How the West Was Won

So big that it took three directors to wrestle it to the sprawl of the three-panel Cinerama screen, "How the West Was Won" is one of only two narrative features made in the Cinerama process. Shot with three synchronized cameras and projected by three synchronized projectors, it was the original high definition wide-screen process. It was also awfully unwieldy, which is why this epic is such an ungainly dinosaur of a movie, more like five separate films with related characters, stitched together like the seams between the panels. It's not much for character drama but the spectacle is impressive, from shooting the rapids to a shootout on a moving lumber train with the logs let loose. Henry Hathaway, George Marshall and John Ford are the credited directors (Ford directed the Civil War sequence, the most interesting in the film), and Henry Fonda, Gregory Peck, Carroll Baker, Debbie Reynolds, James Stewart and John Wayne top-line the all-star cast. The original three-panel version has been digitally joined for a nearly seamless presentation in this special edition DVD, which spreads the 164-minute film across two discs with optional commentary by Cinerama historian Dave Strohmaier with Cinerama Inc. director John Sittig, film historian Rudy Behlmer, music historian Jon Burlingame and stuntman Loren James (recorded separately and edited together). The three-disc "Ultimate Collector's Edition" also features Strohmaier's documentary "Cinerama Adventure" and collectible photo-card and booklet reproductions of archival materials. There's also a Blu-ray release, but I never received a copy for review.