Rent How the West Was Won (1962)
3.6 of 5 from 91 ratings
2h 42min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- 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.
- Actors:
- James Stewart, John Wayne, Gregory Peck, Carroll Baker, Lee J. Cobb, Henry Fonda, Carolyn Jones, Karl Malden, George Peppard, Robert Preston, Debbie Reynolds, Eli Wallach, Richard Widmark, Brigid Bazlen, Walter Brennan, David Brian, Andy Devine, Raymond Massey, Agnes Moorehead, Harry Morgan
- Directors:
- John Ford, Henry Hathaway, George Marshall, Richard Thorpe
- Producers:
- Bernard Smith
- Voiced By:
- Spencer Tracy
- Narrated By:
- Spencer Tracy
- Writers:
- James R. Webb, John Gay
- Others:
- Harold F. Kress, James R. Webb, Ken Darby, William H. Daniels, Henry Grace, Alfred Newman, George W. Davis, Joseph LaShelle, Franklin E. Milton, Milton Krasner, Charles Lang Jr., William Ferrari, Addison Hehr, Don Greenwood Jr., Jack Mills, Walter Plunkett
- Studio:
- Warner
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Classics
- Collections:
- 21 Reasons to Love, 21 Reasons to Love..Modern Westerns, A History of US Presidents in Cinema, All the Twos: 1902-62, All You Need to Know About Dump Month Movies, Award Winners, Getting to Know Eva Marie Saint At 100, Introducing the Thesping Olympians, The Biggest Oscar Snubs: Part 1, A Brief History of Film..., Top 10 Films About Trains: Westerns and War Movies, Top 10 Films Turned Into TV Series, Top Films
- Awards:
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 29/09/2008
- Run Time:
- 164 minutes
- Languages:
- Castilian Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, English Dolby Digital 5.1, English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, German Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian Dolby Digital 5.1, Latin American Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0
- Subtitles:
- Brazilian, Castillian, Chinese, Complex Mandarin, Danish, Dutch, English, English Hard of Hearing, Finnish, French, German, German Hard of Hearing, Italian, Latin American Spanish, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish
- DVD Regions:
- Region 2
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.78:1 / 16:9
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Commentary by Filmmaker David Strohmaier, Director of Cinerama, Inc. John Sittig, Film Historian Rudy Behlmer, Music Historian Jon Burlingame and Stuntman Loren James
- Cinerama Adventure: Comprehensive Documentary About the Revolutionary Movie Exhibition Process
- Theatrical Trailer
- Special SmileBox Process Transfer Replicating the Cinerama Wraparound Theatrical Experience
- Disc 1:
- This disc includes the main feature
- Special Features - Disc 2:
- This disc includes the following:
- Special SmileBox Process Transfer Replicating the Cinerama Wraparound Theatrical Experience
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Reviews (1) of How the West Was Won
An epic western with an all-star cast that has become a classic - How the West Was Won review by Philip in Paradiso
This is an unusual movie in that it is in several parts (5 in all) covering the history of the 'conquest' of the Wild West from 1839 to 1889, a 50-year period that encompasses the American Civil War. The common thread is the story of 2 sisters, Eve Prescott and her sister Lilith (Debbie Reynolds). The all-star cast includes James Stewart as Linus Rawlings, a trapper and 'mountain man' (in Part 1), Cleve Van Valen (Gregory Peck) as a professional gambler, Zeb as the son of Eve Prescott (George Peppard), ruthless railroad man Mike King (Richard Widmark), and a few more, including a cameo appearance by John Wayne as a US Army senior officer during the Civil War.
Each of the 5 stories is, in a way, a film in its own right. The movie itself is divided into 2 overall parts (there are 2 DVDs, in fact). Unusually, the various parts of the movie were directed by different directors (Henry Hathaway, John Ford...). The various parts of the film are of unequal quality and merit. The 1st part is weak in some ways, in my view, if only because James Stewart is not quite young enough to play the character that he plays in a convincing manner. The section about the Civil War (John Ford) is not very good at all and lacks coherence. Overall, the parts of the movie directed by Henry Hathaway are the best, and the 2nd half of the movie is better, in my view. George Peppard is good in the role he plays, sustaining all that section of the movie centred on the expansion of the railways across the West. What is probably the most memorable and spectacular scene relates to the railroads and is in Part 5, towards the end. If only for that section, the film is worth seeing. (I do not want to say any more so as not to spoil the plot for those reading this review who do not know the story yet.)
Despite its lack of unity and its uneven quality, it is a very good, epic western like none other, accompanied by an amazing score. All amateurs of westerns will enjoy watching it. I first saw it as a teenager, many decades ago, and enjoyed seeing it again on DVD over New Year.
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