How the West Was Won (Blu-ray
Book) [Blu-ray] starring George
Peppard, Debbie Reynolds, Jimmy
Stewart, Carroll Baker, Gregory Peck
Won By Blu- Ray
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 familys 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 whos who of
Hollywoods 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
Look at this on a big screen TV! The improvement in image quality,
sharpness, and color on this blu-ray edition is enormous. Watching this
film in the SmilE format on the second disc is a treat and makes us
remember what a spectacular stunt Cinerama was when we originally saw
this on a huge curved panoramic screen for its original release. Its
certainly the kind of startling innovative technology that sold tickets and put
us in theater seats; but if you find it distracting, return to the conventional
widescreen version on disc one. Both are stunning--and somehow seem
superior to the actual original projected theatrical film in their sharpness
and color!
The very-widescreen image finally looks complete. The two un-seam-ly
overlap lines that marred ALL previous showings, releases, and formats
are almost totally and miraculously unnoticeable on both blu-ray discs!
Now, without experiencing those persistent distractions and odd
distortions, we rediscovered a spectacular film with a surprising amount of
good acting and witty and often moving dialogue.
Of course, it includes some of the most stunning classic action sequences
this side of Ben Hur and CB DeMille! And what a great cast and superb
score. The blu-ray is a marvel and a must-have. And some might buy it for
the fascinating Cinerama Adventure documentary alone, included here on
disc one!
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