How the West Was Won

The story of one family across fifty years, told in five sections: the river journey, the plains, the civil war, the railroad and the outlaws. Generations of the Prescott family move west and each part belongs to a different one. The subject is not history but myth. The film narrates westward settlement as an epic of progress and touches on the displacement of native peoples in one short passage only; seen now, that gap is what stands out most. The form is the real matter here. It was shot in three-strip Cinerama: three cameras running at once, the image thrown onto a huge curved screen by three separate projectors. The system allows neither close-ups nor ordinary cutting, so the scenes are wide and long. At home, vertical lines appear where the three strips meet; later digital restorations tried to suppress those seams. Three directors shared the work: John Ford shot the civil war section, Henry Hathaway three sections and George Marshall the railroad. The cast is one of the most crowded star lists of the era. The film won Oscars for its screenplay, editing and sound. Who it is for: viewers curious about classical Hollywood epics and the technical history of cinema. Who it is not for: anyone unable to sit through three hours and the perspective of the period; the narrative is slow and its parts are disconnected.