Better Late Then Never

Best movie ever!

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

After reading some of the negative reviews here about this mini-series, I have to conclude that those that are so negative must have been written by people who really didn't pay much attention to what they were watching, and/or knew little about westward-expansion-era history.I'm not saying this is the best mini-series ever produced for television, but it has a scope to it that few television program EVER have. In fact, my one criticism would be a bit too much scope. A couple of times, when new plot lines developed, I though...gee, they're trying to fit everything into this...and there were times I thought they were doing too much, and I would have preferred a little more depth. But, still and all, this is a remarkable television production.The acting here is consistently strong. If I were to single one actor out for praise, it would be Matthew Settle. Excellent performance. I was sorry to see him go (as characters age in the series, new actors take their place with the role).While I cannot speak for the entire series, I was impressed by the depiction of the Sand Creek Massacre, since I have been there and read a bit about the event. It seemed to be a very accurate depiction of the event...and of the attitude of Chivington, whose actions caused more blood spilt from that point of time and into the future, than any other single event in the Indian Wars.A perfect drama. Probably not. But far, far above the quality of most of what's on television. Highly recommended. The rating "8" is for a television drama.

I just got this DVD and I waited the longest time to finally see it. Very well made and produced .... then again, anything that Steven Spielberg helps produce is great.But there was a couple of little flaws I noticed that wasn't correct. They would be minor details to some but the scene where the Ghost Dancers were dancing from within the Agency itself ... in real life, that wouldn't have happened since the Agency officials wouldn't have allowed the dancing to occur. Furthermore, the Agency people would not have needed to call in the Army to stop the Ghost Dancing.Other than these 2 minor blemishes, I'm shocked that this series never won any major TV awards because it seriously should have. That's just my scoop.

"Into The West" is, in my opinion, some of Steven Spielberg's finest work. Watching the series itself stirred up inside of me mixed emotions-- joy, sadness, anger, and so forth. Spielberg did a pretty darn good job in capturing how the West was shaped and more specifically the people who risked their lives in shaping it. I only wish that he would have at least given some small amount of attention to the black cowboys of the West, who played just as significant a role as anyone. Overall it was definitely worth watching, and since I have purchased the DVD I plan on watching it again. I am not sure when or if it will ever be on television again, but if it does, I suggest to anyone who is fed up with repeats of other shows due to the writer's strike to tune in.

Although the US has not a recorded history of 2000 years,there weren't less chaos and misery as it grew up.The west before exploration was almost an alien land of this planet for white settlers.Rifles cables railway and diseases changed all of these,and destroyed the world where simple innocent Indians lived.We who survive a regular society today hardly suppose things occurred 150 years ago.Everybody could pick up golds on the riverbed,raid fortune no matter whom it belonged to,kill "savages" with decrees from the "Washington Father".That was how the western part of the country began,with the efforts by Chinese,Indians,Irish,Germen,Italians and so on,beyond races,religions,languages,sabotaging old peoples,merging a new people,far from freedom and democracy.(Somehow Chinese do contribute to the US,which was scarcely mentioned)Spielburg gave us a mini picture of the Wheelers as well as America,which shock me and let me know the other side of America.We can't blame ancestors for what they had done in the old days but we can surely understand what we can do today on the earth.