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The Oregon Trail

Collector's Edition, Special Edition

Steve Boettcher (Director) Format: DVD
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 137 ratings
$15.95 with 20 percent savings
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September 25, 2012 		—
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September 1, 2002
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Product Description

Product Description

Created by a four-time Emmy-winning filmmaker, "The Oregon Trail" chronicles the great mid-1800s trek across the unsettled American West. One in ten pioneers died along the way; many walked the entire 2,000 miles barefoot; but in the end nearly a half-million Americans followed the ruts west in search of a better life. Rare photos, diary excerpts, and stunning footage tell a fascinating story of tragedy and triumph.

This program received first-place awards from the Broadcast Education Association, the Oregon-California Trails Association, and the prestigious Telly Awards.

The film provides a comprehensive overview of the Oregon Trail, including: Lewis and Clark, the Astorians, the Whitmans, the Great Migration of 1843, reasons behind the journey, life on the trail, and encounters with Native Americans. Plus, the program includes background on all the key sites along the way: Ash Hollow, Chimney Rock, Scotts Bluffs, Ft. Laramie, Independence Rock, South Pass, Ft. Bridger, Ft. Hall, Three-Island Crossing, Whitman Mission, Ft. Vancouver, Oregon City, and many more. Two hours in length--divided into 4 half-hour segments.

Review

"...an absorbing journey into American history." -- Library Journal

"...one doesn't just hear about the Oregon Trail, one actually makes the trip... highly recommended." -- Library Journal

..one doesn't just hear about the Oregon Trail, one actually makes the trip... highly recommended. -- Library Journal

Product details

  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.48 x 7.32 x 0.55 inches; 3.2 ounces
  • Director ‏ : ‎ Steve Boettcher
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Multiple Formats, Color, NTSC, Special Edition, Full Screen, Collector's Edition, Original recording remastered
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 2 hours
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ September 1, 2002
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Boettcher/Trinklein Television
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1883691079
  • Writers ‏ : ‎ Mike Trinklein
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 137 ratings

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
137 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

doctor beach
5.0 out of 5 stars Mules? Who Knew?
Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2017
Verified Purchase
For an American history lover such as myself, this book was fascinating! It was recommended to me by my sister-in-law who said "you will learn more about mules than you ever thought possible." I skeptically thought, "mules?" She was right, but this book is so much more. Two brothers set out to recreate the Oregon Trail trip from beginning to end with equipment as authentic as possible. Ultimately I thought of this story in four parts: 1) the preparation and actual trip: 2) the history of people and places during all those Trail years; 3) the description of the three mule team and what was required to handle them; 4) and the relationship between the two brothers. I can easily see a movie coming from Mr. Buck's amazing book!
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Michael Royer
5.0 out of 5 stars Who said only bad guys wore black?
Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2014
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Hey...what can I say? It's Johnny Mack Brown and the last of his Universal cliffhangers. Sure, it's loaded with Universal's dependency on old stock footage. Sure Universal sometimes constructed entire episodes around old existing footage. So?
Hey, it's Saturday Matinee time on a small budget. Transport yourself back to a time when filmed entertainment wasn't overblown by CGI and every character wasn't bent on getting laid. It's called "escapism," pal. If you weren't interested you wouldn't be reading these buyer reviews. And if you are even slightly interested, buy the dern thing. It's a time machine. Jump aboard and travel the fictional Oregon Trail. 'Nuff said!
3 people found this helpful
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Stanley Kohl;
4.0 out of 5 stars Well-made Universal western serial, decently transferred
Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2011
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Update, 31 July 2017: My review is of the 1939 Universal serial "The Oregon Trail." As of this writing Amazon has not only the reviews mixed up, but also the serial listed as an "Additional DVD Edition" for a much later documentary under ASIN: B00478IT8Q. The correct "Additional DVD" for that documentary is found under ASIN: 1883691079, where the reviews are not mixed with those for the serial.

"The Oregon Trail" is a 15-chapter Universal serial directed by Ford Beebe and Saul A. Goodkind, released in 1939.

Famous scout Jeff Scott (Johnny Mack Brown) and his sidekick Deadwood (Fuzzy Knight) are undercover agents for the Government, trying to determine who is behind attacks on settlers bound for Oregon. They join up with a wagon train headed by John Mason (Edward LeSaint) whose wagon boss, Bull Bragg (Jack C. Smith) is an underling of the main culprit, Sam Morgan (James Blaine). Morgan wants to keep settlers out of his territory so they don't disrupt his stranglehold on fur trade with the Indians. Bragg is quickly exposed, but isn't captured, and with Morgan's other main henchman, Breed (Charles Stevens) continues to disrupt Mason's efforts to get his wagons through to Paradise Valley.

This is a typical Universal western serial, which means lots of repetition, silent-era stock-footage Indians, cattle stampedes, and brush fires. There is a female, Mason's daughter Margaret (Louise Stanley) and a kid, Jimmie Clark (Bill Cody Jr.) that occasionally need rescue. The repetitive plot seems to have been desirable when these serials were first released; the kids in the audience were there for their weekly "fix" of Cowboys & Indians, and the associated features tended to do the same thing. Watched today for the "full story" it seems awfully slow-moving, but two things help redeem the serial: Fuzzy Knight's role as a useful comic-relief character, and that the hero can't just shoot Bull Bragg, who must be kept alive to expose the Big Boss. It's also interesting to have Roy Barcroft as Colonel Custer, occasionally coming to the rescue of the good guys. Barcroft's splendid delivery of lines is clearly evident here. Of the main bad guys, Charles Stevens as Breed is fine in a role familiar from other Universal serials. James Blaine as the chief villain doesn't seem quite nasty enough, and Jack C. Smith as Bragg comes across as just another thug, though he isn't supposed to be anything else, and not too bright, either. And there are characters with bad-guy names Dirk, Slade and Dagget, played by Colin Kenny, Charles King, and Forrest Taylor, respectively.

VCI's edition, # 8439 on two DVD's, is from a print headed "Commonwealth Pictures Presents" and while likely a 16mm reduction most chapters are fairly sharp, with good gray scale. The scrolling chapter "Foreword" usually becomes hard to read due to lack of resolution in the middle of the text as it shrinks toward the top of the screen. Small details like the MPPDA certificate numbers are not easy to read, but it is possible to tell the same number is used for the first three chapters, though many of the later ones are correct. The image is a little oversize, not a major problem but noticed especially in the "next week" titles, and there are a number of isolated long scratches, not too severe and mostly at the beginnings of the chapters. By 1939 Universal was doing a good job of simulating "night" and these scenes show plenty of detail, if some graininess not noticed in the brighter parts, probably from the reduction print. The sound has quite a bit of distortion in the title music of some chapters, though it cleans up during the main action and never causes problems with the dialogue. So while there are some flaws, it is quite watchable, much of it looking very good, and clear enough to show where the grainy stock footage is used.

Extra's include a "serial poster gallery" with eight posters, in color, for serials made from 1933 to 1950. There are "Bio's" of Johnny Mack Brown, Louise Stanley, Fuzzy Knight and Ford I. Beebe, and four serial movie trailers, for "The Oregon Trail," "Winners of the West," "Tim Tyler's Luck" and "Adventures of Red Ryder."

VCI's old VHS edition, #1756, is also from a print distributed by Commonwealth Pictures. The image isn't as sharp as the DVD, though the sound is at least as good. One interesting difference is the Chapter Five title, in the "next week" notice at the end of Chapter Four. The DVD has "Stampede!" while the VHS has "The Threatening Herd" matching the title shown in the trailer. The VHS image is shorter in the vertical dimension than seen in the DVD, allowing more of the top and bottom of those "next week" titles to be seen, and the actors don't have such long faces. It isn't clear which is closer to the aspect ratio of the original film, but the difference isn't great. The main problem with the VHS edition is the lack of quality control in the dubbing process. The example I got was missing the last four chapters.

Recommended especially to fans of Johnny Mack Brown, VCI's DVD edition provides a good looking, clear if not razor-sharp image and fairly good sound. Note that VCI's website, as of this 31 July 2017 update, shows this as being on DVD-R discs. As with all serials it is best watched with at least a day between chapters, to give the stock-footage Indians a rest.
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P. Meyer
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Movie about my home state!
Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2013
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I really liked this movie which gave people a chance to see how difficult the trip along the Oregon Trail was and what made it worth their while to make that trip (the beautiful lands in both Eastern and Western Oregon. I loved in an area in Eastern Oregon where the Oregon Trail crisscrossed old Highway 30 many times and we read the markers and learned the history when we were younger. Being a history "buff" I explored areas off the highway where the Trail went, including down where they crossed the Snake River.
5 people found this helpful
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AmySmiles
5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Classroom Use
Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2012
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This video is a great educational resource. I used it with my 5th grade Social Studies classes and the kids loved it! It is informative and educational, but it also captivates student attention. While I was previewing it in my home and designing lesson plans for it, my husband also became hooked and found it very interesting and entertaining. It served as a great visual aid for my students. I used the video as spring board for some great class round table discussions.
8 people found this helpful
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Michele
1.0 out of 5 stars Poor narration and pictures
Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2017
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Nothing more than a book on tape. Poor narration and pictures.not a movie or proper documentary.
2 people found this helpful
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hoopguy
2.0 out of 5 stars Don't buy this one!
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2019
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This is a mediocre film. Not lots of action. The story line is not that compelling. It's okay to rent, or see on Amazon, but you won't want to see this one more than once. Not a terrible period piece, but little info on the Oregon Trail itself. There are some okay elements, but as I said, mediocre.
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Top reviews from other countries

Philippe GUENOT
5.0 out of 5 stars bien reçu la'rticle
Reviewed in France on October 16, 2019
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excellent
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in Canada on March 23, 2017
Verified Purchase
Good movie. Tks
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remembertheangel
3.0 out of 5 stars Oh to be on the Oregon Trail
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 8, 2011
Verified Purchase
This is a very educational, bitty, type DVD, it was all that I needed, but a bit boring the way it is told, some of the historian were very boring and I couldn't understand their broad American accent!
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