Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 (2024) (1 Viewer)

[Malcolm R]

Trailers I've seen have repeated scenes of one character kicking another in the chest/torso. Did that happen often in traditional westerns? Seems more like a modern fighting cliche in recent films. I thought most cowboys used their fists or guns?

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Trailers I've seen have repeated scenes of one character kicking another in the chest/torso. Did that happen often in traditional westerns? Seems more like a modern fighting cliche in recent films.

Well, obviously I was not there in the old west, most of my knowledge of it comes from the mythologized version of the west we have seen over many years, but people have always come with legs and feet so I can't see why someone might not kick another person in a fit of rage.

I don't think that is a display of martial arts, he just kicks the guy...which to me seems like Costner wanted to show off how flexible he is at his age. Ha!

 

[Keith Cobby]

So, I heard some comments about this from people that have seen it. To me they were very encouraging comments and I will share these couple points because I think they will sort of indicate why some will love this movie and some may not. No spoilers in this, it is just general comments about the film. No plot or story.

A guy that saw it said that Costner made this film as if he was shooting it in the 1930s or 1940s. Meaning it is actually presented as and in the manner of an old fashioned western. No nods to irony or paying tribute to scenes from years of other western films. The story is presented in a serious manner and seems like it was made as if the changes that Spaghetti westerns and revisionist westerns, and all the westerns that are basically westerns that pay tribute to other western films never happened.

So, if you are a fan of old fashioned westerns, you are going to like this. It does have a languid pace BUT this pacing if you allow yourself to go with it, and the beautiful photography, make it feel like you are there wandering through the old west. That sounds good to me. I don't want to hype too much but the comment made about this is it feels like it has a lot of Ford and Hawks at play here but not in a tribute sense.

Costner's character does not appear on screen until about an hour into the film but when he does, things do really get juiced up and he becomes the center of gravity that the rest of chapter one spins around. This also sounds good to me, in that the hour of build-up before he shows up pays off when he does, because now we are immersed in the world of the film, know some of the characters, and we are ready to see how his character starts dealing with things. Costner's character is said to be a great laconic hero. So, that sounds good too.

OK, so that said, he also said a couple things that make it seem almost as if this was made for TV in that when chapter one ends, it just stops. So, there is no real arc for the characters and story that would make this a standalone film. The way it ends is like how an episode of a TV show would end, with you knowing that is not the end, that is just where they stop telling the story until you see the next episode.

I'm fine with this because, we already know this is chapter one and chapter two comes in August. So, this is not a standalone picture, we know that, it continues in another film with a month and a half break in between.

The only piece of info that I was not crazy about is that after chapter one ends, I guess they show some highlights of what is coming in chapter two. So, that is very TV like and in the way they do that, I guess that will make a lot of people feel they are watching episodic TV. I would have preferred he not do that or that when the film comes out in June that they cut that out but I guess showing what is coming up in chapter two is meant to be the hook to draw people back into the cinema when chapter two comes out. I get that, but it's just one of those things I am not into, I don't like it when they do it for TV shows, show you clips of what is coming next week.

So, there are just a few things to know about what he has made. It seems like it is a film for lovers of traditional westerns, it does have a lot of characters that they take time to introduce you to, like a TV show (and I guess if this is twelve hours long it probably requires some character intros like a TV show would), the acting is said to be very good, the photography beautiful, the old west feel outstanding.

I think this all sounds positive and that this could end up being a really great western. So, I remain very excited for it.

Interesting comments, thanks. Costner is trying to do something different here and this is to be applauded. Westerns are a bit like musicals, just when you think the genre is dead, a really good one pops up. The French Three Musketeers film released last year was in two parts, playing a few months apart, and this worked well. Intend seeing this with my teenage son (really getting into westerns) and a couple of friends. Watching westerns does seem to be a male pursuit!

 

[Philip Verdieck]

The thing is, I think pacing is a bit of a lost art, and perhaps he has paced this film in such a way that you do have a build-up and then payoff. I'm fine with a languid beginning if it is building toward bigger things.

Ideally, part I should build and lead into an involving and entertaining second movie, which leaves us a cliffhanger at the end.

 

[Mark Booth]

With 26 critic reviews in so far, the Tomatometer is at a disappointing 38%. A couple of those 26 are mainstream reviews, but most aren't.

Reading the brief synopsis by each reviewer, I'm not really reading anything to scare me away.

Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 - Movie Reviews

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Frankly, nothing is going to be able to scare me away. I'm going to see this film in a theater regardless of what the Tomatometer score may be. But it's unlikely I'll see it on opening night. I'll wait a week or two for the crowds to die down a bit.

Mark

 

[reel-to-reel]

I got an email today that AMC Tickets are on sale now for Horizon.

 

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[Winston T. Boogie]

If you want to support people making westerns go see this in a cinema and bring friends. I have heard he has begun shooting part three. I'm trying to get a group together to go to this with me. I know fans of his Yellowstone series and I am trying to sell them on sitting in a cinema for 6 hours this summer. Hopefully, I succeed.

 

[dana martin]

It's going to be my belated Fathers Day gift to my self... eff Rotten Tomatoes, finally a epic western is getting time on the big screen, and Costner pulled his own money to make it happen. I really don't pay a lot of attention to critics since Siskel & Ebert are no longer around.