How The West Was Won (Blu-ray Book)

[Sehnzeleid]

Via DVDTimes:

Warner Home Video have announced the US Blu-ray Disc release of the restored and remastered edition of How The West Won on 26th August 2008 priced at $34.99 SRP. One of only two narrative feature films produced in the original Cinerama® three-panel widescreen process, How the West Was Won follows four generations of a courageous New England farm family as they travel to the fertile Ohio Valley during America’s early westward expansion.

M-G-M and Cinerama®, Inc. spared no expense to give this sprawling Western saga the huge vistas made possible with the original Cinerama® process. After its initial theatrical engagements in theaters equipped with three synchronized projectors for Cinerama® presentation, the film was subsequently presented on traditional theater screens with the three separate Cinerama® panels being optically joined to form a standard 35mm 2.35:1 widescreen image, leaving most subsequent viewers puzzled by the annoying ‘join lines.’

Following several years of careful development, the technicians at Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging perfected a technology that could finally eliminate the ‘join lines,’ and unify the images into a superb viewing experience that captures the essence of the production’s initial road show exhibitions, with an aspect ratio of 2.89:1.

Arriving day-and-date with the new DVD release, the Blu-ray release offers an exclusive in the form of the “SmileBox” version of the film which presents the image with a unique curvature that virtually recreates the true Cinerama® experience in a home theater. This Blu-ray Edition comes with a special Digi-book packaging featuring 32-pages of rare press materials and behind-the-scenes photos.

Some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, including John Wayne, Henry Fonda, James Stewart, Richard Widmark, Gregory Peck, Lee J. Cobb, Debbie Reynolds and Carroll Baker star in How the West Was Won. Set between 1839 and 1889 against the backgrounds of the Louisiana Purchase, the Civil War, buffalo hunters, the Pony Express and the first transcontinental railroad, the film consists of five segments, with direction by Henry Hathaway, John Ford and George Marshall, and written by James R. Webb and John Gay, suggested by a Life Magazine series of the same name. The film was the winner of 3 Academy Awards® (Best Screenplay, Best Sound and Best Editing) as well as being nominated for an additional five Oscars®, including Best Picture. In 1997, How the West Was Won was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the US National Film Registry.

How the West Was Won Special Features:

* Film Historian Commentary
* Dave Strohmaier’s critically-acclaimed, feature-length documentary Cinerama® Adventure
* The Making of How the West Was Won (Archival featurette)
* Original Theatrical trailer

Exciting news! Plus it looks like Warner is testing out giving the Blu-ray edition more value over the DVD more-and-more.

Found this quote from Martin Scorsese on Cinerama:

"I’ll never forget what it was like to see the Cinerama process for the first time as a kid. We wanted wider screens, and thanks to This Is Cinerama, we came to expect a moment like the famous roller coaster sequence in every single film – a moment where vision merged with pure physical sensation. It’s hard to overestimate the importance of Cinerama – it set the standard for everything that came after. The widening of the screen was a turning point in the history of movies – that glorious shape, introduced to us for the first time through Cinerama, created a sense of excitement that I still feel today. It altered the historical course of movies as dramatically as the introduction of sound."

[Ruined]

Wow this one is gonna be neat!

[biglyle]

This should really prove what is capable if the studios are willing to go that extra mile. Its too bad all releases dont get this kind of care. Looking forward to this.

[billyslits]

You can actually see the "seams" where the three panels meet to create the cinerama image. Hopefully this won't be too distracting in the transfer.

[Sehnzeleid]

Originally Posted by billyslits

You can actually see the "seams" where the three panels meet to create the cinerama image. Hopefully this won't be too distracting in the transfer.

From the article above:

"Following several years of careful development, the technicians at Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging perfected a technology that could finally eliminate the ‘join lines,’ and unify the images into a superb viewing experience that captures the essence of the production’s initial road show exhibitions, with an aspect ratio of 2.89:1."

[Derb]

Originally Posted by Sehnzeleid

with an aspect ratio of 2.89:1."

That'all look tiny on my 60" set!

[billyslits]

From the article above:

"Following several years of careful development, the technicians at Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging perfected a technology that could finally eliminate the ‘join lines,’ and unify the images into a superb viewing experience that captures the essence of the production’s initial road show exhibitions, with an aspect ratio of 2.89:1."

Me post before me read.

But, honestly, if that picture is a screen capture from the new transfer, I can still see the 'join lines'.

[Sehnzeleid]

It's hilarious how many deluded idiots on other forums are really bemoaning the fact Warner is including the original Cinerama Smilebox version along with the standard widescreen version with the Blu-ray release. Despite them probably never seeing or even hearing of Cinerama before this release and despite the Blu-ray not even being out yet. They're either bitching about how it's a useless gimmick to sell the release (because you know, God forbid OLD stuff is released in HD) or how this release probably won't have lossless audio?! It's incredible how people can be so damn stupid. Sometimes it seems like many BD/HD adopters are in love with the presentation, even if it's grass growing, and everything else be damned.

Originally Posted by billyslits

But, honestly, if that picture is a screen capture from the new transfer, I can still see the 'join lines'.

Not it's not, it's just the only decent image I could find of the film.

[dugpa]

Originally Posted by Sehnzeleid

Sometimes it seems like many BD/HD adopters are in love with the presentation, even if it's grass growing, and everything else be damned.

It's not just HD, this has been a trend since Home Theaters existed. I firmly reject the notion of "demo material." To me it's like buying a painting, hanging it on the wall, then buying a really nice expensive light to illuminate it. They calling all your friends to come over and going on about how amazing the light is and how clear it makes the painting look, but not bothering paying attention to the artistic merits of the painting itself. IMHO too many people are focused on the technology and not the art.
That said, it causes me no pain if people want to do that. I personally think it's silly, but if people get their jollies watching a crystal clear presentation of Chuck and Larry, so be it. As long as I don't have to sit though it.

[Derb]

Originally Posted by dugpa

It's not just HD, this has been a trend since Home Theaters existed. I firmly reject the notion of "demo material." To me it's like buying a painting, hanging it on the wall, then buying a really nice expensive light to illuminate it. They calling all your friends to come over and going on about how amazing the light is and how clear it makes the painting look, but not bothering paying attention to the artistic merits of the painting itself. IMHO too many people are focused on the technology and not the art.
That said, it causes me no pain if people want to do that. I personally think it's silly, but if people get their jollies watching a crystal clear presentation of Chuck and Larry, so be it. As long as I don't have to sit though it.

Interesting reading this response from you because you find the best looking discs out there now... mediocre at best.

[dugpa]

Originally Posted by Derb

Interesting reading this response from you because you find the best looking discs out there now... mediocre at best.

First, I have given several discs 10's and 9's. Granted, the best HD still pales in comparision to well presented film. But sadly properly presented film is next to impossible to find anymore, so HD is becoming for me the presentation medium to go with.
Second, I'm not sure what that has to do with anything I just said. I want the best presentation possible of good films, simple as that. Yeah, I'll watch some crap from time to time (Netflix is great for that) because I'll give most anything a chance. Every now and then a film that looks like it'll suck might surprise you. But I'm not going to run around buying shitty films just because they look impressive on the screen, nor am I one to drag friends over just to try to impress them with my HT set up. I'll have friends over to check out a specifc film, be it on SD or HD. But it's the film that matters.

[Derb]

Originally Posted by dugpa

First, I have given several discs 10's and 9's. Granted, the best HD still pales in comparision to well presented film. But sadly properly presented film is next to impossible to find anymore, so HD is becoming for me the presentation medium to go with.
Second, I'm not sure what that has to do with anything I just said. I want the best presentation possible of good films, simple as that. Yeah, I'll watch some crap from time to time (Netflix is great for that) because I'll give most anything a chance. Every now and then a film that looks like it'll suck might surprise you. But I'm not going to run around buying shitty films just because they look impressive on the screen, nor am I one to drag friends over just to try to impress them with my HT set up. I'll have friends over to check out a specifc film, be it on SD or HD. But it's the film that matters.

Thats cool, I'm just saying to myself (from what I have read about your thoughts on said transfers in the past) how can this person even enjoy watching a movie? So if you choose to watch a film that clearly looks like shit but is a good movie, all's good?

[ganthc]

Dugpa, you did buy High School Musical and I Know Who Killed Me. But we can definitely say that you weren't looking for demo material.

[Iguana Man]

I love this idea. It's something old and now new. Cool!

[dugpa]

Originally Posted by Derb

So if you choose to watch a film that clearly looks like shit but is a good movie, all's good?

Let me put it this way, I'd rather watch a shitty looking good film than a perfect looking bad film. I'll bitch about it to no end if a good film gets a bad disc (I'm pointing my finger directly in Studio Canal's direction), but I'll still watch it. In the same way I've seen some great films in theaters but get irked when they're out of focus or misframed on the screen (does no theater own aperature plates anymore?).

Originally Posted by ganthc

Dugpa, you did buy High School Musical and I Know Who Killed Me. But we can definitely say that you weren't looking for demo material.

If you remove the word demo and substitue another word that can't be said on a family board, you'd be closer to the mark. I do have a weak spot for Ashley Tisdale.

[ganthc]

[aagjmb]

You can read about HP's new film restoration process and see before and after images from HTWWW here:

You can read about the "SmileBox" process here:

[Hayrab]

Originally Posted by Sehnzeleid

It's hilarious how many deluded idiots on other forums are really bemoaning the fact Warner is including the original Cinerama Smilebox version along with the standard widescreen version with the Blu-ray release. Despite them probably never seeing or even hearing of Cinerama before this release and despite the Blu-ray not even being out yet. They're either bitching about how it's a useless gimmick to sell the release (because you know, God forbid OLD stuff is released in HD) or how this release probably won't have lossless audio?! It's incredible how people can be so damn stupid. Sometimes it seems like many BD/HD adopters are in love with the presentation, even if it's grass growing, and everything else be damned.


Not it's not, it's just the only decent image I could find of the film.

I think you may have anger management issues, see DNR thread