WHV Press Release: How The West was Won (DVD/Blu-Ray)+Western & Errol Flynn Classics (1 Viewer)

[Doug Bull]

Simon,
I'm not sure if watching HTWWW on a Computer Monitor will give you a never to be forgotten Cinerama experience, but I'm sure it'll still look mighty sharp and detailed.

Before I purchased a large 1920x1080p unit, I used the Blu-ray player on a smaller 32 inch 720p LCD set and the image at 720P was still stunning.(However I did use HDMI)

I 'm sure you can find references to which players will do what.

With the exception of Stalking Moon, this is a terrific collection of must have titles, but where are some of the earlier MGM Westerns?
Next time, maybe?

 

[Richard--W]

Whats wrong with The Stalking Moon ?

 

[Simon Howson]

Maybe he doesn't like it.

 

[Doug Bull]

No, I personally found it to be dull Western and there are Dozens of other Warner owned MGM and RKO Classic titles that deserve to be released on DVD ahead of that one.

Although Saddle the Wind, has a good theme song and is a reasonable Western, it too should be down the list.

Having said that, this is still a great set, if only to get Escape from Fort Bravo, The Law and Jake Wade and Cimarron.

Many Rivers to Cross is pretty light weight but certainly enjoyable.

At the end of the Day, it's great to have any Western on DVD full stop.

 

[Robert Crawford]

To quote William Munny, "Deserve's got nothin' to do with it."





Crawdaddy

 

[Richard--W]

Which titles for instance?

Personally I've been waiting a long time for THE STALKING MOON. I find it to be one of the most interesting westerns of the period, and the most suspenseful. It offers Gregory Peck and Eva Marie Saint in two of their best roles. Although it was made forty years ago, viewers will find it the most contemporary title in the box, having served as an inspiration to Rambo. The film also reunites Peck with Robert Mulligan who directed him in To Kill a Mockingbird. Peck's performance here is a study in stoicism and grit in what must be the most physically demanding role of his career. The prowess of the single Apache warrior as a hunter and killer, and what motivates him, is historically authentic and correct. I would encourage everyone who loves westerns to give THE STALKING MOON a try.

Several months ago there was a thread here in which members outlined all the Robert Taylor films under WHV's control awaiting release. WHV must have been reading, because three of his best western performances are in this box-set. One can't go wrong with any of these titles.

Personally I would urge the release of John Sturges' BACKLASH (1956) with Richard Widmark, Donna Reed, John McIntire, and Technicolor at Old Tucson, although I cannot remember who owns it at the moment.

 

[Simon Howson]

IMDB says Universal. So don't expect it anytime soon :-|

 

[Ronald Epstein]

If you would like to see an example of the smilebox process
and how the DVD of HTWWW should look in that format,
then kindly click here.

 

[RolandL]

Wow! That frame from Search For Paradise looks fantastic!

 

[Matt Hough]

I'll say it does! I hope the color vibrancy seen in that snap of SEARCH FOR PARADISE is also the way it looks for HOW THE WEST WAS WON. That kind of intensity combined with the smilebox and 1080p resolution for Blu-ray should make for a drop-dead gorgeous picture.

 

[oscar_merkx]

Absolutely awesome indeed

 

[Bill Huelbig]

To quote Tallulah Bankhead in LIFEBOAT: In a word, wow.

Does this mean that SEARCH FOR PARADISE will someday be released to Blu-Ray or DVD? Can't get enough Cinerama! I also hope the 70mm Cinerama films will someday be re-released in Smilebox format (2001, GRAND PRIX, etc.), since the curved image is the way they were originally seen.

 

[Patrick McCart]

I don't think the 70mm "Cinerama" films were meant for a curved screen, especially 2001 and Grand Prix. It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World wasn't even designated as Cinerama until after it was filmed, I think. The whole point of Smilebox is to correct the perspective and geometry of 3-panel Cinerama films because of the extremely wide angle. The image is inherently a curve.

It may be somewhat good for the first two Todd-AO films (Oklahoma! and Around the World in 80 Days), but even they only had occasional wide-angle shots that would benefit from the geometric correction.

 

[Richard--W]

Yes indeed.
Let's hope the popularity of the newly restored HOW THE WEST WAS WON and consumer acceptance of the smilebox format will encourage WHV to release other Cinerama / 70mm experiences in the way they were intended to be seen. I think we'd get there sooner if the smilebox version were made available on standard DVD as well. It won't hurt the push on Blu-Ray, but the steep cost of BR limits how many people witness the smilebox, and that steep cost isn't coming down to earth soon enough. Meanwhile there's money to be made in standard DVD with something new.

 

[Simon Howson]

I think they could've increased the UCE price by $5 or $10 above the UCE price for Bonnie & Clyde and The Searchers if they presented the film in two different ways.

 

[Bill Huelbig]

I don't think the 70mm "Cinerama" films were meant for a curved screen, especially 2001 and Grand Prix.

I've seen "2001" on a Cinerama screen, and the space station/Earth orbit scene and especially the Star Gate sequence have an even greater impact on a curved screen. I'd imagine the same goes for the steeply banked Monza racetrack scenes in "Grand Prix", although I've only seen that movie flat. And there's always the advantage of seeing those films the way millions of people saw them in their original release, the way I would've seen them if I'd been old enough to go to roadshow movies on my own in the 1960's

 

[Richard--W]

But the films are released in both systems, DVD and BR.
Wait ... which two ways?

 

[Ed Moroughan]

I would have liked the Smilebox to be included in the SD set but I'll be happy with it anyway. I'm surprised that Santa Fe Trail isn't in the Flynn set, is that because it's public domain?

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I posted this in a similar thread but it bears repeating.

I have been informed that the Cinerama Adventure documentary
has over 20 minutes of Smilebox process shots in it and it will be
included in both Blue Ray and standard versions of How The West
Was Won. So those who only buy the standard vers. will be able
to see many examples of SmileBox from all the old travelogues
and HTWWW.

 

[oscar_merkx]

Thanks for the news.

Awesome