Next, I watched HOW THE WEST WAS WON on Blu-ray. First, I moved my chair about 5 feet from the screen and then I got the rear speakers moved so that the sound in the rear speakers would be better placed and directional as the movie played.
I could NOT disagree more strongly with bk about the color vibrancy and depth of focus of the smilebox version of the movie. Yes, there were some scenes where blue skies were very light blue but many, many more when the depth of blue was eye-shattering. Everything that I could see was DEEPLY saturated, and I began to notice things like the construction of the bodice of Debbie Reynolds' ball gown when she sings "Home in the Meadow" on the riverboat. SO MUCH DETAIL and SO CLEAR. Amazing.
And unlike DR td, the smilebox was a thrilling experience, as close to Cinerama as I'm ever likely to experience again with the side distortions seeming very familiar to what I remembered experiencing when I saw it in Cinerama all those decades ago. The buffalo stampede especially seemed just like I remembered it in Cinerama, and that train robbery sequence at the end was magnificent.
I listened to the Dolby TrueHD track which was a rich though only somewhat enveloping experience (nothing to compare to the sound design of modern action pictures).
All in all, I couldn't have been more thrilled to have this film at long last in the best shape it's ever likely to be in on home video in my lifetime.
