Before there was IMAX . . . .

Decades before anyone even dreamed of IMAX, people were shelling out their hard-earned bucks to see films presented in "Cinerama."

Cinerama was essentially a film-production technique that offered an additional gimmick to get people to come back to theaters following the advent of TV.

Back then, studios correctly realized that there was no hope of truly competing with the "free" entertainment of TV without a new hook. So, inventors were able to take a three-camera recording and projection system devised for military pilot training and use it to make sweeping epics like 1962's "How The West Was Won."

Viewers were able to see their movies on large rounded screens designed to make them feel like they were actually there. And, studios produced the most technologically advanced multi-channel stereo audio tracks to assault the senses. Until that point, there was nothing else like it.

"How The West Was Won" proved a critical, technical and financial success. Audiences saw stunts the likes of which no one had the money or technical knowledge to produce. The 155-minute adventure brought out the who's who of Hollywood for star power and directing abilities. In the end, they had Academy Awards and a nearly two-year theater run to show for it.

But the film also signaled the death of Cinerama. Within a year, an annoying little film entitled "It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World" was released that accomplished wide, panoramic images similar to Cinerama but on a traditional single screen. Cinerama was over.

However, the storytelling prowess of "How The West Was Won" preserved the film for future generations, and it was eventually carried over to television. TV audiences, however, had to suffer through the annoyance of two lines or seams on either side of the screen as the three images were joined to show the entire scope of the picture. The lines appear on the DVD as well.

Overall, this is a pretty good picture. Some of the acting was a little over the top in the ham department, but it had great stunts and an overall swift pace. And you can't go wrong with the immortal Eli Wallach threatening to murder George Peppard and his family . . .