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How the West Was Won

Play trailer Poster for How the West Was Won G Released Nov 1, 1962 2h 44m Western Play Trailer Watchlist
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88% Tomatometer 24 Reviews 74% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Setting off on a journey to the west in the 1830s, the Prescott family run into a man named Linus (James Stewart), who helps them fight off a pack of thieves. Linus then marries daughter Eve Prescott (Carroll Baker), and 30 years later goes off to fight in the Civil War with their son, with bloody results. Eve's sister, Lily (Debbie Reynolds), heads further west and has adventures with a professional gambler (Gregory Peck), stretching all the way to San Francisco and into the 1880s.
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How the West Was Won

Critics Reviews

View All (24) Critics Reviews
Kim Newman Empire Magazine In all the gargantuousness, however there are redeemable moments, especially in Ford's oddly scaled Civil War episode. Rated: 3/5 Nov 20, 2017 Full Review John Gillett Sight & Sound Here, then, is a film with apparently something for everyone. Certainly its team of four ace cameramen have provided a full quota of visual splendours and the rich colour definition in the long shots communicates an authentic thrill of pleasure. Jun 18, 2012 Full Review Variety Staff Variety It would be hard to imagine a subject which lends itself more strikingly to the wide-screen process than this yarn of the pioneers who opened the American West. Aug 26, 2008 Full Review Mike Massie Gone With The Twins Despite the amusement of the vast collection of stars and the whirlwind of Western adventure, it will surely be the score that persists beyond the other individual elements of this grandiose endeavor. Rated: 7/10 Jul 20, 2024 Full Review Danielle Solzman Solzy at the Movies How the West Was Won is a star-studded Western with an impressive level of filmmaking on an epic scale. Rated: 4.5/5 Mar 19, 2023 Full Review Dwight MacDonald Esquire Magazine A buffalo stampede and a raft caught in some terrifying rapids did make their point to my more primitive nerve centers, but the rest was the old stuff directed and acted by the old-stuffers and on a level considerably below their best performances. May 9, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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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 out of 5 stars 11/15/23 Full Review Walter H You can reminisce on many actors that you grew up watching if you're my age. Required for any one interested in the Big Movie. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/03/23 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 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 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 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 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews
How the West Was Won

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis Setting off on a journey to the west in the 1830s, the Prescott family run into a man named Linus (James Stewart), who helps them fight off a pack of thieves. Linus then marries daughter Eve Prescott (Carroll Baker), and 30 years later goes off to fight in the Civil War with their son, with bloody results. Eve's sister, Lily (Debbie Reynolds), heads further west and has adventures with a professional gambler (Gregory Peck), stretching all the way to San Francisco and into the 1880s.
Director
John Ford, Henry Hathaway, George Marshall, Richard Thorpe
Producer
Bernard Smith
Screenwriter
John Gay, James R. Webb
Distributor
Turner Pictures, Cinerama Releasing Corporation [us], MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc.
Production Co
Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Cinerama Productions Corp.
Rating
G
Genre
Western
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 1, 1962, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 24, 2014
Runtime
2h 44m
Sound Mix
Magnetic Stereo 4 Track
Aspect Ratio
70mm
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