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How the West Was Won (1962)
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Overview
User Rating:
Writer:
James R. Webb (written by) (suggested by the series "How the West Was Won" in LIFE magazine)more
Release Date:
20 February 1963 (USA) moreTagline:
A FABULOUS ROMANTIC ADVENTURE morePlot:
A family saga covering several decades of Westward expansion in the nineteenth century--including the Gold Rush, the Civil War, and the building of the railroads. full summary | add synopsisAwards:
Won 3 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 5 nominations moreUser Comments:
More quantity than quality, but a truly all-star cast moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only) more
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
162 minCountry:
USAColor:
Color (Technicolor) (credited as Metrocolor)Aspect Ratio:
2.89 : 1 moreCertification:
Canada:G | Portugal:M/12 | USA:Approved (certificate #20143) | USA:G (re-rating) (1970) | West Germany:12 (f) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | Finland:K-16 | Norway:12 | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | UK:PG (video rating) (1986) (cut) | UK:PG (video re-rating) (1995) (uncut) | UK:U (original rating)Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Features more than 12,000 extras, including several Indian tribes. moreGoofs:
Revealing mistakes: Tire tracks in the scene where the Indians attack the wagon train. moreQuotes:
[first lines]Narrator: [as the camera pans over the Rocky Mountains] This land has a name today, and is marked on maps. But, the names and the marks and the maps all had to be won, won from nature and from primitive man.
more
Soundtrack:
When Johnny Comes Marching Home moreFAQ
How can I see How The West Was Won in CINERAMA?more
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Watching a letterboxed version of "How the West Was Won," I noticed the dividing lines on the screen, and it was clear that much of the picture was still missing even in this format. But neither hindered my enjoyment of this sprawling epic, even if James R. Webb's Oscar winning screenplay left something to be desired. Alfred Newman's music score is terrific, and so is that all-star cast. Unlike those disaster flicks of the 70s like "The Poseidon Adventure" and "The Towering Inferno" that claimed to be stuffed with stars but actually boasted "names" (usually familiar performers, primarily from TV, who rarely headlined a first class feature), "How the West Was Won" has the genuine article. John Wayne, James Stewart, Gregory Peck, Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, George Peppard, Robert Preston, Carroll Baker, and Debbie Reynolds may mean little at the ticket windows of the 90s (and many of them are dead, anyway), but all were above the title stars who carried their own films at the box-office in the early 60s.
Three directors helmed this project but I'd be hard pressed to distinguish whether John Ford, George Marshall or Henry Hathaway were behind the camera during any particular episode if the opening credits didn't identify each segment and its director. I suppose "How the West Was Won" is more quantity than quality, but it's entertaining overall.