Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 (2024) - Costner's glorious cinematic passion project needs your theatrical support now

7/06/2024

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 (2024) - Costner's glorious cinematic passion project needs your theatrical support now

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Star-filmmaker Kevin Costner is the lone man in the wild west on this sparse poster for his Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1

Along a river in the open desert range landscape of Arizona, settlers attempt to start a new life with a town called Horizon, but the surrounding Apache natives don't welcome their advance. In Montana horse trader Hayes Ellison meets beautiful prostitute Marigold and soon have to flee the mining town with her following the murder of local hood Caleb Sykes.

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 is written by Jon Baird (National Parks (2022, executive producer)) and co-writer/co-producer/co-star/director Kevin Costner (Dances with Wolves (1990)), with Mark Kasdan (Silverado (1985)) contributing story elements. It is the first in an epic 4-part film series devised by Costner.

If Costner succeeds in making and releasing 4 epic Horizon westerns, it is quite a feat, especially since the first one has not landed to the audience reception one would have hoped for but rather to widespread indifference, regrettably. Costner is an incredible character in the film world with both towering highs (Field of Dreams (1989), Dances with Wolves (1990)) and stupefying lows (Waterworld (1995), The Postman (1997)) in his long career. This western mega-project will be one for the history books, IF he succeeds.

Horizon moves along with what may be termed a 'luxurious' pace, somewhat akin to a fine TV-series, because it means to tell its multi-character tale over the course of not 90 minutes but rather something like 720 minutes (4 x 180 minutes). For those willing and able to appreciate fully immersing in an epic narrative, it is a luxurious treat to get into a work such as this. Horizon is a gift for every western lover out there, and one that demands to be seen on the big screen. Fabulous American landscapes are captured magnificently (by cinematographer J. Michael Muro (Parker (2013))), and the score (by John Debney (Luck (2022))) thunders appropriately up and down as suspense wanes and accelerates.

The impressive production has a fine cast behind Costner in the ten gallon hat: Sienna Miller (Live by Night (2016)), Sam Worthington (Lansky (2021)), Danny Huston (Succession (2019, TV-series)), Abbey Lee (Caprice (2018)), Michael Rooker (Fairfax (2022, TV-series)), Elizabeth Dennehy (Hancock (2008)), Jamie Campbell Bower (The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013)) and Charles Halford (Joe Bell (2020)) all give full, engaged, commendable performances. A large Native American cast also lend authentic feeling and insight into the film's fabric.

There's plenty to admire and become taken in by in the first part of Costner's opus magnum, and I will surely be ready to enjoy Part II as it releases in a good month's time.

Related posts:

Kevin Costner: Molly's Game (2017) - Chastain is luminous in Sorkin's great true-crime debut (co-star)

Man of Steel (2013) or, Superman v Zod: Sunset of Destruction (co-star)

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

Open Range (2003) - Costner impresses with fabulous classic western

Thirteen Days (2000) - Electrifying Cuban Missile Crisis thriller (actor/producer)

The Postman (1997) - Costner's colossal apocalyptic turkey

Dances with Wolves (1990) - Costner's triumphant, simpatico western

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Reportedly 100 mil. $

Box office: 17.2 mil. $ and counting

= Too early to say

[Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 premiered 19 May (Cannes Film Festival, out of competition) and runs 181 minutes. Development of Horizon reportedly began in 1988. Costner has allegedly injected 38 mil. $ of his own money into the making of the film and reportedly also pays for marketing on top of this, possibly, although the details are hazy. Shooting took place from August - November 2022 in Utah. The upcoming Part II has been shot, and shooting of Part III is seemingly taking place right now. Whether all three remaining parts will see their day of release is unknown. The film opened #3, behind holdover hit Inside Out 2 and fellow new release A Quiet Place: Day One, to an 11 mil. $ first weekend in North America. The film's foreign numbers look abysmal so far. The film has one market yet to release in: Germany on 22 August. Costner returns with Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 2 (2024), also as an actor. Miller also returns in that film; Worthington returned first in The Exorcism (2024). Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 is rotten at 46 % with a 5.60/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1?

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Donald Sutherland has passed away

Born in Canada, Sutherland battled polio as a child. His first credit was in Suspense (1963, TV-series) and his first film was The Castle of the Living Dead (1964). Later credits in his remarkable career include The Saint (1965-66), The Dirty Dozen (1967), M*A*S*H (1970), Kelly's Heroes (1970), Klute (1971), Don't Look Now (1973), 1900 (1976), Casanova (1976), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), Ordinary People (1980), A Dry White Season (1989), JFK (1991), Outbreak (1995), Fallen (1998), Virus (1999), Fierce People (2005), Pride & Prejudice (2005), Lord of War (2005), The Hunger Games (2012), The Undoing (2020, miniseries) and many more. He passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Roger Corman has passed away

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Corman had a sprawling, intellectually hungry life as a youth and young man before arriving with his first film in 1955, Five Guns West. He would follow that with titles such as Apache Woman, It Conquered the World, Attack of the Crab Monsters, Teenage Cave Man, A Bucket of Blood, House of Usher, The Little Shop of Horrors, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Intruder, The Raven, The Terror, The Masque of Red Death, The Tomb of Ligeia, The Wild Angels, The Trip, Bloody Mama and many more. As a producer he was behind almost 500 films. Arguably among the most important filmmakers of the 20th century, Corman passed away at age 98. R.I.P.

William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (15-24)

7/06/2024

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 (2024) - Costner's glorious cinematic passion project needs your theatrical support now

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

Open Range (2003) - Costner impresses with fabulous classic western

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Eagerly anticipating this week ... (14-24)

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