Epic films in the 1960s were a trend throughout the entire decade. Notable ones from 1960-1969 such as “Spartacus,” “Lawrence of Arabia,” “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World,” “My Fair Lady,” “Doctor Zhivago,” “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” “The Dirty Dozen,” “Once Upon a Time in the West” & “The Wild Bunch.” They’re running time is two-and-half plus hours long, high production value, an ensemble cast of high-profile famous faces, memorable orchestra and a big budget.
Today, epic films continue to draw movie goers earning critical and commercial success ranging from 2000-2023.
- Gladiator (2000)
- The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)
- Troy (2004)
- Munich (2005)
- Babel (2006)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007)
- The Dark Knight (2008)
- Watchmen (2009)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts 1-2 (2010-2011)
- Django Unchained (2012)
- The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
- Interstellar (2014)
- The Revenant (2015)
- Silence (2016)
- Mission Impossible: Fallout (2018)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019)
- No Time to Die (2021)
- The Batman (2022)
- Oppenheimer (2023)
One epic western titled, “How the West Was Won” came out on November 1, 1962, in the United Kingdom and eventually released in America on February 20, 1963. It received critical acclaim and made enough money at the box office. In 1997, film was selected by in the National Film Registry by the Liberty of Congress.
First time I’ve heard about How the West Was Won, was Kevin Costner talking about his childhood memories watching epic films and westerns. Speaking of which, his next big movie is “Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1” will be released shortly on June 28, 2024, along with another long movie, “Kinds of Kindness.” The first installment of a four-part epic western set before and after the Civil War. Chapter 2 will be released two months after Chapter 1.
This review contains no SPOILERS whatsoever. I’m giving y’all a chance to see this gem.
Victory & Defeat Aspects
Victory: Jimmy Stewart, Debbie Reynolds, Gregory Peck & Henry Fonda all did a solid job for their respective performances.
Other Cast Members such as Karl Malden, (On the Waterfront) Robert Preston (The Music Man) & Eli Wallach (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) all did a solid job for their respective performances.
Spencer Tracy provides narration. Originally, he was supposed to have a big role. Unfortunately, he had health problems.
Cinematography’ shot in Cinerama? What the heck is Cinerama? Named after a movie theater located in Los Angeles, California. It’s a camera format shooting three cameras in 70mm simultaneously on widescreen. If you went to Cinerama on vacation or you just happen to live in LA, the screen has a huge, curved look. I on the other hand, never went to Cinerama. I only saw a few movies on XD format at Cinemark.
The film’s presented as a generational saga centering around the Rawling Family in five chapters spanning a total of six decades.
- Chapter 1 – The Rivers (1839)
- Chapter 2 – The Plains (1851)
- Chapter 3 – The Civil War (1861-1865)
- Chapter 4 – The Railroads (1868)
- Chapter 5 – The Outlaws (1889)
John Ford, Henry Hathaway & George Marshall directed separate chapters.
Costume Designs and Set Pieces were manually crafted.
Fun Fact 1: Lee Van Cleef (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Escape from New York) makes a tiny appearance as a river pirate. I’m not kidding, look him up.
Fun Fact 2: Eli Wallach’s involvement in the film encouraged Sergio Leone (Once Upon a Time in the West) to cast him as one of the lead characters in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Fun Fact 3: Despite being credited, John Wayne has a small role in Chapter 3.
Harry Dean Stanton (Pretty in Pink, Alien, Paris, Texas) has a small role as a member of Gant’s posse.
Now that we live in the Digital Age, you can skip the overture and intermission. It’s your call if you want to relive movie goers being patient in the screening room or having a bathroom break during intermission.
Defeat: An early romance with Lilith & Cleve happened way too soon. In real life, it’ll take weeks or a month for two people to get to know each other before a relationship is officially established.
If you have a short attention span or a TikTok fanatic, you might not like this western epic. For me personally, I never felt bored. I’ll let this con slide. I’m used to watching long movies as a norm. I play video games 3-4 hours a day.
The Final Verdict: A-
How the West Was Won is a near-perfect western epic. If you’re a fan of long movies or westerns, give this one a shot.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 