How the West Was Won is spectacular!

[bluskies]

I got one of the 100 free Blu-ray they gave away today at the showing of HTWWW at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, and though I have only had a brief look at the Blu version of the movie in different scenes so far, I have to say it is absolutely gorgeous. I also compared it briefly side by side with the old widescreen DVD, and the new one shows more image on the left and right side of the screen, plus of course is much clearer, with richer color and better sound. (Though nothing will comapre to the speaker system they have at the theater - about 30 around the audience and probably as many behind the screen.)

(By the way, there are no trailers with this release and after you pop it in, it goes right to the film.)

While the joining lines of the three screens have been made to look a LOT less visible, they can be detected due to the color of each film shot. But, believe me, this is only a minor thing when you see how breathtaking the film is.

The SmileBox version really does capture the way the film was shown in the theate. I saw the showing in the theater today and scenes where people on the left and right portions of the screen are slightly askew because I was sitting center are duplicated here. It is interesting to see but I wouldn't want them to duplicate this in other title releases. Once is enough.

The "Cinerama Adventure" documentary is terrific. It is presented in SD but is still great to see. There are clips from many Cinerama films, especially "This is Cinerama."

I have also listened to some of the commentary. It is filled with lots of interesting details about the making of the film, especially from one of the stuntmen, Loren James .

The announced documentary on the making of the film is not on the Blu set nor the standard DVD set. For some reason, they pulled it at the last minute.

The digibook that houses the 2 Blu discs is very attractive, with lots of color and b&w photos.

One thing that no one ever mentions anymore, but I noticed when the format war was on, was how much more in the way of foreign languages could be had on Blu due bigger capacity discs than on HD DVD. The HTWWW movie has 8 audio tracks on it plus 16 different subtitle options (even the Cinerama documentary has 16 subtitle options, though the audio is only in English). The commentary for the film also has a foreign subtitle availability (could be Chinese).

I give this a 5 out of 5 star rating. A must have.



How the West Was Won Blu-ray 2-disc Digibook

How the West Was Won Blu-ray Review 2-disc Digibook




How the West Was Won Blu-ray Single disc. Doesn't include SmileBox version



How the West Was Won Blu-ray Single disc. Doesn't include SmileBox version

[Russell_L]

Thanks for the mini-review--sounds great!!! Looking forward to getting the BD!

[ambientcafe]

Yes, thanks for the mini-review. I'm glad your review focused on your impressions of the video quality presentation, rather than the film's content. I thought HTWWW was rather uninvolving and disjointed, probably owing to the fact that several directors participated on the project. I will be purchasing the BD solely for its unique first-of-a-kind 'SmileBox' presentation option - - it's all about the widescreen for me...the wider the better!

[PowellPressburger]

looks like DVDtown.com posted their review for the Blu Ray

here is the link



http://www.dvdtown.com/reviews/how-t...t-was-won/6271

[Blu-Ron]

I've been to the Cinerama Dome many times. It's awesome!

[Yeha-Noha]

I waiting for How the West Was Lost on BD.

[wnicholas76]

Thanks for that mini-review, bluskies! The performances of John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Gregory Peck, and Henry Fonda all seal the deal for that day one Blu-ray purchase!

[Russell_L]

And here's The Cinema Laser's review:

http://www.thecinemalaser.com/brd_2008/htwww-brd.htm

[bluskies]

Originally Posted by Russell_L

And here's The Cinema Laser's review:

http://www.thecinemalaser.com/brd_2008/htwww-brd.htm

I like that they say... "Both of these 1080p presentations are so outstanding that HOW THE WEST WAS WON qualifies as the must have, high definition classic film release of 2008."

[AaronSCH]

I know this post is destined to piss someone off but too damn bad. I'll pick it up when I can import the keepcase version from the U.K. I refuse to support Warner's Digi-books titles. So far I have bought Bonnie and Clyde and all of the Dirty Harry flicks as imports.

[fdm]

Originally Posted by AaronSCH

I know this post is destined to piss someone off but too damn bad. I'll pick it up when I can import the keepcase version from the U.K. I refuse to support Warner's Digi-books titles. So far I have bought Bonnie and Clyde and all of the Dirty Harry flicks as imports.

Doesn't piss me off. But this will be my second one. Woodstock will be my third. Bonnie & Clyde was my first. The others can wait. (Unless I'm forgetting something...)

Warner's way of milking you for a few more bucks; they alway manage to do it no matter what the medium. [That monster Dirty Harry box, maybe that should count too...]

[GGX]

Originally Posted by AaronSCH

I know this post is destined to piss someone off but too damn bad. I'll pick it up when I can import the keepcase version from the U.K. I refuse to support Warner's Digi-books titles. So far I have bought Bonnie and Clyde and all of the Dirty Harry flicks as imports.

Well I guess me making an effort to own all the digibook releases balances things out then.

[Blu Titan]

As great as John Wayne was, I am not a fan of his style. I will be buying this one due to the great comments that I have read.

[BaronVH]

Originally Posted by AaronSCH

I know this post is destined to piss someone off but too damn bad. I'll pick it up when I can import the keepcase version from the U.K. I refuse to support Warner's Digi-books titles. So far I have bought Bonnie and Clyde and all of the Dirty Harry flicks as imports.

I understand your opinion and totally respect it, but I actually love those Digi-books. I know a lot of people like the consistent packaging, but as Blu-ray moves into the mainstream, this is going to change. DVD did the same thing, and I think Blu-ray will have the occationally different packaging as well. Green for the Hulk, Digi-books for classic catalogs, etc.

[dialog_gvf]

Originally Posted by BaronVH

Green for the Hulk, Digi-books for classic catalogs, etc.

It's about time something finally got released on Green-ray!

[GoBlu08]

I have never seen this movie. I have heard the great comments from everyone. Is this a movie worthy of putting in my collection. If it is boring then I don't want to purchase it.

[Deadset]

It's a good movie, a classic. Saw it on cable the other day, haven't seen it since the 80's

[bluskies]

Originally Posted by GoBlu08

I have never seen this movie. I have heard the great comments from everyone. Is this a movie worthy of putting in my collection. If it is boring then I don't want to purchase it.

Hard to know what your tastes are. It is an almost 3-hour western. If you like horror movies or such, it may not be your cup of tea. Read some of the reviews by the links in this thread. You might want to rent it first. Personally, I loved it and will definitely rank this as one of the best Blu-rays I have.

[GoBlu08]

I am a fan of westerns. My favs are josey wales, unforgiven, fistful of dollars and open range. With that said would you recommend a purchase of this movie.

[robertc88]

If in doubt, rent! Simple as that and that's what I do. That covers 3 bases. Content, PQ and AQ!