The latest historical series on Netflix is American Primeval, a gritty and violent six-parter which has brought renewed interest in the Western genre.
Set in Wyoming and Utah 1857, American Primeval is set around real events; tensions between the Mormon inhabitants of the newly-settled territory of Utah, and the United States government, erupted in mid-1857 into what's now been dubbed the Utah War (which saw a grand total of zero battles).
While American Primeval focuses on a few survivors of a caravan attack (seemingly inspired by the real Mountain Meadows Massacre), we do also follow the US Cavalry as well as the Mormon Nauvoo Legion, and it paints a picture of the conflicts and stories that helped create the American West.
If you've finished watching American Primeval and want to see another Western that really delves into the history of the frontier, then boy do I have a suggestion to you. It's a movie that won several Oscars and was considered a tentpole epic for many years, but nowadays it's not remembered as well as some of its contemporaries.
The movie in question is How The West Was Won, which was released by MGM in 1962. Directed in segments by John Ford, Henry Hathaway and George Marshall, the movie is one of the best fictional looks at the west and also a must-watch Western.
Spanning five different time periods between 1839 and 1889, HTWWW follows the members of one family through the trials and tribulations of heading west: we see their dangerous trip through Ohio and the plains, the younger generation's experiences in the Civil War, the post-war economic book as the railroads are created and troubles with outlaws.
It's a whistle-stop tour of a half-century of American history, depicted over several characters. The plot synopsis might make it sound like a documentary but it has some great character work too, particularly with the heartbreaking recurring image of an always-growing family graveyard.
It also has some really amazing quotes, but given its (relative) obscurity, good luck finding anyone who recognizes them!
Many of the biggest Western stars of all time are in the movie including John Wayne, James Stewart, Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Harry Morgan, Debbie Reynolds, Walter Brennan and Eli Wallach. Lee Van Cleef, Harry Dean Staunton and Ken Curtis were also in the movie, in uncredited smaller roles.
The movie was nominated for loads of Oscars and won several including Best Film Editing and Best Writing, and there are a few reasons it should have won more. Alfred Newman's score remains a classic for one, with the Prelude remaining one of the classic Western scores:
The movie was also shot for the novel, though soon-after-discontinued, format called Cinerama. In Cinerama the movie was projected onto not one but three screens, surrounding the viewer in 146 degrees of movie, which was by all accounts a pain to film for and display, hence its eventual discontinuation.
For reasons related to this filming method, two different versions of the movie exist: one in the Cinerama aspect ratio of 2.59:1, however re-releases of the movie also come in 2.89:1 versions, which show more footage on the sides. Fans debate which of these is the best, but I'd recommend just watching whatever you can find.
I say that because How The West Was Won isn't on any streaming services. I found that the cheapest way to watch it is just by buying the DVD, as it's included in box sets or even on its own for less than $/£1 if you hunt around. Otherwise you can buy or rent it digitally but that'll cost you around $/£5 to rent and more to buy.
Just make sure you don't buy the TV show of the same name; this was inspired by the movie and tells the same story, but I've never seen it so I can't recommend it!
HTWWW is quite different to American Primeval in that it's not as brutal, gritty or pessimistic as the series — not that many other videos could be — and it's also quite dated in terms of style and looks. But if you liked Netflix's series for its history, and enjoy old movies, it's definitely one to watch next.
