Warner Bros
If there’s one man bound and determined to keep Hollywood’s long history of Westerns alive, it’s Kevin Costner. Well, even Clint Eastwood. That was true from the start of his career when he played the freewheeling scene thief Jay in the Lawrence Guston film. Silverado in 1985, and he also made an appearance as the title star of 1994 Wyatt Earp. But his real mark on the genre was not only as an actor but behind the scenes as a director and producer, first with his Oscar-winning 1990 Best Picture. Dances with Wolves And 2003’s Marvel Open range Co-star Robert Duvall. Over the past few seasons he has been heavily involved in a more contemporary take on his hit TV series. Yellow stone. But his most ambitious and broadest swing is without question, Horizon: An American Saga, Making its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday night, the star’s love affair with Westerns is the culmination of how it all came to be.
The three-hour film, scheduled for a June 28 release by New Line and Warner Bros., is “Chapter 1,” the first in an unusually planned series of four separate films (not sequels), continuing the already massive story with Chapter 2. Cannes is slated to release on August 16, and Episode 3 is said to go before the cameras soon. Of course this multi-part story isn’t unusual for television, where it develops in limited series form, but it’s almost unheard of for movies — whose star/director dreams about it in various forms. Since 1988, it has mostly footed the bill.
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Is he tilting at the windmills here? Are today’s post-pandemic moviegoers ready to sign on and stay with it? Time will tell, but from Costner, who once rode such legends as John Ford and Howard Hawks, that’s exactly what you’d expect from this first chapter. Efforts are minimal. I actually saw Ford’s endlessly copied 1956 classic 4K 70mm restoration. Seekers, A movie you might even see in Warner Bros.’ upcoming post-apocalyptic Mad Max saga, Anger.
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But nothing on this scale has been attempted for this kind of release on the big screen, and I’d say, at least based on the first installment with its large cast of characters and storylines woven in and out, perhaps Costner’s biggest influence. Actually a 1963 movie production How the West Won I know from many interviews in the past, including mine, that Costner always mentioned the impact of watching that movie (which won three Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay) with his father. As it has passed through years, characters and story arcs the horizon But a long, reserved seat is a movie event. the horizon Contains at least four times the spirit.
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Lasting about 15 years since the end of the Civil War (a factor but not focused on here), the horizon It’s about the expansion and settlement of the American West, those brave white people who made their way on horse and wagon trains for the promise of a new life. Indeed. Basically the name of the suburban dream in the movie Horizon. Flyers can be seen constantly urging people to come west. “If you want a farm or a home, the best thing in the west is Horizon City. Premium virgin land with the best pasture in the world, rich soil, clean and abundant water, mild climate and excellent health,” it advertises to potential settlers.
What it doesn’t say is that this is the home of the American Indian, our Native Americans, many of whom aren’t too keen on what they consider this development to be. theirs Territory, and that can be a dangerous proposition. But this is a film about Manifest Destiny, and these (many) people we meet along the way have a lot of problems with it. Of course in different parts of the world this concept makes the movie even more relevant, even if it is told as part of our history.
It’s clear from this episode 1 that Costner, who co-wrote the script with John Bird and Mark Guston’s story, is as interested again as he was in this puzzle with the Aboriginal people. Dances with Wolves Hollywood moved on to a much deeper and more complex exploration of American Indians than it had treated on film for decades. And another film that premiered at Cannes last year was by Martin Scorsese Assassins of the Flower Moon, It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the upcoming episodes. In this the table is set, and we meet several key players, with an emphasis on those white settlers who headed west as the Civil War destroyed the Union, but also offers hope with the promise of changing times.
Chief among the immigrants is Costner’s character, Hayes Ellison, a lone wolf type who wants to keep to himself but is constantly drawn to the things he wants to avoid. He has survival and fighting skills that will come in handy, especially in some confrontations with some of the worst people who create trouble, especially the outlaw Sykes family.
Refreshingly, the horizon Includes a large number of meat dishes for women, Not common in this genre of movies. But there are plenty here, led by a tough pioneer woman, Frances Kittredge, who reluctantly reconciles with her husband. Sienna Miller plays her with strength and promises to be a key piece going forward. Jena Malone’s Ellen is a highlight, a feisty and badass woman who unfortunately gets herself into some dangerous situations. Abe Lee’s Marigold, who plays Ellen and her well-intentioned husband Walt (Michael Angarano), is another strong female character here, along with Ella Hunt as a British immigrant coming west with her husband, and Isabelle Fuhrman as Diamond. She’s heading west with her sisters and there’s no doubt the potential for a sweet storyline down the road.
It’s a big cast, but Costner tries to introduce them all here, including the enigmatic Sam Worthington character of First Lt. Trent Gebhardt, a soldier stationed at Fort Gallant but asking questions about himself and where he’s going in this new world. . Danny Huston’s sympathetic colonel. Houghton has his hands full with colonists, but he knows there will be no way to stop or protect them when they arrive at Horizon. You can trust Michael Rooker’s Sergeant Major Riordan, who has the same concerns as Gallant.
Among others, Luke Wilson’s good but reluctant wagon train leader, chosen against his will but tries to live up to the challenge, and Will Patton, still recovering from the Civil War and moving to find a better life with his three daughters.
Native Americans are portrayed as authentically as you’d expect in any movie from the filmmaker Dances with Wolves. Features Owen Crow Shoe, Pionsenay, an Apache warrior, confused and frustrated by the conflict with the colonists, none of whom are happy with this development, against brother Taklishim (a great Tatanka meaning), their father, the chief, in an effort to not conflict. Liluye (a great Wase Winyan chief) is also his wife and the mother of their child, but she seems more determined and like her brother-in-law, believes in resisting the settlers’ uprising rather than sitting idly by. By.
Giovanni Ribisi, Glynn Durman, Tom Payne, Kathleen Quinlan, Angus MacFadden and countless others pop in and out, some of which may need to be done in subsequent episodes. The series has more than 170 speaking characters and is filmed on location in Utah, J. Amazing cinematography by Michael Murrow, who captures the grandeur of the Old West in style. Other shout outs to Derek R. Hill’s authentic production design and John Debney’s rousing score depend on this.
For Costner, it’s an impressive start, with more promise to come. It even ends with a set of footage from the second film, which comes out in August, and as you’d see if it’s a TV production, it’s a negative one. No. with Horizon: An American Saga, Costner tries to keep the American Western alive. We believe there is.
Title: Horizon: An American Saga
Distributor: Warner Bros
Festival: Cannes (out of competition)
Release Date: June 28, 2024
Director: Kevin Costner
Screenwriters: Kevin Costner, John Bird
actors: Kevin Costner, Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Jena Malone, Danny Huston, Luke Wilson, Michael Rooker, Will Patton, Owen Crowe, Tatanga Means, Vas Winyan Chief, Jamie Campbell Bower, Isabelle Fuhrman, John Beavers
Evaluation: R
Running Time: 3 hours and 1 minute
