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The Far Horizons | 
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Director: Rudolph Mate
Actors: Fred Macmurray, Charlton Heston, Donna Reed, Barbara Hale, William Demarest
Studio: Paramount
Category: DVD
List Price: $9.98
Buy New: $4.63
You Save: $5.35 (54%)
New (30) Used (6) Collectible (1) from $4.63
Avg. Customer Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 32957
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Subtitled), English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 107
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: D054124D
ISBN: 1415709653
UPC: 097360541243
EAN: 9781415709658
ASIN: B0007Y08UG
Theatrical Release Date: 1955
Release Date: June 7, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW, Factory Sealed items direct from the Studios. 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. Quick International Airmail!
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| Editorial Reviews:
Description
After the United States acquired Louisiana from France, explorers Meriwether Lewis (MacMurray) and William Clark (Heston) lead an expedition to survey the territory where no white man has ever gone before. With the help of Sacajawea (Reed), the two men embark on this journey and hope to overcome the dangers they face.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Memories July 29, 2008
Enjoyed seeing the movie "Far Horizons" again. Watched part of it filming in Jackson Hole country back in 1954. Nice to have it on DVD.
 Typical Hollywood nonsense July 5, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Apparently, the screenwriters thought an expedition that resulted in no battle casualties and no real fights with the indians was not sufficiently dramatic. So they larded the story up with romantic nonsense between Clark and Sacajawea (and a non-existent love triangle among Lewis, Clark and Julia "Judith" Hancock). For good measure, they threw in two pitched battles with indians. None of this ever took place.
I think the story of the Lewis and Clark expedition is exciting enough to be told accurately. Someone should develop a new movie of the Lewis and Clark expedition, one that tells the story straight.
Lewis and Clark romanticized.... February 25, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
It is quite interesting to view an old Hollywood version of the corps of discovery.
The historical truth is far from being respected, the Native Americans speak beautiful english, Lewis and Clark are rival lovers...still, the film is worth viewing if you want to compare the story line with that of the real trail blazer's story.
 "Camp" fun at its best July 15, 2005
8 out of 13 found this review helpful
What a HOOT! For out and out Hollywood History at its best this is the film for you. Absolutely laughable from start to finish. We get blue eyed Donna Reed as Sacajawea gazing like a cow at at Charlton Heston as William Clark. "Oh Bill!", "Oh Janey!" they croon. (Nevermind that Sacajawea actually made the trip with her baby and husband.) The insanely ridiculous climax of this affair takes the form of an awkward love triangle...in the Whitehouse no less! Yes, Sacajawea, wearing a stunning powder blue leather outfit to offset her eyes, does a non-existant turn in Washington D.C. vying for the hand of "Bill". Throw in non-existent conflicts with Indians, a non-existent near-courtmarshall of William Clark and, I'm not making this up, a giant rope net slung across the Columbia River by "savages" in an effort to slow our intrepid heroes and you've got a whale of a tale. When I wasn't holding my sides in laughter I simply stared at this puppy in slack jawed wonder. A must see.
Colourful Historical Adventure June 30, 2005
15 out of 17 found this review helpful
Released theatrically in 1954, "The Far Horizons" is an entertaining film about the Lewis and Clark expedition at the turn of the ninteenth century, a pivotal event in the history of the United States. I suspect that historians will roll their eyes at the "Hollywood" version of this famously long, arduous but important expedition that ultimately ensured that America would reach from "sea to sea". Personally I have no problem with actual events being "enhanced" for the entertainment, as well as the enlightenment, of an audience.
President Thomas Jefferson (avuncular Herbert Heyes) has just completed the massive Louisiana Purchase deal with Napoleon, greatly expanding the territory of the United States. However, this vast area now needs to be explored and mapped. The President decides that his loyal secretary, Meriwether Lewis (steadfast Fred MacMurray), is the man for the job, along with a soldier experienced in fighting Indians, William Clark (a driven, intense Charlton Heston). The Lewis/Clark partnership gets off to a rocky start since both men are in love with the same woman, Washington socialite, Julia Hancock (long-suffering Barbara Hale--Della Street on TV's "Perry Mason").
Fortunately, these necessary but rather dull opening scenes soon give way to the expedition itself, at which point the film remains consistently engrossing. Of course, this new territory is by no means uninhabited--many Native American tribes have long established themselves, and regard the coming of the "white man" with great suspicion, even outright hostility.
Clark, a veteran of various "Indian wars", has little patience or sympathy for these people. It is Lewis who must use all of his diplomatic skills to gain their trust, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. They meet the Shoshone maid, Sacajawea (lovely Donna Reed), a prisoner/slave of an enemy tribe. After a few "hurdles" are overcome, she agrees to serve as their guide--as it turns out, the trip would not have been successful, and they would not have survived without her. Her intelligence and beauty soon melt Clark's hard heart, and Lewis finds that he has the distraction of a romance on his hands, as well as more hostile tribes and natural disasters to contend with.
There are many scenes in this film which are gorgeous--the natural beauty of America's plains, rushing rivers, lush forests and snow-capped mountains more than compensate for the hardships that our intrepid explorers must endure.
The DVD is presented in widescreen format with outstanding colour--the sound is mono--don't look for extras.
"The Far Horizons" is a rousing adventure that the whole family can enjoy. Mr. MacMurray, Mr. Heston and Ms. Reed are all highly watchable stars, and kudos to Paramount for releasing this lovely disc.
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