Average Rating: 7.2/10
Reviews Counted: 15
Fresh: 15 | Rotten: 0
No consensus yet.
Release Date: Feb 20, 1963 Wide
liked it
Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 8,833
Filmed in panoramic Cinerama, this star-studded, epic Western adventure is a true cinematic classic. Three legendary directors (Henry Hathaway, John Ford, and George Marshall) combine their skills to tell the story of three families and their travels from the Erie Canal to California between 1839 and 1889. Spencer Tracy narrates the film, which cost an estimated 15 million dollars to complete. In the first segment, "The Rivers," pioneer Zebulon Prescott (Karl Malden) sets out to settle in the
G, 2 hr. 45 min.
Feb 20, 1963 Wide
Sep 30, 2006
Warner Home Video
All Critics (21) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (17) | Rotten (0) | DVD (11)
Delivered big with breathtaking location work and an all-star cast...
A story as big, as brash, and as exciting as the west itself.
I admit I occasionally lost interest in its piecemeal construction. (Blu-ray Digibook Edition)
There is no denying the spectacle, the adventure, and the romance in How the West Was Won.
People have always been, and always will be, impressed with big movies; this Western was one of the very biggest.
Immense, sprawling western epic loaded with great stars, acting, music, direction.
Though boasting the innovative technology of Cinerama, this anthology of the Old West is too long, often tedius, and only occasionally pleasurable.
Watching it at home without the three-strip Cinerama process takes most of the sparkle out of the film.
Any Western with this cast is worth a glimpse. Very interesting story of the American history on a grand scale. This movie in effect tells the fourth story - and tells it in a thrilling, colorful way - from the 1840s when the frontier was still the Ohio Valley to about 1885 - not so long a time. These stories brought
December 16, 2007
Super Reviewer
You have to hand it to everyone involved, this is one mammoth viewing experience. This covers generations as well as historical events like no other movie has attempted to do. I think the wisest decision was having multiple directors so each time period has a different feeling and vision. With a huge western ensemble,
August 23, 2010Super Reviewer
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