How the West Was Won (1962)

[Il Buono]

Check this out.  How the west was won has Henry Fonda, Eli Wallach and Lee Van Cleef in it!  What a pleasant surprise.  And besides them, also George Peppard, Gregory Peck and the dude from On the Waterfront (forgot his name, no not Marlon Brando)...  

Nice, large film but the problem was that almost the entire film consists of long shots so first it's really hard to get in the characters and feel with them, and two you can hardly see their faces on a normal size television screen.  Gee, my eyes still hurt.  There's also that 'bend' in the screen, because it was filmed in Cinerama...  You should have seen it in theatres, I guess...

What do you cowboys/settlers think of this movie?

[cigar joe]

I saw it in cinerama on Times Square, it was on a huge screen and I was in the front of the balcony, you could barely discern the three projections. It could almost be equated with Imax.

I haven't seen it in ages and only remember the Ohio river flatboat sequence, and the train sequence. I sure don't recall Eli, Lee, and Henry, that would have been a good trivia question.

[Il Buono]

Hush, great idea, let's do that!

[Cusser]

I saw HTWWW in Cinerama in Pittsburgh, in the early 1960s.   Van Cleef was one of Walter Brennan's river pirates, got killed by Jimmy Stewart after he was injured and made his way back upriver (I think with thrown hatchet in back).  Eli was the bandit Charlie Gant at the end, and Sergio said he chose Eli for GBU because of the scene where he shoots his "fingers" at George Peppard's kids in mock gunfight, and laughs, much more than for his Magnificent Seven performance.  Van Cleef and Wallach's paths would not have crossed in filming, as three directors filmed their portions independently.  Jimmy Stewart was too old for his part.

[tucumcari bound]

What are your thoughts about this film? I've heard many mixed opinions about this film through the years and I want to see if I get the same among all of you here.

[Man with no dame]

Great music and cinematography, Jimmy Stewart section is good, but Debbie Reynolds stuff is kinda slow. Eli Wallach auditions for Tuco.

[cigar joe]

Its a very entertaining film in the classic sense, The Arizona sequence with Eli Wallach is a must see and Lee Van Cleeh is great as a river pirate.

Its in my collection

[tucumcari bound]

I finally just picked this up and added it to my collection. I can't wait to watch it. I can't believe the talent that was involved in this.

[Man with no dame]

It has some Leonesque  elements in it, mostly in the third part, which, unfortunately, is also the briefest. Camera angles and the use of the landscape. First 3rd is all John Ford. Walter Brennan is a stand out in that part. Definitely not to be confused with How the West was Fun with the Olsen twins.

[tucumcari bound]

I don't get this. I started this thread last night and it says it was started by Il Buano? How did this happen?

[Man with no dame]

It got tied into a previously posted topic. I think Banjo is cleaning house.

I don't get this. I started this thread last night and it says it was started by Il Buano? How did this happen?

[tucumcari bound]

Ohh ok, I did not realize another topic was posted about this movie. Sorry Banjo!

[The Peacemaker]

I liked this movie.

Not one of the greatest, but very entertaining. Especially when there are SO many famous actors and crew involved.

I loved the Arizona sequence. My favorite part is also Leone's, it's when Eli Wallach stares at the sheriff's kids and with his hands he pretends to shoot down the kids. Very Leonesque scene.

[Jill]

Too long, boring and too much superstars, but they don't know what they are doin' in this... too short roles for Jimmy S. and Gregory. It's like Griffith's Intolerance - wanted too much.

[dave jenkins]

I kind of agree. Tries to be too many things and so fails to do any one thing in particular well. And the ending with the LA freeways: what the...?

Still, if you ever get a chance to see it in Cinerama you should jump at it. They did a revival of it here at our Cinerama a couple of years back and I went and enjoyed the experience. There were seams between each of the three images (due to shrinkage?), but you get used to that. I really liked the fact that you could be watching the central action in a scene, and if you got bored, you could swivel your head and watch something else (mountains, riverbanks, what-have-you). More interesting than 3-D.