I watched the first disc in the Ultimate Collectors Edition of "How the West Was Won" last night.
The good news is that this film has never looked better on home video. This DVD is head-and-shoulders above every version I've seen outside of a theater.
I was surprised, however, to discover several bits of dirt in the opening shot of mountains and soon realized these spots were on the camera lens. They remained stable while the video kept moving. At first, I wondered if my plasma HDTV had suddenly developed acne...but No! When the scene changed, the spots were gone.
It's also interesting to note that although the seams are gone, there are telltale color variations in the three panels. The middle panel's colors are generally more saturated while the left and right panels are a bit lighter. It's prominent only when there is blue sky.
I cannot argue BK's comments at all about what might have been done. I think those color issues "could have been" corrected digitally, but I'm not at all unhappy with what I have seen.
The sound on my system was wonderful.....BUT, I'll admit, there are places where Newman's score should just "pop" and doesn't...primarily the scene where the raft is cut loose and splashed into the river.
Laters....
