there's more than you think -, as well as some other dramatic aspects, is swimming with melodrama, some of which is dismissable and some of which is downright painful. After overhearing that she has just inherited a California gold mine, and to avoid paying his debts to another gambler (John Larch), Cleve joins the wagon train taking her there. Eve Prescott Lee J. Cobb. They won't be able to see your review if you only submit your rating. We want to hear what you have to say but need to verify your email. Sold by Zillion Products and ships from Amazon Fulfillment. Zeb decides he has to act rather than wait for Gant to make good his threat someday. Spencer Tracy narrates a storyline which is broken into five segments. Though the aspect ratio of Cinerama was 2.59:1, Warner's new BD and DVD releases of the film offer an aspect ratio of 2.89:1, incorporating image information on both sides that was never meant to be seen when projected. Marshal Lou Ramsey Henry Fonda. This scene ends The Plains segment. This list of How the West Was Won actors includes any How the West Was Won actresses and all other actors from the film. Don’t worry, it won’t take long. Setting off on a journey to the west in the 1830s, the Prescott family run into a man named Linus (James Stewart), who helps them fight off a pack of thieves. Music more prevalent and just as memorable is the score work of Alfred Newman, who may not be knocking things out of the park like he did with something like a then-later-to-arrive "The Greatest Story Ever Told", yet is still delivering on a sweeping, lively score that really sets the tone of the film, while making it an engrossing experience to hear. Copyright © Fandango. People have always been, and always will be, impressed with big movies; this Western was one of the very biggest. It is a great guide for everybody who loves traveling, … "[29] Reviews from London were favorable but with reservations over the storyline. Strangely, given the reputation of it's director, John Ford's "The Civil War" is the weakest. After Zebulon prays to God for their lost loved ones and commends to Him the thieves' souls "whether You want 'em or not", the settlers continue down the river, but their raft is caught in rapids, and Zebulon and his wife Rebecca (Agnes Moorehead) drown. Only 3 left in stock - order soon. George Peppard and Debbie Reynolds were involved in this. Rawlings and Zebulon's daughter, Eve (Carroll Baker), are attracted to each other, but Linus is not ready to settle down. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance [Blu-ray] by James Stewart Blu-ray $8.79. Find album reviews, stream songs, credits and award information for How the West Was Won - Led Zeppelin on AllMusic - 2003 - For years, Led Zeppelin fans complained that… In all the gargantuousness, however there are redeemable moments, especially in Ford's oddly scaled Civil War episode. Still, even when you do get a grip on the film again, you're still knocked back by flaws that are actually consistent between segments. Producer Smith said, "It is essential for our purposes that virtually the whole movie be shot outdoors. Out of the hard simplicity of their lives, out of their vitality, of their hopes and sorrows grew legends of courage and pride to inspire their children and their children's children. If you want to share your love for How the West Was Won or movie stars like Carroll Baker, Lee J. Cobb and Henry Fonda. Filming was finished in January 1962. [37] There have also been efforts, led by HP,[38] to combine the three image portions to make the Cinerama image look more acceptable on a flat screen. He confers with a group of Native Americans. MGM had enjoyed a great success with the big screen remake of Ben-Hur (1959) and initiated a number of spectacles, including remakes of Cimarron, Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and Mutiny on the Bounty. Perhaps not for the First Nations but America was far from sympathetic in that era. With courage, sinew and conflict: that’s how the West was won. [14] Jim Hutton was meant to appear in the Civil War segment. I recommend the Blu-ray which features a second disc employing the "Smilebox" technique. Delivered big with breathtaking location work and an all-star cast... A story as big, as brash, and as exciting as the west itself. Regal Henry Hathaway takes on the remaining three segments, "The Rivers", The Plains" and "The Outlaws". By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy Zeb becomes a lieutenant in the U.S. cavalry, trying to maintain peace with the Native Americans with the help of grizzled buffalo hunter Jethro Stuart (Fonda), an old friend of Linus'. The West was won when the law took over'."[23]. All the heritage of a people free to dream, free to act, free to mold their own destiny. |, September 10, 2008 I guess from the standpoint of having a cast of known performers, that show was anything but faithful, because this film is stuffed with then-big stars, seeing as how that was apparently what you did for most every epic back in the early to mid '60s. "[30], How the West Was Won was a massive commercial success. The Newberry Library Click on the map to follow migrants’ quest for gold. Chains holding logs on a flat-bed car broke, crushing Morgan as he crouched beside them.[22]. How the West Was Won is a 1962 American epic Western adventure film directed by Henry Hathaway (who directs three out of the five chapters involving the same family), John Ford, and George Marshall, produced by Bernard Smith, written by James R. Webb, and narrated by Spencer Tracy. This 10-digit number is your confirmation number. [8] A portion of the profits would go to St. John's Hospital. Cinerama Productions Corp. November 20, 2017 However, the hospital later sued for a share of the film's profits. Out of their rude settlements, their trading posts came cities to rank among the great ones of the world. When ruthless railroad man Mike King (Widmark) violates a treaty by building on First Nation territory, the Arapahos retaliate by stampeding buffalo through his camp, killing many, including women and children. | Rotten (3). Following the daring riders from the Pony Express and the construction of the transcontinental telegraph line in the late 1860s, two ferociously competing railroad lines, the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad, one building westward and the other eastward, open up new territory to eager settlers. Despite Eve's wishes, their son Zeb (Peppard) eagerly enlists as well, looking for glory and an escape from farming. Just leave us a message here and we will work on getting you verified. Note to Wayne fans- his part as General Sherman is a very small role. The budget was set to at least $8 million. Yet it is theirs forever, for they left tracks in history that will never be eroded by wind or rain - never plowed under by tractors, never buried in compost of events. His westerns were usually more intimate tales and here he focuses on the journey of two generations of a pioneering family. By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie. The first to be shot and the last to be released. Disgusted, Zeb resigns and heads to Arizona. Because of the nature of Cinerama, if the film were shown in flat-screen projection, it would appear as if the actors made no eye contact, at all. How the West Was Won is an American Western television series that starred James Arness, Eva Marie Saint, Fionnula Flanagan, Bruce Boxleitner, and Richard Kiley. The percentage of Approved Tomatometer Critics who have given this movie a positive review. Debbie Reynolds sings three songs in the film: "Raise a Ruckus Tonight" starting a party around the camp fire, "What Was Your Name in the States? The main problem remains the impossibility of subjecting a film that is fundamentally about landscape and history to the demands of such a coarse dramatic form. "How the West was Won" was filmed in that widest of formats, Cinerama, and was the only real success of the format, discounting the various travelogue documentaries. [7] "We wanted three old pros, no young geniuses", said Smith.[16]. We want to hear what you have to say but need to verify your account. The restoration also corrects some of the geometric distortions inherent in the process. Your Ticket Confirmation # is located under the header in your email that reads "Your Ticket Reservation Details". Just below that it reads "Ticket Confirmation#:" followed by a 10-digit number. Get the freshest reviews, news, and more delivered right to your inbox! The music for the film was composed and conducted by Alfred Newman. The film has grossed over $50 million worldwide. [6], In 1960, MGM struck a deal to make four films with Cinerama, and Bing Crosby approached them with a proposition. and the Terms and Policies, |, September 8, 2008 The Blu-ray Disc also contains a "SmileBox" version, simulating the curved-screen effect. How the West was won The discovery of gold in California (1848) started a new sequence of treaties designed to extinguish Indian title to lands lying in the path of the overland routes to the Pacific . A buffalo stampede and a raft caught in some terrifying rapids did make their point to my more primitive nerve centers, but the rest was the old stuff directed and acted by the old-stuffers and on a level considerably below their best performances. How the West Was Won (1962) directed by John Ford, George Marshall et al • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd. In the end, Lilith and the Rawlings family travel to their new home. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score, losing to Tom Jones. How The West Was Won started on TV as a 1970s spin-off of the wildly popular Oscar wining Cinerama feature film of 1963. It is a broad definition of the West as it includes quite a long period in Ohio but it is a good epic. Afterward, Zeb rejoins the army. Later it was shown in full widescreen and I realised that the previous TV screenings had been victim to the barbaric and now thankfully extinct practice of "pan & scan". [19][20], Ford complained about having to dress such huge sets, since Cinerama photographed a much wider view than the standard single-camera process to which Hollywood directors were accustomed. Yet it is theirs forever, for they left tracks in history that will never be eroded by wind or rain – never plowed under by tractors, never buried in a compost of events. 5k. Only when the three-print Cinerama process was projected upon a Cinerama screen did the positions and emotions of the actors synchronize—such as normal eye contact or emotional harmony between actors in a dramatic sequence. Although the picture quality when projected onto curved screens in theatres was stunning, attempts to convert the movie to a smaller screen suffer from that process's technical shortcomings. She had lost the will to live after learning that Linus had been killed. Linus Rawlings stops at an isolated trading post, run by a murderous clan of river pirates, headed by "Alabama Colonel" Jeb Hawkins (Walter Brennan). What makes it an engrossing experience for the eyes is the work of the myriad of cinematographers, all of whom deliver quite the number of then-innovative and now-still remarkably brilliant concepts of dizzingly elaborate and immerisve camera staging that gives the film the scope and transportive value needed to help sell the worldly dynamicity within this perhaps too heavily layered story structure, as well as enhance the thrills of some pretty fantastic action sequences, especially the train climax, which is nothing if not nothing seen then or hardly anything seen nowadays. [29] The film ran at the Casino for 123 weeks, ending in April 1965. [40][41][42], 1962 film directed by Henry Hathaway, John Ford, and George Marshall, CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (, From Grain to Pixel: The Archival Life of Film in Transition, note 189, By Giovanna Fossati, Best Story and Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, Best Writing, Story and Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen, Best Music, Score – Substantially Original, "Box office / business for How the West Was Won", "New to the National Film Registry | Librarian Names 25 More Films", "Locally filmed Westerns 'Butch Cassidy,' 'Gunsmoke' part of Conejo film fest", "How The West Was Won: the lyrics to the songs", "The 36th Academy Awards (1964) Nominees and Winners", "HP Labs – Movie makeover : HP and Warner Bros. give old movies new life", "economictimes, Strategic alliance for creation of digital intermediaries, Dec 17, 2007", "Warner bros., Prasad Corp form strategic alliance | News", "prasadgroup.org, Digital Film Restoration", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=How_the_West_Was_Won_(film)&oldid=1017617876, Fictional depictions of Abraham Lincoln in film, Films that won the Best Sound Mixing Academy Award, Films whose editor won the Best Film Editing Academy Award, Films whose writer won the Best Original Screenplay Academy Award, United States National Film Registry films, Photoplay Awards film of the year winners, CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-VIAF identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 13 April 2021, at 19:26. How the West Was Won, American western film, released in 1962, that was a sprawling epic about the transformation of the American West in the 19th century. It really is true to say they don't make them like this any more. Watching any movie filmed in panoramic Cinerama on the small screen represents a major compromise, however the blu ray helps make up for that fact with its' incredible picture. This section was directed by Henry Hathaway. Based on the epic film, this sprawling epic of the Old West is both a rousing action saga and a moving family chronicle. I recall viewing this film as a child and wondering why I could only see the actors' noses and ears speaking to one another. The most exciting segment is George Marshall's "The Railroad", featuring a chilling performance from Richard Widmark as a railroad foreman who cheats an Indian tribe out of their land. In San Francisco, widowed Lilith auctions off her possessions (Cleve and she had made and spent several fortunes) to pay her debts. Trust me, what I just said isn't as cheesy as this film gets to be, yet the picture, with all of its faults, really keeps you going, and does so with the help of, well, some pretty good tunes. The Wonderful: Stories From The Space Station. |, May 9, 2005 The film then moves into "The Rivers" sequence (considerably to the east of the Rockies). There is no denying the spectacle, the adventure, and the romance in How the West Was Won. Ironically widescreen was originally developed to combat the growing popularity of the domestic television set. Your AMC Ticket Confirmation# can be found in your order confirmation email. It would be hard to imagine a subject which lends itself more strikingly to the wide-screen process than this yarn of the pioneers who opened the American West. If ever I heard the sound of success it is this." Originally filmed in true three-lens Cinerama with the according three-panel panorama projected onto an enormous curved screen, the film stars an ensemble cast consisting of (in alphabetical order) Carroll Baker, Lee J. Cobb, Henry Fonda, Carolyn Jones, Karl Malden, Gregory Peck, George Peppard, Robert Preston, Debbie Reynolds, James Stewart, Eli Wallach, John Wayne, and Richard Widmark. All the sinews of a growing country. | Rating: 6/10 No amount of CG can compare with the sight of a herd of live buffalo running rampage across the screen. I guess I can't blame people for that, because they were stars for a reason, that is because they knew how to carry a film, even if they weren't the only thing that made the film good. How the West Was Won Mountain man, Zebulan Macahan has a renowned reputation as a trapper, trader and scout for the U.S. Army, working the Indian Territories in the early 1860s. ), thus creating a blow to steam, intensified by the occasional piece of rushing, which can serve as a component to the film's ever so occasional, yet still rather overbearing matter-of-fact approach to some of the more history focused moments in the film. In the Postscript, Beau L'Amour (Louis' Son) shares with you the truly personal story behind Louis' decision to write the novelization of the film script for How the West Was Won. [39] The restored version has been shown on television since October 2008, on the Encore Westerns channel. Like the monorail in cities of tomorrow, it was an idea of the future that soon became history. Wagonmaster Roger Morgan (Robert Preston) and he court her along the way, but she rejects them both, much to the dismay of her new friend and fellow traveler Agatha Clegg (Thelma Ritter), who is searching for a husband. Still, you have to admire the awesome cast and visuals. John Ford directed the Civil War segment, George Marshall the railroad segment, and Henry Hathaway the rest. Mountain man Linus Rawlings (Stewart) is making his way by horse and waterway through the mountains. The west that was won by its pioneers, settlers, adventurers is long gone now. |, November 20, 2017 [10], Bernard Smith was assigned as producer, and he hired James Webb to write the script. When seen in letterbox format, the actors' faces are nearly indistinguishable in long shots. We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future. She insists on homesteading at the spot where her parents died. He tells her of the opportunities waiting in the rapidly growing city of San Francisco. Gunsmoke legend James Arness stars as Zeb Macahn, a … Linus is betrayed when he accompanies Jeb's seductive daughter Dora Hawkins (Brigid Bazlen) into a cave, modeled after a real outlaw haunt, now a part of Cave-in-Rock State Park, to see a "varmint". | Rating: 5/5 Cinemark You'd think that it would go without saying that this film shouldn't be mistaken for the latter, but you'd be surprised how much I've happened across that film that doesn't even have a Wikipedia article while looking up this film. |, December 24, 2002 The soundtrack album was originally released by MGM Records. Indeed, the film is a sprawling mess of clunky dramatic aspects and repetition, and yet, the west isn't the only thing won in this film, as you would be rather hard pressed to find yourself ultimately won over by the film.