Coming to DVD: How the West Was Won (1962)

The mammoth Cinerama Western HOW THE WEST WAS WON comes to DVD on August 26, 2008.

The film will be available in both a 2-Disc Special Edition and Ultimate Collector's Edition.

Extras include a commentary track, vintage featurette, Cinerama documentary, and more. The Ultimate Collector's addition also includes a reproduction press book, photo cards, and postcards.

From DVD Times: "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."

It sounds like a truly impressive DVD. The film's large all-star cast includes Gregory Peck, Debbie Reynolds, James Stewart, Carroll Baker, John Wayne, Richard Widmark, and Robert Preston, with narration by Spencer Tracy.

Some additional notes on this film: My favorite thing about HOW THE WEST WAS WON is Alfred Newman's music, which surely ranks as one of his best among many great film scores. Ken Darby worked with Newman as a composer and choral arranger, with impressive results. The main title theme and the choral rendition of "I'm Bound for the Promised Land" never fail to elicit goosebumps, no matter how many times I've heard them.

Rhino has issued the music on a 2-CD set. The tracks are much more extensive than are available on the LP I've owned since the '70s. You can read more about the music and CD here.

There's a nice tie-in between this score and Disney -- Newman's theme music is one of the great Western themes played in an endless loop in the lobby of Disney's Wilderness Lodge in Florida. The music and the grandeur of the stories-high lobby combine for an awe-inspiring setting. Some of the other music heard in the lobby includes Elmer Bernstein's theme for THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, Bruce Broughton's theme from SILVERADO, and Jerome Moross's masterpiece, THE BIG COUNTRY.