HORIZON: Costner's Western Epic "A Clumsy Slog"

[Monterey Jack]

Releasing both movies within two months of each other next summer. Anyways, delighted to see a proper, star-driven western being given such a wide theatrical push.

[AndyDursin]

What choice do they have -- this thing cost a fortune -- and they have nothing else to release. Might as well ride the YELLOWSTONE wave while they can.

It's definitely a different approach in terms of scheduling but it very much speaks to how things are changing in the theatrical marketplace.

Costner may have chucked Taylor Sheridan the middle finger but he's got that show to thank for this -- no way anyone would've funded this film if YELLOWSTONE didn't exist and its audience (whom will be the primary demo for this picture) weren't out there.

The release schedule is interesting but it's evidence of the general dearth of product theater owners will face next year. It also allows for the movie, if it's soft, to just play itself out quickly instead of having a situation where it bombs and the studio loses interest in releasing the back end of it.

From a larger perspective, this is what we're going to get I think -- monthly "event movies" going forward. Like this -- or the Taylor Swift concert film, plus your typical Hollywood corporate "brand IP events". Fewer movies, fewer mid/low budget films for sure, and the ones that DO get released are going to be uber-expensive projects of one kind or another designed like "Barbenheimer" to be "events."

It's not just another western -- it's an UNPRECENDETED NEW VISION!!

[Monterey Jack]

Still, I'd rather have a two-part original western on screens than another goddamn superhero movie.

[AndyDursin]

Sure. I might even go if it's good! But the formula has been set, they obviously are hoping this will be the BARBIE-like experience of 2024.

[Monterey Jack]

[AndyDursin]

Shame it's John Debney scoring this but what can you do, pickings are slim.

[Monterey Jack]

Shame it's John Debney scoring this but what can you do, pickings are slim.

Wish Costner had offered this to Bruce Broughton, or James Newton Howard (who did a killer score to Wyatt Earp). Still, it ain't a Zimmer Drone.

[Paul MacLean]

Shame it's John Debney scoring this but what can you do, pickings are slim.

Wish Costner had offered this to Bruce Broughton, or James Newton Howard (who did a killer score to Wyatt Earp). Still, it ain't a Zimmer Drone.

True. But I re-watched The Passion again last year, and I have to say the score is the weakest link in that movie. As a composer he is technically up to snuff, but I feel he lacks the artistry and invention of the truly great composers. (Plus, modeling the style of The Passion's score on Peter Gabriel's The Last Temptation of Christ didn't help).

[AndyDursin]

Someone with a lot of musical expertise who was not musically gifted when it comes to composition. Or, putting it another way, he "knows his way around an orchestra" but doesn't create notes that are worth listening to. Sadly.

[AndyDursin]

Maybe Costner should've waited to see how these first two parts were received before throwing money at more of them? Or maybe editing them down into something coherent?

Sounds DREADFUL.


https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie ... 235902918/

‘Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter One’ Review: Kevin Costner Gets Thrown From His Horse in Muddled Western Epic

Kevin Costner has been in the saddle long enough to know the difference between a big-screen feature Western like Dances With Wolves, a miniseries like Hatfields & McCoys or a longform like Yellowstone. All those projects have done well by him and he’s done well by them. His connection to the quintessential Americana genre and the rugged lands it calls home is indubitable. So why is his sprawling new frontier tale, Horizon: An American Saga, such a clumsy slog? It plays like a limited series overhauled as a movie, but more like a hasty rough cut than a release ready for any format.

Running a taxing three hours, this first part of a quartet of films is littered with inessential scenes and characters that go nowhere, taking far too long to connect its messy plot threads. Warner Bros. will release Chapter One in U.S. theaters June 28, with Chapter Two following on August 16 and Chapter Three reportedly going into production. A vigorous montage closes the first part with action-packed snippets from the next installment, adding to the nagging sense that we’re watching episodic TV that lost its way.