Rating: 
Summary: Worth watching!
Review: The cast makes this movie worth watching, everybody who was somebody, on their way to being somebody or hoped to be somebody had a role in this film. If you could line up a comparable cast today . . . . Forget it, not possible . . . . If you like westerns you should see this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Great movie - bad DVD
Review: This classic is a must-see for anyone who likes westerns. I've seen it twice in a theater. I bought the DVD and what a disappointment! The bad transfer made viewing unbearable, impossible. I cannot tell you how sad and angry I am, or this review will not be published. This DVD is a complete rip-off. Do not waste your time or money. The people who produced this DVD must learn that customers will not accept this kind of rubbish. By the way, with modern computer aided film restoration techniques, this wonderful film could have been presented in pristine condition. They just couldn't be bothered. And what's the difference between the [two] DVD versions? A clamshell case and collectable booklet? The marketing mavens are running amok. They must be stopped.
Rating:
Summary: High nostolgia value
Review: I remember seeing How the West Was Won at the Cooper Cinerama Theater in Minneapolis when I was in my teens, so for me this was high nostalgia. I enjoyed the color, the setting, the action, the musical score and the popular stars of my childhood. Debbie Reynolds was pretty and full of youthful energy; Gregory Peck was still young enough to be considered handsome; and Thelma Ritter, a popular character actress from the 40s and 50s, was still her curmudgeonly self. However my husband, who is considerably younger than I, found the plot plodding and predictable, the introduction of song into the story intrusive and manipulative (to quote: "I can see why musicals died out, and not a minute too soon in my opinion!"), and the mismatched "screens" of the cinerama projection method a great disappointment. I have to admit that the film wasn't quite as impressive in video form as it had been on the big curved screen of the Cooper Theater. I think more than anything How the West Was Won captures a sense of the time during which the film was first made and enjoyed. 1962, when cinerama was a new "high tech" entertainment, was still a time when everything seemed possible. The adults of middle class USA had the laurels of WWII to bolster their sense of control, and they were still young enough to enjoy life, their families, and their careers. Now they are most of them in their 70s and 80s, retired, elderly, frail adults no longer in control of their own lives. In the early 60s, the rebellious youth of the Rock and Roll era were still naive enough to believe that good will and good intentions could fix what was wrong with the world. Now many of them are themselves older adults, disappointed in the world's unwillingness to be "fixed," concerned about their own future, gradually losing control over the events of which they are a part, and facing a world that changes not yearly or even monthly but weekly and even daily. Although I know I wouldn't be happy to go back in time to the 1960s, that today in fact is as good as the "old days" get, I can't help enjoying a brief visit to those hopeful, energetic, and more innocent times. Sometimes I just need to get off of the Merry-go-round that high tech life has created. I have, however, given up on expecting my husband to share my sentiments. He wasn't there, so he just can't share them. Definitely more of a film for those who were young in the 60s!
Rating:
Summary: Nice, but not the best ever...
Review: This movie is pretty good overall, but still there's minor action, like a few gunfights, one Apache encounter, and so on. I'm not saying this is bad, but I'm saying: if you really think about it, it's not the best ever made. For example, "Chisum" and "Stagecoach", which are both John Wayne movies, have way more action. Besides, why did Wayne play such a small part in this video? It would have been much better had he played a longer part. Also, if you want better movies, there are two "Stagecoach" movies. Watch the John Wayne one, because of the singer in the color movie. Another example is "True Grit", and "Rooster Cogburn". I won't give any more examples, because I wouldn't have a well written review. But what I can say is that you should watch this movie, and there are better ones, but this is a neat one. Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: A unique story and video
Review: 5 stars for the story. A little less for the seams that may show. This is an excellant western from the early 60's. The story is sweeping and beautifully shot. If you got this video in a pan-and-scan version I feel sorry for you though. As the first "Cinerama" movie shot with a story this video can only be viewed in widescreen. Due to the age of the movie there are parts that the "3-frame" windows are quite obvious. Don't let the seams distract you from a marvelous story and spectacle of this near classic movie. You will not be disapointed. JUST GET THE WIDESCREEN OR THE DVD. REMEMBER NO PAN AND SCAN.
Rating:
Summary: best historical fiction ever
Review: I saw this picture first at age 11 in 1963. Our 5 th grade class went to see it at the invitation of a pal's dad who worked at MGM. I have seen it a dozen times in theatres big and small, and enjoyed it on network TV, even, surprizingly, on NBC on a dead sports weekend in 1999. I have owned the vhs set for years, and enjoyed it, but this dvd version, purchased 8-01, is the best.
I think it is the spirit of a lost America, the great music, and the photography, not even to mention the greatest cast ever assembled, make this a breathtaking experience.This is a must see for young kids, to see America as it was. What a great movie! The special features are a treat. Get this movie! They cannot make them like this anymore.
Rating:
Summary: HOW THE WEST WAS LOST TO DVD
Review: I was watching a promo on Turner Classics featuring directors such as Ron Howard praising the widescreen letterbox format for films, especially How The West Was Won. I purchased this DVD version of the film and felt ripped off both by Turner and Warner Brothers who released such a poorly transfered film to DVD. I remember this epic western and wanted to see the widescreen version on DVD. It was filmed with 3 cameras and you can see the seams between the 3 pictures throuighout the movie. Usually one of the 3 pictures was darker than the other 2. This was very distracting. Add film burn spots and that is enough for me to discard this DVD from my collection as unwatchable. The film deserves 4 stars, but this version only gets one star due to poor quality.
Rating: 
Summary: Badly needs Restoration
Review: Great old lumbering "epic" western from the early '60's. But the film is in dire need of a restoration and digital enhancing. I saw it twice in Cinerama as a child and it was incredible.
Rating:
Summary: The best it can be
Review: I have a good sized collection of movies on DVD. Some of the movies were filmed in the 1950's. The transfer process is as good as can be expected given the movie making tools of the day. How The West Was Won was unique due to it's filming process. No movie of it's age comes close to it's visual clarity and sound. It's hard to believe it wasn't digitally remastered. The colors are true and the audio sounds like 5.1. Perhaps being played on better equipment one could appreciate the quality of this transfer.
Rating:
Summary: Western Epic
Review: How The West Was Won is a sprawling three hour epic that was so big it needed three directors (Henry Hathaway, George Marshall & directing legend John Ford) to bring the story to life. The movie takes us through the early days of western settlement to post civil war days. The cast is full of Hollywood legends including Jimmy Stewart, Henry Fonda, Karl Malden, Debbie Reynolds and Gregory Peck. George Peppard and Richard Widmark also have roles. It's fun to see so many stars in one movie, though most of time they don't appear together on screen. One complaint is that the film was the first to be filmed with a three camera method and in certain scenes, you can see seams in the print where the film was spliced together. That is a minor complaint as the film itself is a compelling story and is beautifully filmed, with lush Old West settings. The film was a major success and took home two Oscars in 1963, one for screenplay and one for editing.
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