Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

Wordiezett So much average

ShangLuda Admirable film.

Crwthod A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

grypnhmr I saw this in the theater when I was 8 years old, with my clearest memory being how long it was. As an adult rewatching it, I can say length isn't its problem. The screenplay, script, and casting, and more are subpar. The movie, unfortunately, comes across as a deliberate vehicle for Cinerama and Debbie Reynolds, who hogs the first half of the film and is pretty unbelievable as a mid 1800s woman. A few past-their-prime actors, James Steward, Robert Preston, and Gregory Peck (the latter two looking older than their years) are the romantic interests. Likewise, George Peppard is too old to be the son of Eva Prescott. You'd think there were no young talented actors yearning for work in 1961 when the film was made.In one scene in the film, Julie Rawlings, played by Carolyn Jones (who appeared the most authentic of all the women, with the exception of Agnes Moorehead as an early pioneer woman), cries at the prospect of her husband losing his life, but in barges Debbie Reynolds with her bad imitation of an old lady, ruining one of the few emotionally genuine bits of the whole movie.Besides the big name stars---Henry Fonda, Richard Widmark, and John Wayne, to name a few of the biggest---there's some hefty historical name dropping: "Sherman..." says Sgt. Friday's sidekick to John Wayne, to which Wayne replies, "Grant...."This was an ambitious idea that ends up being squeezed into 2 hours and 45 minutes---actually less because surprisingly large segments of time are taken up with a static western scene and just music, and then there's the credits that also eat us some of that time. So, you are getting about 2 hours and 15 minutes of the supposed story of how the U.S. expanded its territory westward. It's pretty silly watching the California Gold Rush and the Civil War given such short shrift. My favorite scene was the buffalo stampede because a running herd of buffalo is awesome. I secretly wished it had gotten out of control of the animal handlers and destroyed the whole production company and put an end to this cinematic endeavor.

xpat-55192 I first saw this movie when I was nearly 13 when it was released.Then, I was disappointed and bored to distraction.Now I am nearly 68 and I recently bought the special 3-DVD set to see if time had changed my opinion of this cavalcade of stars.It had! It filled me with admiration for my earlier accurate assessment of it!No "Dances with Wolves" or "Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee"; what should have been spectacular and historically accurate entertainment was a tedious, specious, disjointed mess.Cons: A waste the of top acting talent of that time. Pros: Better used as an alternative to chemical sleeping inducements.

wes-connors Brilliantly titled, "How the West Was Won" was originally released in a super-widescreen format known as "Cinerama". This was meant to duplicate the human vision span. The film had to be shot using three cameras, with the resulting three pictures segued into a final product. The right and left portions would be slightly curved. MGM's epic looked great in theaters and was a big hit for producer Bernard Smith and the crew. However, the "Cinerama" process had its limitations. Full-screen close-ups were not possible. The positioning of players and sets was difficult to align. And, the lines dividing the separate images were sometimes detectable, especially when released on home video and aired on television...The problems in watching "How the West Was Won" have been fixed, however. The latest home video restoration and current airings on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) look fine. The film's greatest strength is its sprawling landscape, which beautifully compliments the story. Still, there will come a point, relatively early in the running time, when the "Cinerama" limitations make viewing dull. The failure to get close to the performers slows the pace and takes away some of the story's intimacy. Incredibly, John Wayne looks small...The all-star cast is credited alphabetically, but some of the performers are seen more often than others. Initially, you will presume the film stars James Stewart (as Linus Rawlings). However, Mr. Stewart is only the leading man in the first (of five) segments. Even at a distance, Stewart looks amusingly miscast as a hot young stud. The main star is young frontier woman and singer Debbie Reynolds (as Lilith Prescott). Uniting the segments, Ms. Reynolds goes from teenager to family matriarch. She sings and dances, too. The soundtrack music, by Alfred Newman, is very appealing. Ken Darby and others contribute memorably to standards like "Shenandoah" and "When Johnny Comes Marching Home".****** How the West Was Won (1962-11-01) Henry Hathaway ~ Debbie Reynolds, George Peppard, Gregory Peck, James Stewart

Michael_Elliott How the West Was Won (1962) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Epic and landmark Western has three directors telling the story of a group of travelers heading from the East and marking on a journey through the West. Throughout the decades we see them heading out West and then taking part in a variety of stories including those dealing with the railroad, The Civil War and a grand voyage down a dangerous river.An epic such as this could only be filmed in the then hyped up Cinerama and of course you needed epic directors like John Ford, Henry Hathaway and George Marshall to bring it to the screen. Throw in the all-star cast and you're really left with a film that has to be seen and, if you can, see it on as large as a screen as possible. Thankfully I got to view the film in the theater and it's certainly unlike many other adventures on the screen. I think a lot of the credit has to go to the Cinerama. Yes, you get two black lines down the screen and it's easy to see why this gimmick didn't last but at the same time, looking back at these films today, they're just something unique about such a wide image.There's no question that there are some flaws to be found in the film and this includes the actual stories. Even though we've got a running time of 166-minutes, that's still not long enough to really tell the history of the West so what we've got is small stories set during these historic events. The first two stories before the intermission deals with love stories, which might sound corny but it actually works quite well and just think how many years this was before TITANIC. The stories themselves are all "B" material but you're still highly entertained thanks to the director's work behind the scenes as well as the excellent cast members. You can look up the cast yourself and just see how many legends are on one screen. Some like John Wayne just make cameo appearances but there's still some very good work here by the likes of James Stewart, Debbie Reynolds, Gregory Peck, Carroll Baker and Richard Widmark.The Cinerama is something that's hotly debated by film buffs but I think the locations are beautifully captured here. The scenery just leaps off the screen and especially early on. The sequence dealing with the family moving down the river is full of adventure and excitement. Once the twist in the story happens and Stewart must seek revenge, there's no question that it packs a punch. The wagon trail sequence with Peck is also extremely entertaining and features some great action. I actually found Ford's stuff with The Civil War to be the weakest element of the picture but things pick up for the climax and a wonderful shoot out on a train.HOW THE WEST WAS WON certainly has a fair amount of flaws but there's still no question that it's one of the most beautiful films to look at and it features a terrific cast so there's no getting bored through the long running time. If you're going to see the film it's certainly best that you try to seek it out on as big as a screen as possible, the way it was meant to be seen.