‘The West’ Offers A Sweeping View Of Frontier Life

The settling of the American West is one of history’s most stirring dramas. It abounds with all the right ingredients.

Heroes. Villains.

Triumph. Tragedy.

Adventure. Danger.

Filmmaker Stephen Ives attempts to capture those elements and more of that sweeping saga in his nine-part documentary “The West.”

More often than not he succeeds.

It might be an Ives film, but the influence of documentary giant Ken Burns is clearly evident. That’s not surprising because Burns served as producer and adviser on the project.

As most surely know by now, Burns was the filmmaker responsible for two of the greatest documentaries of all time: “The Civil War” and “Baseball.”

Like Burns, Ives excellently merges paintings, old photographs, diaries, letters and a variety of sources to tell this story. Many of the stories covered are familiar ones, especially to historians.

But it is probably the first time that all have been included in one massive effort.

“The West” will kick off PBS’ fall season Sept. 15, but for those who can’t wait, Ives’ effort already is available on video through Time-Life at $19.99 per episode, with the first tape priced at $9.99. Or you can purchase the entire nine-volume boxed set at $149.99.

To order, call 1-800-TIMEVID (1-800-846-3843).

While “The West” is stunning, it won’t have the same impact on viewers as did “The Civil War” or even his “Baseball,” if for no other reason than they were firsts.

For many, “The Civil War” was their first look at Burns’ marvelous visual style of storytelling, and it swept us off our feet. In addition, it dealt with a period of our history that spanned a little more than five years. “Baseball” covered more than 100 years, but it still focused on one subject.

Trying to tell the story of “The West” in a little more than 13 hours is an almost impossible task. There are so many things to cover, and this new documentary tries to pack as much into the allotted time as possible.

Because of that, “The West” moves swiftly and never fails to keep your attention. Peter Coyote’s narration is solid, if not memorable.

Like Burns, Ives never tries to be politically correct.

He strives to present events and people as they were, not as they have been colored by historians’ interpretations or by 1990s values.

Right from the first episode, Ives makes it clear that Hollywood continues to misrepresent the American Indians. They weren’t all savages as depicted in most movies of 50 years ago. And they weren’t all “noble people” as films such as “Dances with Wolves” portray them.

Ives uses many historians who are Native American to offer commentary.

Says one: “There is this perception that before the white man came, this (North America) was a paradise where everyone lived in harmony. Nothing could be farther from the truth.”

It is not just the image of the Indian that has been twisted by Hollywood.

The famous scout Kit Carson has been portrayed in movies as one of the most heroic figures of the frontier. Some of the praise has been deserved but some of his deeds have been pure fantasy.

According to the documentary, when Carson was shown a dime novel filled with fantastic yarns about his life, he dryly replied, “Maybe some of that stuff happened, but for the life of me I can’t remember them.”

Actually, the true story of “The West” is bigger and more impressive than anything Hollywood could ever come up with. And Ives has done a better job of pulling it all together than anyone else.