Into the West

Produced by DreamWorks Television and broadcast by Turner Network Television as a TV mini-series of 12 hours in 6 weekly episodes starting June 10, 2005, budget at $50 million, color 35mm negative, 1.85:1 screen ratio, digital sound, 900 mins., filmed in western Canada around Calgary at Drumheller and East Coulee in the Hoodoos area; and in Santa Fe, New Mexico. DVD released Oct. 4, 2005.

TNT poster
Skeet Ulrich, Keri Russell, Matthew Settle
Jessica Capshaw as Rachel Wheeler, Keri Russell as Naomi
Matthew Settle as Jacob Wheeler
Josh Brolin as Jedediah Smith
Simon Baker as Young Loved By The Buffalo
Into the West

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This TV miniseries covers key events in American history from 1827-1890 including the Gold Rush, Mormon Cow War, wagon trains, a buffalo stampede, the transcontinental railroad, Sand Creek, Little Big Horn, Wounded Knee with a cast of 250 actors in speaking roles. According to the TNT guide, it "follows two multi-generational families, one settlers and the other Native American, each telling the dramatic stories of the development of the West from their distinct points of view. One family is the Wheeler clan, a Virginia family of wheelwrights making their trek westward. The other family is a plains Native American family hailing from the Lakota tribe. Throughout the series, the two families will experience the historical and cultural events that led to an epic clash of culture, often coming in contact with notable figures and events from the era."

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revised 8/15/05 by Steven Schoenherr at the University of San Diego | Filmnotes