I've always wanted to do this right

I got into a real Donner Party kick some time ago. I only saw a part of this movie, but I was dismayed that it starts more than half way into the story. The only way to make a decent dramatization of this is to split it up into two full length movies. Start when they stopped at Fort Laramie; nothing happened before then.

PBS/American Experience did a documentary on the Donner Party:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/donner/

Probably the most comprehensive website on the Donner Party:
http://www.donnerpartydiary.com/