This is 6 part min-series, 90 minutes each episode. This is a large scale production for a TV mini-series made by DreamWorks for TNT. It follows mainly 2 families in the 19th century as the wild west gets conquered.One family is the Wheelers. They are wheel makers. Some of the family set out to go west seeking fortune and adventure. The other is a Native American family struggling to fight, survive, and adapt to the invading white world.The production is big but sometimes just not big enough. The first lead Matthew Settle as Jacob Wheeler is just too weak of an actor. The native American actors were generally good. The ever changing characters do not allow for an easy even flow. This is especially true when different actors are used to portray the same character at different ages.The stories are compelling, but the disjointed nature of the stories do disrupt its flow. Overall they make for some good single movies, but not as much as a single storyline.

I have now seen all of this six-part miniseries about the settling of the West. This obviously was a massive production, with an incredibly realistic feel for the hardships involved in crossing the country by wagon and trying to eke out a living. A couple of familiar faces are on hand, including Beau Bridges, but this is a team effort with a huge and constantly changing cast as the years roll by. The costumes alone for this movie must have kept an army of seamstresses busy. The film was shot in scenic western Canada, and I cannot imagine how they shot some of the sequences without anyone getting hurt. One amazing bit has ae wagon train crossing a turbulent river, during which some of the wagons tip over in the fast-moving water. I was a little less impressed with the cavalry killing Indians, which has been done to death in other movies. It adds nothing new here. In fact, and not to offend anyone, I found the movie's one comedown to be too much time spent with the Indians. A small complaint on my part, as those sequences are easily fast-forwarded. A must-see, although not a film I would want shown in schools or seen by impressionable people. Too grim,a nd of course the white guys automatically become the clichéd bad guys when it comes to dealing with nonwhites.

If I could give this more than 10, I would, a lot more! It was without a doubt the most exciting, thought-provoking, heartening, historically correct and gripping TV series I have ever had the pleasure of watching. It was lovely to see an unbiased account of what life was like for two sides of the fight, and it was wonderful to really warm to and become fond of the various characters (and trust me, there are plenty). Some would automatically think the second they heard it was produced by Steven Spielberg that it would be all 'airy-fairy' and patriotic, but that sense is not put across at all. The messages are of course heart warming at times and sorrowful at others, but surely that just goes with life?! Furthermore, the visual cinematography and scenes were absolutely phenomenal, and each episode seemed to grip me as intensely as the previous ones had done so. Each second, I felt completely entwined in the action and warming stories being portrayed. It had me crying a lot, but this is the only thing I can find is bad (and its not always a bad thing). It was incredible, and I am going to scream it from the roof tops until it gets the recognition it deserves! I can't help feeling that it was almost wasted on television, but then again we were due a genius new TV series at some point. I loved it! Everyone watch it, buy it, preach it!! It will have you talking about it for years.

This is an awesome, awesome miniseries (or 12 hour movie, depending how you look at it). The title "Into the West" might make you think this is another movie about the US and its expansion westward, settling the wild west. You'd be very wrong. This movie focuses heavily on the experience of the people who were already there, and what the invasion meant to them and their culture. Spielberg has used his incredible talents to produce a powerful chronicle of an epic clash of civilizations, and the profoundness of what was lost. It's also a good movie to watch, with top notch acting and cinematography. I caught the last episode of this when it was on TV, and when I saw it available on DVD, I immediately bought it so I could see the whole thing. I'm very satisfied with my purchase!