Search - Great American Western V.11, The on DVD

Vol 11....Stories of the American Indian

L. Shirley | fountain valley, ca United States | 04/24/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This review refers to "The Great American Western - Volume 11"(Platinum Disc)....Platinum Disc has put together a series of packages for the true Western lover. There are somewhere between 20 to 25 single discs available that contain 4 films on each disc and there are several package deals with 5 to 10 discs per package.It may get a little confusing as the multi-package deals are also called Volumes 1 and 2. The earlier single volumes(1,2,3 etc) seem to include films all featuring a single actor. The single Vol 1 for example has Randolph Scott in all four films(see my review of this volume if you are interested). The later volumes (11, 12, 13, etc),include a variety of stars. If you are like me and just can't get enough of these old west stories, buying them in the ten pack is the most economical way to go and sometimes the outside sellers have some terrific deals. So far as I could tell, there are 2 volumes(Vol 1 and 2) of the 10 packs with single volumes 1-10 in one pack and 11-20 in another. I have reviewed the ten pack Vol 2 and listed all 40 films included if you are interested in going that way.Each single volume in the multi-packs come in their own individual keep case by the way and all the films are enhanced in Dol Dig 5.1. So to find what you are looking for, enter "Great American Western" and the volume number in the search. If you enter Vol 2 you will get both the single disc and the multi-disc packages to choose from(you'll know from the price which is which).These are the films and the stars included in single Vol 11, which are all devoted to the American Indian..."Battles of Chief Pontiac"(1952)..Lex Barker plays frontiersman Kent McIntyre and tries to negotiate a peace treaty with Chief Pontiac played by Lon Chaney Jr.It also stars Helen Westcott and was directed by Felix E. Feist. This one is in black and white."Sitting Bull"(1954).. In an account of "The Battle of Little Big Horn", a Major in the calvary believes the Indians have the same rights as all Americans and tries to stop Gen. Custer from an ill-fated mission. The Major is court-martialed for treason, but gets some help from Sitting Bull. This one stars Dale Robertson, Mary Murphy, J. Carrol Naish and Iron Eyes Cody. It was directed by Sidney Salkow."Against A Crooked Sky"(1975)...Ageing trapper Richard Boone sets out to rescue a white girl from the Indians and becomes obsessed(sound familiar..this is a remake of the great John Ford's film).Henry Wilcoxon is a tough but honorable Indian foe.
Stewart Peterson, Geoffrey Land and Jewel Blanch also star. It is in color and directed by Earl Bellamy."The Great Indian Wars" is a very informative documentary depicting the tribes that had to fight for lands as the early pioneers began to take over the Indian Hunting grounds. Learn what really happened at "Little Big Horn" and "The Battle of Wounded Knee". It runs about an hour and 40 min and is in black and white.Don't expect a big studio restoration of these films. The films do show their age, but the transfers are decent, very viewable, with very good sound.There is a nice menu that you can follow to choose a film or one of 8 chapter stops in each film. All four films are on the same side of the disc. For the price, the western lover is getting a real treat, and whether you go with just a single disc of your favorite actor or the ten pack, you can't go wrong.Once again..thanks Platinum for putting these packages together for us lovers of oaters.Saddle Up and Happy Trails.....Laurie"