How the West Was Won
by George Marshall, Henry Hathaway, John Ford, Richard Thorpe
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Carroll Baker, Gregory Peck, Henry Fonda, James Stewart, John WayneDirector: George Marshall, Henry Hathaway, John Ford, Richard Thorpe
Cinematographer: Charles Lang
Producer: Bernard Smith
Writer: James R. Webb
Writer: John Gay
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 162 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-05-22
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Movie Reviews of How the West Was Won
Movie Review: It speaks for itself
Summary: 5 Stars
What can you say about a movie which was one of the most outstanding in the history of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films, and probably the greatest for CINERAMA? It can easily speak for itself. It excludes no one; it is enjoyable for people of all ages and types, be they history teachers or people who like just "good ole westerns" that in the late 50's were popular, especially in small towns, on Saturday afternoons; this 1962 production did remind me of my "favorite western" days. (I definitely did fit in the latter category.) For people who like love stories, there was also some warm romance.
One of the most outstanding casts in the history of Hollywood was found in this one, to state it mildly. Karl Malden (as Zebulun Prescott) and Agnes Morehead made a "perfect pair" as the sodbuster and his wife. Lillith Prescott (excellently done by Debbie Reynolds) and Cleve van Valen (the role of the tinhorn which suited Gregory Peck picture-perfectly) made a lovely couple. James Stewart did a good job at being the mountain man, the part of the marshall, (done my Lee J. Cobb), was a job that required virtually no acting for the experienced veteran actor, and George Peppard was versatile as Zebulun Rawlings, a farm-boy-turned-soldier and later a tough, determined, unrelenting lawman himself. Robert Preston, the ex-"music man", was a high-spirited wagon master. From seeing Harry Morgan as General Grant, I can easily see how the Union general appeared during the time of the War Between the States; the same can be said of John Wayne in his role as General John Tecumseh Sherman.You were pushed to hate Mike King (played by Richard Widmark,) the egotistical, unbearable man who would not let anything-not even a buffalo stampede-impede him from having a railroad built. And you also wanted to see killed the desperado Charlie Gant.(That role was just right for Eli Wallach.) Again, the cast was outstanding.
The scenery was beautiful, all the way from the Ohio River to the Sierras; the deserts of California and Arizona were also scenic.
Each of the five stories in the movie spoke for itself. I personally would like to have seen it win the Best Picture
Award of 1963. It should have been, as it was, recommended by the NEA. (I am speaking as a former teacher myself.) I saw it for the first time as a high school senior in March of 1964, and only a few years ago bought the video for it; I have watched it many times, and have not become bored from doing so. To reiterate, if anyone wants to learn, as the name implies, how the west was settled, and if anyone likes good action and excitement, it is almost a "must" to see this film.
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