Ignore the critics – Kevin Costner’s three-hour western is a must-watch
- Thread starter NorthernHawkeye
- Start date
It would be the first movie ever to fall completely flat on its face the opening weekend and somehow miraculously gain momentum to become wildly popular. Also, there isn’t a lot of Uber positive feedback from audiences. Mostly just ‘meh’ from moviegoers. It’s gonna lose money in theaters.
Walked out thinking WTH? forgetting it is a miniseries.
Don't know if I will go watch the rest in a theater.
Feel it should have been put on Paramount or another venue.
Don't know if I will go watch the rest in a theater.
Feel it should have been put on Paramount or another venue.
First episode streaming July 16th.
www.forbes.com
Kevin Costner’s ‘Horizon’ Gets Digital Streaming Release Date
Kevin Costner’s embattled Western “Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1” is taking a quick trip to digital streaming.
www.forbes.com
It was originally intended to be, but Costner’s ego created this mess in the theaters.
Kevin Costner’s ‘Horizon 2’ Pulled From August Release in Theaters After First Film Flops (Exclusive)
Costner's Territory Pictures and New Line Cinema made the decision in order to give audiences more time to discover the initial movie before the sequel.
Kevin Costner’s ‘Horizon 2’ Pulled From August Release in Theaters After First Film Flops (Exclusive)
Costner's Territory Pictures and New Line Cinema made the decision in order to give audiences more time to discover the initial movie before the sequel.
www.hollywoodreporter.com
Should have been an HBO/Paramount/Netflix type series. The theater release date for part 2 has been pushed back. Maybe it never hits the theaters but at least the movie is complete and will come out in some format. Part 3 has already been substantially filmed, so that has a decent chance of coming out. Big question about Part 4.
Don't really feel like even starting Part 1 if I know there is no ending. I think they have to commit to a Part 4 if there is any chance of anybody watching Part 2.
Don't really feel like even starting Part 1 if I know there is no ending. I think they have to commit to a Part 4 if there is any chance of anybody watching Part 2.
I'm thinking this ends up as a series that everyone finally appreciates after it's "complete" (whether that's through part 3 or part 4) and it'll grow a cult following.
Some of these movies/series are making people think twice about investing their time into watching them.
Yellowstone and 1923 come to mind.
I bought the movie on Apple. I love the movie but found some shortfalls. I think it would have been better as a series as it has too much going on. Some of the shortfalls, to me at least:
- The father and son who founded Horizon are massacred by the Indians. An elderly man finds and buries them. He has an encounter with an apparent homeless man. Cut to an Indian who has a deer on his horse and is attacked and killed by other Indians. Cut to three graves now and now a developing settlement on Horizon. It's odd storytelling to me. The Indian who had the deer? Why even include that?
- When the soldiers come, the man in the below photo is about to fight a Mexican who is apparently with the soldiers. They have some apparent history. The Mexican then finds the underground bunker where the mother and daughter are hiding. Don't see the Mexican anymore. I liked that dude and would have liked to have seen his story.
- At the end of the movie when they are shooting up the women and children in the Indian tribe. One of the main characters, shown again below, is about to scalp a child (alive) and is killed by an Indian woman with a spear. The woman is followed by one of the hunters on a horse. #1 - you never see his face that well when he is about to scalp the child and I had to rewind to see his clothes in an earlier scene to know it was him. That is a fairly main character. They then cut to the odd montage or preview of the 2nd movie, which is the movie's end. What happened to the Indian woman? She was also in a prior scene earlier in the movie.
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I’m shocked. SHOCKED! lolKevin Costner’s ‘Horizon 2’ Pulled From August Release in Theaters After First Film Flops (Exclusive)
Costner's Territory Pictures and New Line Cinema made the decision in order to give audiences more time to discover the initial movie before the sequel.
Kevin Costner’s ‘Horizon 2’ Pulled From August Release in Theaters After First Film Flops (Exclusive)
Costner's Territory Pictures and New Line Cinema made the decision in order to give audiences more time to discover the initial movie before the sequel.
Watching it now. It is entertaining and beautifully shot. As someone said previously though, it is all over the place with multiple narratives. I can only guess that they would try to tie them up in Part 2, if it every comes out. I suspect it may just go straight to MAX.
I think that's more the fact it was a boondoggle than the actual movie being bad.
The Indian who killed the deer was bright up later by the son arguing with his father over making war with the whites.I bought the movie on Apple. I love the movie but found some shortfalls. I think it would have been better as a series as it has too much going on. Some of the shortfalls, to me at least:
- The father and son who founded Horizon are massacred by the Indians. An elderly man finds and buries them. He has an encounter with an apparent homeless man. Cut to an Indian who has a deer on his horse and is attacked and killed by other Indians. Cut to three graves now and now a developing settlement on Horizon. It's odd storytelling to me. The Indian who had the deer? Why even include that?
- When the soldiers come, the man in the below photo is about to fight a Mexican who is apparently with the soldiers. They have some apparent history. The Mexican then finds the underground bunker where the mother and daughter are hiding. Don't see the Mexican anymore. I liked that dude and would have liked to have seen his story.
- At the end of the movie when they are shooting up the women and children in the Indian tribe. One of the main characters, shown again below, is about to scalp a child (alive) and is killed by an Indian woman with a spear. The woman is followed by one of the hunters on a horse. #1 - you never see his face that well when he is about to scalp the child and I had to rewind to see his clothes in an earlier scene to know it was him. That is a fairly main character. They then cut to the odd montage or preview of the 2nd movie, which is the movie's end. What happened to the Indian woman? She was also in a prior scene earlier in the movie.
Watching for a second time, people making more sense.
Luke Wilson's group- the other guy with him (Peter Stormare)- his last name is Kittredge also? Related to the widowed Kittridge?
Another thought- the Marigold character- where does this 'boyfriend' come from at the end- did I miss something? And the scene where she puts Costner to 'sleep' was weird and out of place I thought.
Luke Wilson's group- the other guy with him (Peter Stormare)- his last name is Kittredge also? Related to the widowed Kittridge?
Another thought- the Marigold character- where does this 'boyfriend' come from at the end- did I miss something? And the scene where she puts Costner to 'sleep' was weird and out of place I thought.
I've read reviews on this and read threads like this where people who have seen it discuss it. My takeaway is that for those that pay attention to movies, understand allegories, and like detailed and nuanced story telling like it. Those that like popcorn flicks, superhero movies, and need things explained and laid out for them like a 3rd greater don't like it, find it boring.
I have yet to watch it, and, as alluded to earlier, probably won't until Part 2 comes out and there are some assurances the series will have a conclusion.
Yes, I also do not jump on the first season of some new hot Netflix series because they are notorious for killing off a series without a conclusion or taking years and years between seasons, like Stranger Things. I won't watch a series unless I know there is a good chance for a conclusion.
I have yet to watch it, and, as alluded to earlier, probably won't until Part 2 comes out and there are some assurances the series will have a conclusion.
Yes, I also do not jump on the first season of some new hot Netflix series because they are notorious for killing off a series without a conclusion or taking years and years between seasons, like Stranger Things. I won't watch a series unless I know there is a good chance for a conclusion.
The hate came from their ROI, nowhere near financially successful as the cost. Both great fun movies to watch, just no award worthy performances (maybe a Razzie for Dennis Hopper). I personally prefer Postman, it's got Tom Petty in it!
Speaking of Netflix, there is a new documentary series on Wyatt Earp and it's f'ing awesome. It is four episodes and they fly by. I learned a lot.
That's on my watch list. I heard Ed Harris narrates.
They are hoping the Venice Film Festival will pick it up (part 2) which seems to be the case. Probably look for an October/November theater release.
Good call. Will Patton plays Owen Kittredge but he has three daughters. He must be her brother-in-law.
The book was so much better but I did like the movie. Especially the “You’re famous” exchange.
Waterworld is not a good movie by any stretch of the imagination and Dennis Hopper could not have been any more terrible lol.
I think this is a pretty big leap.
Everything I’ve heard is that the story is barely coherent.
I think it’s more that if you like this type of story you’ll be more apt to forgive the shortcomings. We all have stuff like this. For example I love stuff with Vikings. I’ll forgive bad plotting and acting if we get some longboats raiding.
Has great scenery/cinematography and even some interesting characters and storylines, but it’s a mess. I can see why it didn’t catch on. It touches on things or introduces someone and then poof they move along. Some scenes/characters and the preview to the next episode felt out of place as did the abrupt ending point.
I watched the first one today and it did seem to take hold of me. It has a huge ensemble cast with multiple interwoven and (for now) a few independent/parallel storylines. It is a very complicated and complex story ... My favorite kind. The cinematography is wonderful. The costuming is wonderful. It is a spectacle.
I think that Costner is going to ultimately make his investment back and over time turn a nice profit. He will have the last laugh.
I also think that Sienna Miller is going to win an academy award mostly for looking like Sienna Miller. I did not even know who she was, but she turned out to be absolutely gorgeous and a truly fine young actress. She does for "Horizon" what Kate Beckinsale did for "Pearl Harbor."
It is available on Amazon Prime for $6.00 and well worth it.
I think that Costner is going to ultimately make his investment back and over time turn a nice profit. He will have the last laugh.
I also think that Sienna Miller is going to win an academy award mostly for looking like Sienna Miller. I did not even know who she was, but she turned out to be absolutely gorgeous and a truly fine young actress. She does for "Horizon" what Kate Beckinsale did for "Pearl Harbor."
It is available on Amazon Prime for $6.00 and well worth it.
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The latest entry in Kevin Costner’s four-part Western, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2, premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, and select outlets have weighed in on whether the film is a project of progress or a bumpy ride along a dusty trail. Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 launched to mixed reactions, with many from its Cannes debut saying the over-long film lacked punch despite being a love letter to the Western genre Costner loves so much. After Chapter 1 failed to find its audience in theaters, New Line/WB rushed the film to digital platforms, hoping to recover dollars from an unexpected upset. To Costner’s credit, he’s determined to see his Horizon project through, though the latest reactions to Chapter 2 aren’t likely to convince others to saddle up for the long haul.
In Leslie Felperin’s review for The Hollywood Reporter, Felperin says Costner’s second three-hour chapter suffers from many of the same problems as the original: “too much setup and not enough payoff; jagged editing that only highlights the lack of harmony between its disparate narrative strands; and cliché-tinged production values that often make it feel corny and old-fashioned, and not in a good way.”
However, Felperin notes that Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 is more fun than the first. Still, Felperin notes that this feeling could result from Horizon Stockholm syndrome, as they watched the first entry the night before to prepare for the Venice screening. That’s a lot of any movie, especially something as weighted as Horizon. Felperin says Chapter 2 boasts solid female-driven storylines, with Sienna Miller and Georgia MacPhail given a chance to shine in their respective roles.
Disappointingly, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 appears to short-change the perspective of its Indigenous characters, lacking the perspective of their land getting invaded by settlers and forced to adapt to white society. Considering the American frontier was built upon the backs of these individuals, this lack of perspective feels like a gross oversight.
Meanwhile, Jessica Kiang of Variety says no one can deny Costner’s flare for the Western genre. His eye for detail from this era of filmmaking makes him an ideal storyteller for the territory, but that doesn’t stop Chapter 2 from becoming an “unwieldy and bewilderingly scattershot” sequel.
Kiang adds that Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 “has its stirring, majestic set pieces such as a wagon burning or a barn-dance gunfight, and, courtesy especially of J. Michael Muro’s grand cinematography, lots of gorgeously epic shots of the wagon train wending across bright, arid plains or the settlement that will, we imagine, become Horizon, gradually springing up from the dirt. But too often its best-imagined sequences take place on either side of inexplicable gaps, during which the emotional tempo has changed so completely, it leaves viewers forced to wonder if we somehow missed something. This herky-jerk rhythm only increases as we hurtle towards an ending which, once again without warning suddenly segues into a dialogue-free montage of clips from the forthcoming installment.”
Horizon: An American Saga—Chapter 2 does not sound like it will attract new fans to Costner’s Western odyssey or impress those who were disappointed by the first entry. Still, it’s essential to make your own opinion if you’ve got three hours and ten minutes to spare. One could argue there are better ways to spend your movie-watching time, but if epic Westerns are your jam, you could find something special in Costner’s vision, others do not.
In Leslie Felperin’s review for The Hollywood Reporter, Felperin says Costner’s second three-hour chapter suffers from many of the same problems as the original: “too much setup and not enough payoff; jagged editing that only highlights the lack of harmony between its disparate narrative strands; and cliché-tinged production values that often make it feel corny and old-fashioned, and not in a good way.”
However, Felperin notes that Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 is more fun than the first. Still, Felperin notes that this feeling could result from Horizon Stockholm syndrome, as they watched the first entry the night before to prepare for the Venice screening. That’s a lot of any movie, especially something as weighted as Horizon. Felperin says Chapter 2 boasts solid female-driven storylines, with Sienna Miller and Georgia MacPhail given a chance to shine in their respective roles.
Disappointingly, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 appears to short-change the perspective of its Indigenous characters, lacking the perspective of their land getting invaded by settlers and forced to adapt to white society. Considering the American frontier was built upon the backs of these individuals, this lack of perspective feels like a gross oversight.
Meanwhile, Jessica Kiang of Variety says no one can deny Costner’s flare for the Western genre. His eye for detail from this era of filmmaking makes him an ideal storyteller for the territory, but that doesn’t stop Chapter 2 from becoming an “unwieldy and bewilderingly scattershot” sequel.
Kiang adds that Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 “has its stirring, majestic set pieces such as a wagon burning or a barn-dance gunfight, and, courtesy especially of J. Michael Muro’s grand cinematography, lots of gorgeously epic shots of the wagon train wending across bright, arid plains or the settlement that will, we imagine, become Horizon, gradually springing up from the dirt. But too often its best-imagined sequences take place on either side of inexplicable gaps, during which the emotional tempo has changed so completely, it leaves viewers forced to wonder if we somehow missed something. This herky-jerk rhythm only increases as we hurtle towards an ending which, once again without warning suddenly segues into a dialogue-free montage of clips from the forthcoming installment.”
Horizon: An American Saga—Chapter 2 does not sound like it will attract new fans to Costner’s Western odyssey or impress those who were disappointed by the first entry. Still, it’s essential to make your own opinion if you’ve got three hours and ten minutes to spare. One could argue there are better ways to spend your movie-watching time, but if epic Westerns are your jam, you could find something special in Costner’s vision, others do not.
After debuting his Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 in Cannes last May, Kevin Costner is on the Lido today for the world premiere of the second installment in the Manifest Destiny epic. Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2, directed by and starring Costner alongside Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Giovanni Ribisi, Isabelle Fuhrman, Luke Wilson and more, will screen out of competition at the Venice Film Festival this afternoon. Prior to that, Costner met with the press.
Costner wrote the, so far, two-part epic, with co-writer Jon Baird and also produces under his Territory Pictures banner. A third and fourth film are scripted and ready to shoot. The Oscar winner has a lot of skin in the game on this passion project. He previously told Deadline that he's projected to pay $98 million himself for the first three films, and that financing the fourth will take it to over $100 million. Today, he was optimistic discussing the future.
The Venice Film Festival berth for Chapter 2 comes after New Line’s August 16 domestic release was delayed in the wake of sluggish box office performance for Chapter 1. “It didn’t have overwhelming success,” Costner allowed, but noted, “I’ve had a lot of movies that way that have stood the test of time.”
Still, Costner, who recently told Deadline Chapter 2 is expected to release before the end of the year, today did not seem fazed by the change-up. He said, “That was a studio decision to release it six weeks later. And it became a studio decision to not,” which resulted in falling back into his own plan. “I always wanted to come out with the movies about five, six months apart, and that was going to allow me to come to Venice… When it was six weeks, I wasn’t going to get to come here… But what happened is a miracle in life… My plan was always to bring it to Venice, and suddenly it has happened.”
Asked about the future of the series of movies, Costner explained, “If there’s anything that you expect from Part 2, you realize that 2 gets harder than 1. It’s hard to go west. Three is the same thing. It gets harder. But I will tell you this, Chapter 3 is devastating. It’s devastating because you begin to know all these people and life keeps coming at them, and you will see that.” He noted that he’s keen to keep moving forward with Chapter 3, “I have to hurry and not let the rock fall back downhill. I’ve gotta go put my hands on it again and start to push it up. It’s a rope that I cannot let go of.” His voice then faltered a bit as he added to applause, “I don’t know how I’m gonna make 3 right now, but I’m gonna make it.”
Asked why he chose this subject, Costner told the press corps, "I just love the journey of America, the promise of what America was… When the people who left Europe to cross the Atlantic Ocean, they saw something they just couldn’t possibly believe, a gigantic continent with not a single building. And the eyes of the world opened up, and they would come to America with a promise… That was about a 300, 400 year march across America from sea to shining sea, and it was done by your ancestors and by mine. And it was into a land where there was nothing, just the animals and the people who chose to live lightly on it, and the struggle that they didn’t want to give it up. So one promise was taking hold and another one was being lost."
There's "something about the West," Costner mused. “It’s not a land in Disneyland, it’s a place where it was difficult, and it happened in inches. And I just wanted desperately to tell that story, and I found that the best way to tell that story was ultimately almost through the eyes of women. Women run right down the middle of every one of the storylines that are in Horizon. That’s the kind of movie that I wanted to bring to the world, and to even remind my own country that it was a struggle and it's part of our history."
He said, however, that Horizon "is not a message to my country; it’s a reminder to my country of how difficult it was that people made this journey… It's not a message politically to anyone. You know, movies speak to us, and when the lights go out, they speak to our hearts individually. We can all watch the same thing in the dark, we’ll all live the same dream, but it will mean something different to all of us."
Costner also reminisced about being in Venice 35 years ago for Silverado when “I only had one interview.” He ended up walking out of that interview as someone informed him that Fandango, in which he starred and which also released the same year, was playing in a nearby cinema. “I said, bullsh*t,” he recalled, then “walked into a theater that was full, people sitting in the aisles, and the movie was just ending. They turned when the lights came on, my name was announced. I had no idea that would happen, and the people of Venice clapped for the movie, because the movie was what mattered. And then they turned to me, looked at me, and I was never the same. And we walked out of that theater; the entire audience walked out onto the boulevard… and I thought, I’m making movies for the world. I may make American movies, but everything I do to them is about behavior, and I think behavior translates around the world.”
Costner wrote the, so far, two-part epic, with co-writer Jon Baird and also produces under his Territory Pictures banner. A third and fourth film are scripted and ready to shoot. The Oscar winner has a lot of skin in the game on this passion project. He previously told Deadline that he's projected to pay $98 million himself for the first three films, and that financing the fourth will take it to over $100 million. Today, he was optimistic discussing the future.
The Venice Film Festival berth for Chapter 2 comes after New Line’s August 16 domestic release was delayed in the wake of sluggish box office performance for Chapter 1. “It didn’t have overwhelming success,” Costner allowed, but noted, “I’ve had a lot of movies that way that have stood the test of time.”
Still, Costner, who recently told Deadline Chapter 2 is expected to release before the end of the year, today did not seem fazed by the change-up. He said, “That was a studio decision to release it six weeks later. And it became a studio decision to not,” which resulted in falling back into his own plan. “I always wanted to come out with the movies about five, six months apart, and that was going to allow me to come to Venice… When it was six weeks, I wasn’t going to get to come here… But what happened is a miracle in life… My plan was always to bring it to Venice, and suddenly it has happened.”
Asked about the future of the series of movies, Costner explained, “If there’s anything that you expect from Part 2, you realize that 2 gets harder than 1. It’s hard to go west. Three is the same thing. It gets harder. But I will tell you this, Chapter 3 is devastating. It’s devastating because you begin to know all these people and life keeps coming at them, and you will see that.” He noted that he’s keen to keep moving forward with Chapter 3, “I have to hurry and not let the rock fall back downhill. I’ve gotta go put my hands on it again and start to push it up. It’s a rope that I cannot let go of.” His voice then faltered a bit as he added to applause, “I don’t know how I’m gonna make 3 right now, but I’m gonna make it.”
Asked why he chose this subject, Costner told the press corps, "I just love the journey of America, the promise of what America was… When the people who left Europe to cross the Atlantic Ocean, they saw something they just couldn’t possibly believe, a gigantic continent with not a single building. And the eyes of the world opened up, and they would come to America with a promise… That was about a 300, 400 year march across America from sea to shining sea, and it was done by your ancestors and by mine. And it was into a land where there was nothing, just the animals and the people who chose to live lightly on it, and the struggle that they didn’t want to give it up. So one promise was taking hold and another one was being lost."
There's "something about the West," Costner mused. “It’s not a land in Disneyland, it’s a place where it was difficult, and it happened in inches. And I just wanted desperately to tell that story, and I found that the best way to tell that story was ultimately almost through the eyes of women. Women run right down the middle of every one of the storylines that are in Horizon. That’s the kind of movie that I wanted to bring to the world, and to even remind my own country that it was a struggle and it's part of our history."
He said, however, that Horizon "is not a message to my country; it’s a reminder to my country of how difficult it was that people made this journey… It's not a message politically to anyone. You know, movies speak to us, and when the lights go out, they speak to our hearts individually. We can all watch the same thing in the dark, we’ll all live the same dream, but it will mean something different to all of us."
Costner also reminisced about being in Venice 35 years ago for Silverado when “I only had one interview.” He ended up walking out of that interview as someone informed him that Fandango, in which he starred and which also released the same year, was playing in a nearby cinema. “I said, bullsh*t,” he recalled, then “walked into a theater that was full, people sitting in the aisles, and the movie was just ending. They turned when the lights came on, my name was announced. I had no idea that would happen, and the people of Venice clapped for the movie, because the movie was what mattered. And then they turned to me, looked at me, and I was never the same. And we walked out of that theater; the entire audience walked out onto the boulevard… and I thought, I’m making movies for the world. I may make American movies, but everything I do to them is about behavior, and I think behavior translates around the world.”
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