Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1

Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1

Explore the lure of the Old West and how it was won—and lost—through the blood, sweat and tears of many. Spanning the four years of the Civil War, from 1861 to 1865, embark on an emotional journey across a country at war with itself, experienced through the lens of families, friends and foes all attempting to discover what it truly means to be the United States of America.

  • Released:
  • Runtime: 181 minutes
  • Genre: Drama, Western
  • Stars: Dale Dickey, Kathleen Quinlan, Larry Bagby, James Landry Hébert, Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Jamie Campbell Bower, Luke Wilson, Thomas Haden Church, Jena Malone, Alejandro Edda, Tatanka Means, Isabelle Fuhrman, Michael Angarano, Abbey Lee, Tim Guinee, Scott Haze, Angus Macfadyen, Jon Beavers, Danny Huston
  • Director: Kevin Costner
 Comments
  • jennyclagett-713-894987 - 4 July 2024
    I liked it. Looking forward to more
    I liked Horizon. First off, it has three settings of astonishing beauty. It made me remember how I grew up enjoying Westerns but Horizon is digitized and in full color. Second, there are three main storylines and each are interesting. I had some trouble following the movie but towards the end I had a good grasp of all of the various storylines and characters. What helped most was connecting the storylines with the scenery. It ends with a montage of upcoming scenes from the sequel. There looks to be plenty of action in Horizon 2. The acting is very good and the clothes and sets are very interesting. The stories and characters are compelling.
  • sammyadelaiye - 3 July 2024
    Feels like part 1
    The movie presents an unsettling time in US history ridden with settler and native conflicts and follows 3 different stories that even up to the end do not connect with each other. We get a glimpse of how the stories will finally meet, part one in all its 3-hour glory doesn't go far in connecting the stories. The movie is however made for cinema. The locations, vast production quality and excellent cinematography make watching Otón the big screen worth it. The cast does a fantastic job and the movie is an old school western, so those hoping for major overhaul of the Western movie genre will find their hopes dashed, it's very much in the old school style. There are two major scenes at the beginning and end that are brutal, beautiful, poetic and action packed. I am excited for the journeys of the large cast. I can't wait for the second part but the first part couldn't work on its own but the trailer for part two promises a more exciting ride.
  • Scaramouche2004 - 3 July 2024
    The most ambitious Western project ever starts here. It's going to be quite a ride.
    Kevin Costner, is no stranger to westerns. Silverado, Dances with Wolves, Wyatt Earp, Open Range, The Hatfields and McCoys and Yellowstone all go to show his appreciation for the genre.

    This is the man who produced, directed and starred in Dances with Wolves, the first western since Cimarron in 1931 to win the best picture Oscar so we know the genre is safe in his hands.

    His latest western project Horizon: An American Saga however, is not short of its cynical detractors. The film has been in cinemas less than a week and the critics have sunk their teeth into it rather too savagely and rather too quickly for it to be a fair appraisal of what Costner is trying to achieve. They clearly lack the vision and scope that Costner does and I think they should wait until all four instalments can be viewed and judged as a whole before making up their minds. I personally think those minds are about to be blown.

    This three hour epic is just the first instalment of the most ambitious western project ever envisaged.

    Just think of it. Four three hour movies. A 12 hour western telling a continuous story interwoven through the lives of its myriad of characters. It's How the West was Won on steroids. A western on par with nothing we've ever seen before. You have to applaud the guy just for having that vision let alone being able to put it into production and deliver it to our screens.

    He's not only keeping the genre alive but raising the bar to new heights that even the great John Ford could never have imagined.

    Chapter 1 has been judged as 'unfinished'- a film that ends without an ending. Of course it hasn't got an ending, we're just getting started, Costner is just setting the scene and introducing us to the characters.

    It has multiple story-lines which have yet to connect, which can make it feel a little disjointed at times as it flits rather abruptly between them all, but i'm sure when the storylines and characters do start to converge we will appreciate the slow burn story telling aspect a good deal more.

    Lots of western staples are here.

    Beleaguered settlers rebuilding their lives after an apache massacre on their camp.

    The cavalry detachment at the nearby fort and their kindness and hospitality in giving a new home to the survivors.

    A team of scalp hunters, finding a lucrative business and an inhumane sense of sport in collecting indian scalps.

    A wagon train heading west with a new collection of settlers. Some good, some bad, some tough and unruly and the trail boss on who's shoulders all of their safety depends.

    A family with a rather dark and violent history with a blood feud, searching for a woman and her baby and we have the cowboy with a heart that puts his own life on the line to save and protect them,

    In true Costner fashion and in a hark back to Dances with Wolves, we have the native Americans, all of them are worried for their future and their land as the settlers start to arrive, but their tribe is bitterly divided on what to do about it. Some are hell bent on killing, others are more cautious and restrained.

    And while all this is going on, several hundred miles away on the other side of their vast country, an unseen war is waging as the North fight the breakaway states of the South.

    How this all comes together at the moment is anyone's guess. Right now we are not even sure if the story arcs are all taking place in the same time line? But it will be fun finding out as the saga unfolds.

    The film ends with a montage of what is coming in Chapter 2 and it looks goooooooood! In fact from what i've seen, Chapter 2 is going to be a much more familiar looking western to those of old.

    Special mention to John Debneys masterful music score which sets the tone perfectly especially during that final montage scene.

    It's certainly a rich tapestry Costner is weaving here and who knows where he plans to take it, but the journey itself is going to be worth taking for any western fan.
  • devinriley-43 - 20 May 2024
    Really bad.
    Just as vain and aimless as The Postman, but oddly not as compelling. Gorgeous cinematography reminds us that more westerns should be filmed in the USA. But a real misfire, feels like 6 TV pilots being edited into 1. Costner isn't getting better as an actor, and the worst elements of his shtick are on full display. The script has nothing new or interesting to say and I am happy it obscures its finer sources, it makes this stench feel like it all belongs to Costner, which it does. I don't mind the length or the gentle pacing. The problem is the earnest and terrible acting, the lack of anything fresh to the genre and really idiotic characters.