How the West Was Won is spectacular!

[PhilRx]

For those of us who may have attended an actual Cinerama presentation, this Blu-Ray, containing the restored HTWWW, is an AWESOME reminder of how wonderful this process was. For those who may have only experienced previous iterations of the SD-DVD format, this presentation will be literally "eye-opening". What a thoroughly wonderful viewing experience! The audio (actually, Dolby TrueHD!) will also please beyond expectations!! WOW! What is particularly interesting in this boxed set is the 2nd disc on which the viewer can watch a "SmileBox" version of the entire film (including the Dolby TrueHD soundtrack) with the upper and lower edges of the "screen" curved to give the impression of being "part of" the Cinerama experience! Additionally, great care was taken to "digitally" smooth the "blend zone" where the 3 film panels came together, and the result is a visually seemless widescreen presentation. Warner Bros. has hit one way out on this one!! BRAVO!
I would hope that if a restoration is possible for The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (the Cinerama version), that they will consider Smilebox again!

[GGX]

I couldnt imagine watching this in anything other than the included Smilbox version.

[Iceman_II]

OMG... I thought warner set the bar for restoration incredibly high with "The Searchers"

Well, they have exceeded it!

I was a bit apprehensive about the "SmileBox" but after just 10 minutes of watching it, I whole heartedly agree with the comment above, I couldn't imagine watching it any other way.

If you like westerns, a definite must buy... hell, even if you don't like westerns!

[ThorianCreeper]

i might pick this up out of curiosity, im not a huge fan of "classic" westerns,
im more of a sergio leone and sam peckinpah kind of guy,
but i am interested in this for the presentation, even if i may not dig the movie.

[PowellPressburger]

It is about a man in search of "beaver"

[alexakajeff]

Another cheesy movie released to BD!

[bluskies]

Originally Posted by alexakajeff

Another cheesy movie released to BD!

Cheesy??!!!!

Let's see you are looking forward to getting:

The Hulk (Ang Lee)
Halloween
Dawn of the Dead
Day of the Dead

and you call How the West Was Won cheesy?

You, sir, are a --

Hey, excuse me, everybody here! Pardon me, but please remind me...if I call him a "blithering idiot" or "a moron with no taste," will that get me in trouble? Just want to make sure before I do.

[oetty]

I am too thinking about getting this - if only for the great quality and the nice packaging of the discs. But I can't imagine the film being so good since it has merely a 6.9 rating on IMDB.

Normally I'm not buying a movie I don't know if it is rated below 7.

Does anybody know where I can find a good review about the film?

[CptGreedle]

Originally Posted by bluskies

Cheesy??!!!!

Let's see you are looking forward to getting:

The Hulk (Ang Lee)
Halloween
Dawn of the Dead
Day of the Dead

and you call How the West Was Won cheesy?

You, sir, are a --

Hey, excuse me, everybody here! Pardon me, but please remind me...if I call him a "blithering idiot" or "a moron with no taste," will that get me in trouble? Just want to make sure before I do.

Go right ahead. I think you can justify a statement to someone who clearly displays signs those signs.
Anyone that thinks How the West was Won is cheesy needs to take a lesson in film making, history of film, film appreciation, and an eye exam. Maybe an IQ test too.

[bluskies]

Originally Posted by oetty

I am too thinking about getting this - if only for the great quality and the nice packaging of the discs. But I can't imagine the film being so good since it has merely a 6.9 rating on IMDB.

Normally I'm not buying a movie I don't know if it is rated below 7.

Does anybody know where I can find a good review about the film?

You are going to let a difference of 0.1 stand between you and getting it?

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by bluskies

Cheesy??!!!!

Let's see you are looking forward to getting:

The Hulk (Ang Lee)
Halloween
Dawn of the Dead
Day of the Dead

and you call How the West Was Won cheesy?

You, sir, are a --

Hey, excuse me, everybody here! Pardon me, but please remind me...if I call him a "blithering idiot" or "a moron with no taste," will that get me in trouble? Just want to make sure before I do.

You'll have to get in line. The guy makes ridiculous flippant comments all of the time.

I have to admit, I have never seen this movie or heard of "SmileBox" before- guess it was just a little before my time. I am however really intrigued and will try to give this a rent. It's one of the things I really like about this forum- I have discovered a lot of movies I never knew about or would have paid attention to: Run Lola Run, The Fall, Patton and How the West was Won to name a few.

[bluskies]

Originally Posted by aramis109

You'll have to get in line. The guy makes ridiculous flippant comments all of the time.

I have to admit, I have never seen this movie or heard of "SmileBox" before- guess it was just a little before my time. I am however really intrigued and will try to give this a rent. It's one of the things I really like about this forum- I have discovered a lot of movies I never knew about or would have paid attention to: Run Lola Run, The Fall, Patton and How the West was Won to name a few.

aramis,

Make sure you rent both Blu discs. The flat version, which is worth seeing, is on disc 1, as well as the commentary and the 90+ minute documentary, Cinerama Adventure. Disc 2 has the "SmileBox" version.

[Russell_L]

Even the New York Times is raving about this release!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/09/mo...a1&oref=slogin

Quote: "The best reason for buying a Blu-ray player right now is Warner Home Video’s high-definition version of “How the West Was Won"......"

[Blu-Ron]

I could shoot myself in the foot (no pun intended) for never seeing this classic. This is probably the best time to do so.

[xander]

Originally Posted by bluskies

Hey, excuse me, everybody here! Pardon me, but please remind me...if I call him a "blithering idiot" or "a moron with no taste," will that get me in trouble? Just want to make sure before I do.

Such a comment would not only be appropriate, but quite long overdue in this instance.

[Russell_L]

Here's the DVD Beaver review, complete with GREAT comparison screen captures of the regular and smilebox versions:

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDRe...on_blu-ray.htm

[Riff Magnum]

Those shots alone are making me want this movie. Never seen it though.

[GGX]

Smilebox all the way.

[#Darren]

I'm really looking forward to this. I'm gonna play it on my 92 inch screen and sit REALLY REALLY close - should look awe inspiring!

[Deciazulado]

If you have a curved screen that would add greatly to the effect


Some posts about digibook packaging moved to the Digibook thread