How the West Was Won (1962)

Directors:

John Ford
Henry Hathaway

Guionista:

James R. Webb (written by) (suggested by the series "How the West Was Won" in LIFE magazine)

Release Date:

20 febrero 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Western | Adventure | Drama

Frase comercial:

A FABULOUS ROMANTIC ADVENTURE

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Fight On Train Roof | Pioneer | Train Robbery | Trapper | Wagon Train

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 5 nominations

Comentarios de los usuarios:

HTWWW at the Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles

Cast

Carroll Baker	...	Eve Prescott Rawlings
Lee J. Cobb	...	Marshal Lou Ramsey
Henry Fonda	...	Jethro Stuart
Carolyn Jones	...	Julie Rawlings
Karl Malden	...	Zebulon Prescott
Gregory Peck	...	Cleve Van Valen
George Peppard	...	Zeb Rawlings
Robert Preston	...	Roger Morgan
Debbie Reynolds	...	Lilith 'Lily' Prescott
James Stewart	...	Linus Rawlings
Eli Wallach	...	Charlie Gant
John Wayne	...	Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman
Richard Widmark	...	Mike King
Brigid Bazlen	...	Dora Hawkins
Walter Brennan	...	Col. Jeb Hawkins

También conocida como:

Conquista del Oeste, La (Argentina) (Spain) [es]

Duración:

162 min

País:

USA

Idioma:

English | Arapaho

Color:

Color (Technicolor) (credited as Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sonido:

4-Track Stereo (35 mm prints) | Cinerama 7-Track (Westrex Recording System)

Clasificación:

West Germany:12 (f) | Canada:G | USA:Approved (certificate #20143) | USA:G (re-rating) (1970) | Portugal:M/12 | 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)

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivialidades:

A comic book version of this film was published in conjunction with the film's release, as was the practice back then with all family and children's films. In the comic book, when Sheriff Ramsay (Lee J. Cobb) tries to prevent Zeb Rawlings (George Peppard) from going after the outlaw Gant (Eli Wallach), Rawlings whacks Ramsay over the head with his rifle and knocks him unconscious, which explains the bandage on Ramsay's forehead in the next scene. No such explanation is offered in the film; it is as if somebody had edited something out.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The Civil War has recently ended (April-May 1865) and the Union Veteran older brother is leaving the family farm/homestead in Ohio to his younger brother. However, in the very next scene the Pony Express is mentioned, which ended about 3-1/2 years earlier in October 1861.

Quotes:

Zebulon Prescott: O Lord, without consulting with Thee, we have sent thy way some souls whose evil ways passeth all understanding. We ask Thee humbly to receive them...whether you want them or not! Amen.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Making of 'How the West Was Won' (1998) (V)

Soundtrack:

Shenandoah

HTWWW at the Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles

It was a good payoff; the print was as perfect as could be expected and the Pacific Cinerama theater is in top form. Seating was fine (it's reserved, so you know ahead where you'll be. Because you're looking at three separate 35mm projections, the sum total of the three result in a very large, clear and bright picture, just as good as a 70mm film, and perhaps better in some respects. The prints were vivid and sharp.

At the Dome, a theater executive came out to discuss the film and the theater history with the audience just prior to the start of the picture; he spoke for 10-15 minutes discussing the pros and cons of the process, why it wasn't practical to continue making films this way etc. One of the plus aspects is that with the small lenses they used, the focus was fixed and any object from 2 ft to infinity was always in focus (therefore, all the scenery was sharp except for certain single-camera and process shots). One of the downside aspects is that extreme closeups are not possible in Cinerama, and he said that the directors hated that. Then he tells inside trivia about the film, how it includes about a minute of footage from two other films (one was The Alamo) because the scenes fit perfectly in the storyline. He also mentioned that back in the 1960's it took 5 people to run the show: three projectors, the 35mm sound projector and one master projectionist - total of 5. The gentleman said that today, with all the modern technological improvements, they were now able to produce the identical result -- with just 5 projectionists! In other words, nothing had changed. Another reason the process could not survive. Got a big laugh. He then introduced each projectionist to the audience.

Anyway, the whole thing came off without a hitch and I had forgotten much of the film's vivid details and incredible scenery, so it was very much like seeing it for the first time. I had not seen it in Cinerama ever, and when I did see a blended 35mm print in a local Edwards theater back in '64, it was somewhat of a disappointment. The magnetic 6-track sound was on still another 35mm film strip, so 4 separate strips are actually required to comprise the presentation). The sound was fine - clear and sharp - with lots of separation in the six channels, but it was not as boomy as the sound we hear in today's pics. For anyone interested in what it might have been like to see a state-of-the-art presentation in the early 1960's, this presents a magnificent opportunity, and the film is a trip. --- DFR