How The West Was Won (3 Discs)

That's five stars for technical quality of the transfer. As simply a western: maybe 3 or 4. But just look at that picture! It's so sharp and deep, it's kinda like watching one of those Pixar CG animations (almost too vivid to be real). If this can be done on DVD, what do we need Blu-ray for? This is partly due to Cinerama cameras, which they later used on some traditional widescreen films (usual format 2.20:1), so 2001 Space Odyssey and Ice Station Zebra look pretty good, too. How ever, what you see on How The West Was Won is similar to the standard you get with modern High Definition cameras ( Planet Earth -documentary by BBC). Did I mention, that I'm very pleased with the quality and the price of this old favourite?

Saw the original film at cinema in 1962 (10 years old) and it is a film that has stayed with me as one of my all time greats. If you like classics and in particular classic westerns with a top class cast then this is the film to get. I have seen it twice since 1962! And can't wait to see it again.

The original of this was the last film shot in Cinerama using 3 cameras and being projected onto 3 screens in the cinema to create a wrap-around effect. I must say that I was very impressed with the Cinerama effect, known as "SmileBox" for obvious reasons and this is the first time I've seen it.

Remembering seeing actual Cinerama pictures at a suitably equipped cinema here in Newcastle Upon Tyne as a young lad, I can honestly say that the effect is very like watching a real Cinerama film from up in the gods. It's really convincing watching in a dark room on a big flat-screen, though I haven't watched it on a smaller screen, and it adds something new to the home-cinema experience. I only wish that all the old Cinerama films like "Grand Prix" and "Ice Station Zebra" were treated to this option. You can of course watch the ordinary widescreen version if you wish.

The picture and colours are beautiful in typical early 60s fashion, benefiting from an excellent transfer. The audio is perfectly clear and though I can't comment on the 5.1 remix as I bought the BD version and my BD player isn't hooked up to my surround system yet, I imagine that it'll be mainly ambient as with most of the remixes for old films. Even so it'll be better than the plain old mono or stereo. Narration documentary-style is by Spencer Tracey.

The film is absolutely awash with 50s/60s stars, being more like a roll-call, including John Wayne, Lee J Cobb, Henry Fonda, Karl Malden, Gregory Peck, George Peppard, Richard Widmark, James Stewart and Debbie Reynolds.

For cinema buffs and anyone with even a passing interest, there is one of the best documentaries I've ever seen, It's 1.5 hours on Cinerama entitled "Cinerama Adventure". This is a must-watch item giving the history of the format and clips from various films.

Now for the bad news. At 2.45 the film is far too long, even though I usually prefer long cuts. Even if it were edited down to a standard 1:30, it would be boring. It's like watching paint dry (or a typical French film), there being far too much of nothing happening and very little action. A buffalo stampede and an on-train shoot-out are about it. Oh and a covered wagon rolls down a hill. Also I don't like the time wasted by the retention of the introductory overture of 4.25 of still-screen with music, 5 minutes more of it in the middle of the film and a similar 2.42 (not even over the credits) at the end. Then again I suppose that it's authentic as that's what used to happen with long films (indeed it's there on DVD in the likes of "Lawrence of Arabia" too).

I remember this film from when I was young, and I have always loved westerns. They have made a superb job of re-mastering this film, you cannot see the joins of the three films that made up the original Cinerama version. Its an all time great with just about every actor that acted in westerns from that time. If you like epic westerns this is a must.