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How the West Was Won

How the West Was Won

Western · 1962

The epic tale of the development of the American West from the 1830s through the Civil War to the end of the century, as seen through the eyes of one pioneer family.

Movie details

How the West Was Won

“It's here! The mightiest adventure ever filmed!”

1962 Western 2h 44m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

7.1 / 10

25.3K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

85 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

56 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

7.0 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

The epic tale of the development of the American West from the 1830s through the Civil War to the end of the century, as seen through the eyes of one pioneer family.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over How the West Was Won?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Nevada Smith is the alias of Max Sand, the son of an Indian mother and American father. When they are killed by three men over gold, Nevada sets out to avenge them. The young man is taken in by a gun merchant who shows him how to shoot, on time and correctly.

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Flaming Star

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Pacer Burton, a young man of mixed Kiowa and white heritage, is caught between two worlds as conflict erupts between Native Americans and white settlers in Texas.

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The Dead Don't Hurt

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In the 1860s, fiercely independent French-Canadian Vivienne Le Coudy embarks on a journey with Danish immigrant Holger Olsen, attempting to forge a life together in the dusty town of Elk Flats, Nevada. When Holger decides to go fight for the Union in the burgeoning Civil War, Vivienne must fend for herself, which isn't easy in a town controlled by a corrupt mayor.

Badland

Badland

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Detective Matthias Breecher, hired to track down the worst of the Confederate war criminals, roams the Old West seeking justice. His resolve is tested when he meets a determined pioneer woman who is far more than she seems.

Dead Man

Dead Man

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On the run after committing murder, an accountant encounters a strange Native American man who prepares him for his journey into the spiritual world.

3:10 to Yuma

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Dances with Wolves

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Geronimo: An American Legend

Geronimo: An American Legend

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The Apache Indians have reluctantly agreed to settle on a US Government approved reservation. Not all the Apaches are able to adapt to the life of corn farmers. One in particular, Geronimo, is restless. Pushed over the edge by broken promises and necessary actions by the government, Geronimo and thirty or so other warriors form an attack team which humiliates the government by evading capture, while reclaiming what is rightfully theirs.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

John Ford · George Marshall · Henry Hathaway

Written by

John Gay · James R. Webb

Carroll Baker

Carroll Baker

Eve Prescott Rawlings

Lee J. Cobb

Lee J. Cobb

Marshal Lou Ramsey

Henry Fonda

Henry Fonda

Jethro Stuart

Carolyn Jones

Carolyn Jones

Julie Rawlings

Karl Malden

Karl Malden

Zebulon Prescott

Gregory Peck

Gregory Peck

Cleve Van Valen

George Peppard

George Peppard

Zeb Rawlings

Court is in session

Put How the West Was Won on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Patience is part of the point.”

Duration becomes texture. The film asks you to inhabit its world instead of merely processing its plot.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“A test of endurance, your honour.”

Stillness keeps submitting itself as meaning. At some point, contemplation needs something worth contemplating.