Steven Spielberg served as executive producer for this six-part, 12-hour (with commercials) miniseries, which develops a familiar theme in an interesting, unorthodox manner: namely, the settling of the American West (hardly a new topic), from the point of view of two parallel narrative lines that occasionally intersect. The two sets of protagonists are a Virginia-born family moving west and a Lakota tribe coping with the influx of white settlers. William Mastrosimone's original story is incredibly complex, with so many characters that you might need a scorecard to keep track (a task not made any easier by the filmmakers' decision to have different actors playing the same character at various points in time). The two factions first cross paths when Jacob Wheeler (Matthew Settle) rescues and ultimately weds Lakota widow Thunder Heart Woman (Tonantzin Carmelo). With other family members (played by Keri Russell, Skeet Ulrich, and Jessica Capshaw) in tow, Jacob makes the long, arduous trek to California by wagon train. Before the miniseries has ended, the Wheelers and the Lakotas have been touched by the California Gold Rush, the Civil War, the building of the transcontinental railroad, the massacre at Wounded Knee, and other historical events leading up to the dawn of the 20th century. Even given the series' generous length, however, history occasionally gets short shrift and the chronology seems muddled. But Into the West has much to recommend it, not the least of which are feature-film-quality production values, uniformly fine acting, and an impressive set of DVD extras, including an in-depth “making of” documentary, featurettes on Spielberg's involvement and the Lakota language used in the film, a family tree and graphic timeline, and the music video “World on Fire,” featuring Sarah McLachlan and Robbie Robertson. Recommended, overall. (E. Hulse)
Into the West
DreamWorks, 4 discs, 552 min., not rated, DVD: $49.99 Volume 20, Issue 6
Into the West
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