Customer Reviews

The Real West: Cowboys & Outlaws (History Channel)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I love this series by the History Channel. The scenery photos are beautiful. The commentary taken from the diaries of cowboys and newspapers are accurate accounts. The History Channel created a small glimpse into the history of the old west into an hour long show. They could not tell all in only hour long glimpses into history. If you want to gain an insight into the old west this is a great way to begin your journey. If you want to become an historian on the old west then you can read many books on the subject. But as a fan of the old west I love watching this series and hope to find more of this series available on DVD.

This History Channel set of DVDs uses archival stills & some old movie clips to present a good look at the "real" West. Intelligent commentary, warts & all add to the enjoyment. The Chapters give really good in depth looks at the various Characters & the disc on the Guns of the West is well done except it glosses over the Remington Revolvers which were very well respected by their owners & were probably superior to the Colt Peacemaker.

Yep, this was a real thrill when it was on the air...just like the way they told the tales. No real fluff and lots of solid facts told in an entertaining way. History buffs will get a kick out of and young kids learning about the Wild West might find it a good source to fall back on when Hollywood is done with it's revisionist west....

The Old West is an amazing part of American History.Though it is not a precise time period;generally it is taken to be fron 1865 (end of the Civil War)to the turn of the Century.This in not precise,because much of what went on in the West happened before that,and many of those who took part in "The Old West",particularly in the 70's,and the 80's were in their 20's and 30's lived well into the first quarter of the 1900's.
This collection of 4 DVD's of 8 hours and 40 minutes attempts to tell what happened,who were the famous participants,what the truth was and what and why there is so much fiction and legends about it all.
The main narrator throughout is Kenny Rogers ,whose very appropriate voice and demeanor was an excellent choice to tell the story.He is assisted with a number of experts on the subject,curators of western historical museums and writers.There are numerous quotations through the stories giving first hand accounts of their experiences.
The photography of the country is excellent,the soundtrack adds greatly to the stories,and there is a plethora of photographs from the whole period.
It is obvious that many different people were involved in the production;and there is some repetition as the DVD's are watched.
No doubt the treatment of everything is very brief,but only so much can be squeezed into so little time;and even then the surface is barely scratched.
I think this collection would be greatly enjoyed by both long time fans of the movies and books of the Old West as well as someone who is just looking for an overview of this period.

Sorry, but this series just doesn't have the depth to provide much more than a superficial look at the subject matter. If you are a wild west buff or a western history fan you won't pick up much here that you hadn't already seen or heard. I suppose it might be a case of trying to cram too much into spots that were made for t.v., but I just didn't see much here to recommend this series.

These DVDs (purchased from Amazon) will be a great resource for my gifted students this year, as we are producing a radio drama on the Wild West. The radio drama will air on local radio stations in December.

If you like history on this topic, it is a pretty good overview. It provides enough information to do internet or library topic searches.

I can not say I was a boy into cowboys, I'm actually a complete opposite. I grew up watching Science Fiction. The good old corny Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate, and Farscape. I love the idea od space exploration, but I did purchase this because my Dad grew up in an older time. Where cowboys like John Wayne dominated the screen. Where a little boy would feel like the center of the universe with just having a cowboy hat and plastic toy gun. I did buy my Dad some John Wayne movies, but I thought I would give him a little something more adult form than what the cowboys were potrayed to be back on the black and white screens.

The items I ordered arrived on time and in very good condition. I would purchase items frOm this seller again. Thank you!

I bought disc 4 "Outlaws: the Ten most wanted/The guns that tamed the West" directly from the History Channel website 2 years ago.

This DVD contains sketchy details. Also, it gives approximately 10 minutes coverage per outlaw. It has still black and white pictures and narration by somebody. There's no re-enactement. It's better to read a book about the old West. I gave the disc to my acquaintance. What a waste of money!