How The West Was Won

Uncut - 4 stars out of 5 - "...The heaviness is one thing; quite another is the sheer grace, patrician arrogance and panache with which it's delivered....Jaw-dropping..."

How the West Was Won is a multi-part epic in several different senses. There are, to begin with, those three overlapping Cinerama images that splash it across a wraparound movie screen. There are four distinct story lines that were handled by three directors, making up a running time of more than two and a half hours. And even the soundtrack album contains multiple elements. First, of course, there is Alfred Newman's orchestral score, paced by the big, heroic Western title theme that gets used in a variety of different moods throughout. To that can be added a collection of traditional and newly written folk tunes, which are performed by the Ken Darby Singers (in a manner that suggests the Sing Along with Mitch albums) as well as by former Kingston Trio leader Dave Guard and his new group, the Whiskeyhill Quartet, which ties into the ongoing folk music revival. Finally, there is Debbie Reynolds, whose starring role traverses the entire lengthy narrative, and who gets an opportunity to sing several traditional songs, including "Home in the Meadow," "Raise a Ruckus," and "What Was Your Name in the States?," with newly written lyrics by Sammy Cahn and Johnny Mercer, just as if the film were a frothy MGM musical with a Western setting, which it is, among, as can be seen, many other things. ~ William Ruhlmann|

西部劇史に残る超大作のサントラを２枚組で。 『西部開拓史』（１９６２） サウンドトラック２枚組 音楽　アルフレッド・ニューマン 歌　ケン・ダービー・シンガーズ 監督　ヘンリー・ハサウェイ、ジョン・フォード、 ジョージ・マーシャル 主演　カール・マルデン、キャロル・ベイカー、 ジェームズ・スチュワート、ジョン・ウェイン、 デビー・レイノルズ、グレゴリー・ペックほか １８３０年代から８０年代までのアメリカ西部開拓時 の人間ドラマを４話構成で描いた超大作西部劇。 ものすごいオールスター・キャスト、そして、壮大にして 豪快・感動的なアルフレッド・ニューマンのオーケストラ が勇壮なサウンドを展開。西部劇ファンは外せない 名作のサントラ、未使用テイクなどの貴重音源なども 収録して２枚組でたっぷり。ブックレットには、解説・ 映画のスチールもたっぷり。 (C)馬場敏裕