CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

John M. Madsen To be fair, I only watched half an episode of the first episode and bits of pieces of a few others. That was more than sufficient to ascertain that this drivel was never meant to be a serious show, or to teach anybody anything at all. Rather it appears to be designed as light entertainment and to perpetuate inaccuracies and tired old myths of the Old West.Shoddy, clumsy, lightweight and not even a great deal of entertainment value to speak of. Two stars is ample reward.

linda-frances I loved this series, of course all these legendary characters are well known names, but it was great to know more about them and how they fitted into early American history. The story of the Sioux was particularly heartbreaking and a hard watch. My previous knowledge of this era is I admit lacking, so I cannot judge it on how historically accurate it was, but an absorbing and interesting series.

WildBullWriter It's hard to believe Robert Redford released this piece of garbage on the world. I'd thought more highly of him (until now).The series is cheaply made, recycling the same footage over and over and over again. The continuity is lousy. So is the dialogue. The narration is trivial and repetitive. The clichés are endless, the scripting shallow. Many of the "facts" are non-factual (inaccuracies abound, as other reviewers point out). So it's historically suspect. All in all, the storytelling is at the level of an adolescent comic book.In the end, this mini-series offers up the same shallow romantic crap about the West that's been around for decades. And it's badly made. Very disappointing. Sorry to say it, but Redford's judgment must be gone to put put his name on this work.If you want to learn about the American West between 1865-1890, find something else. Or just watch a western movie; at least you'll be entertained.

clydeboyd THe American West series is a entertaining look at various stories/myths of the American West. As you can imagine Hollywood takes some literary license with the facts but does present a compelling series of one hour shows. THe series does feature well known western historians such as Dr Paul Hutton as well as other familiar faces for commentary.This is a good place to start exploring the fascinating history of the old west. Just don't take the contents of the shows for being gospel. After all, this is Hollywoods version of history.The only real detraction in the series I found was the producers repeated insistence on having commentary by actors such as Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds and other actors who make their living memorizing lines written by others. Considering that most of these people barely have a high school education, let alone any expertise in American history, it is hard to believe that the producers seriously thought that these people, as well as politicians like John McCain, would add any significant insights or information to the series. Apparently the producers take the audience for being too stupid to recognize a washed up old actor as some type of subject matter expert because he starred in a movie about the West. Putting aside that only criticism The American West is an engaging look at one of the most exciting and historically important periods in American History. I recommend it.