In all the gargantuousness, however there are redeemable moments, especially in Ford's oddly scaled Civil War episode.

Here, then, is a film with apparently something for everyone. Certainly its team of four ace cameramen have provided a full quota of visual splendours and the rich colour definition in the long shots communicates an authentic thrill of pleasure.

It would be hard to imagine a subject which lends itself more strikingly to the wide-screen process than this yarn of the pioneers who opened the American West.

At least in its contemporary presentation, it feels like sitting at a very long, intermittently impressive museum movie. They called it Cinerama because there’s nothing sexy about what it feels like: a diorama.