How the West Was Won

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William G This movie was a masterpiece. Some of the cinematography is just amazing… the Indian attack, the raft ride on the rapids ! Today it would be all CGI, but not back in ‘62. Wonder how they ever did it. Good story too. Worth watching! Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/09/25 Full Review C An ambitious movie for its time, 1962. Overall well written and acted. The Cinerama feature and color worked, having a modern feel to the movie. Historically, accurate enough, but seemed to bypass the cause of the Civil War, slavery. Grant was confident he could beat the Confederate forces at Shilo. The train chase ending was filmed real good. Great stunt work. Overall a good movie. Cheers. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 11/15/23 Full Review Audience Member One very good movie out here with an all-star cast highly recommend it, James Welch, Henderson, Arkansas, July 8, 2023 Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/09/23 Full Review Tony S A generation-spanning vignette, running through the "aspects" of the West. With that one Cinerama gimmick that makes everything look incredibly large-scale but also static. As you will immediately notice, actors sometimes fail to make eye contact because of the screen arc. The story might start out mellow, but it turns grim very quickly. It's tragic and bittersweet, but it's also incredibly fast-paced. We can't hold on to any specific time period for too long. We've got a whole century to cover. Hence, the most interesting aspects just get skimmed through. As usual, Newman comes up with an immersive soundtrack to accompany it. But regardless of how well it's crafted, this condensed version of the taming of the West either needed tighter focus and to be less ambitious, or a longer runtime. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 07/21/22 Full Review delysid d the CGI wasn't as good as the Fast and Fabulous 9, but still enjoyable. maybe it's time for a remake starring brad pitt, justin timberlake, vin diesel, lady gaga, and we man from jackass! har! Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 04/11/22 Full Review Audience Member With one exception How the West Was Won is definitely a film of its time, or maybe even more a culmination of the typical romantic western period, as if to add up a genre that at the time was about to wander into a more realistic, though still epic narrative. The music is orchestral, melodramatic and constantly illustrative to amplify what ever the action. In four of the five different chapters, the characters are more or less animated. The notion of the West is generally grandiose, and as the landscape steadily gets more picturesque, the level of realism is equivalently lowered. Suddenly a scene might turn into a rather unmotivated kind of musical, only to be interrupted by the required attack from indians wearing fake hair. There are three different directors, where only George Marshall stands out with the fourth chapter. It gives a realistic perspective and has some true historical focus, around the conflict with the native tribes and even on the great buffalo slaughter. The music is much less intrusive, the characters are basically lifelike, the Indians seem real and are speaking native language, and Henry Fonda gives brilliant portrayal of a buffalo hunter. Except from in this chapter and certain aspects in the third chapter, about the Civil War and directed by John Ford, this film contains too much romantic nonsense. The total would have been a lot better if George Marshall were in charge all the way, and Henry Hathaway, who directed chapters 1, 2 and 5, was left out, though the fifth is better. Regardless, the West was not won, it was lost. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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