{"id":2293291,"date":"2024-07-12T08:22:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-12T12:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ignore-the-critics-and-watch-horizon-an-american-saga\/"},"modified":"2024-07-12T08:27:42","modified_gmt":"2024-07-12T12:27:42","slug":"ignore-the-critics-and-watch-horizon-an-american-saga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ignore-the-critics-and-watch-horizon-an-american-saga\/","title":{"rendered":"Ignore The Critics And Watch &#8216;Horizon: An American Saga&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fignore-the-critics-and-watch-horizon-an-american-saga%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2293291&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Western genre has seen moments of success in recent years, with\u2064 films like &#8220;True Grit&#8221; and &#8220;Django Unchained&#8221; doing well at the box office. However, a true \u200cresurgence has yet to happen. Kevin\u200b Costner, a passionate advocate for Westerns,\u2064 has taken a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pelosi-says-impeachment-and-25th-amendment-resolutions-will-be-brought-to-the-house-floor-starting-monday\/\" title=\"Pelosi Says Impeachment and 25th Amendment Resolutions Will Be Brought to the House Floor Starting Monday\">big risk<\/a> \u2062by self-financing his latest project, &#8220;Horizon: An\u2063 American Saga,&#8221; pouring $38 million of his own money into the ambitious 12-hour epic. Unfortunately, the first part of \u2063the film has\u2062 been met with harsh criticism from critics, calling it tedious \u200band disjointed. Despite this, the film has garnered a decent audience rating and has the potential to become something remarkable as it explores the\u200c complex history of the American West.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The Western has been overdue for a resurgence in the past two decades that never seems to come. \u201cTrue Grit\u201d grossed $250 million in 2010. \u201cDjango Unchained\u201d grossed $426 million in 2012. \u201cDeadwood\u201d is one of the most acclaimed television shows in history. \u201cYellowstone\u201d and its spin-offs are extremely successful, and 2018\u2019s \u201cRed Dead Redemption 2\u201d remains one of the most successful video games of all time with a gross revenue of $1.38 billion and 23 million copies sold. Additionally, conservative artist George Alexopoulos self-fundraised nearly $348,000 for his new graphic novel, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Ghost-Badlands-Razor-Fist\/dp\/303944025X\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ghost of the Badlands<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Yet the resurgence never seems to come. Western films mostly remain a curiosity for auteur directors like the Coen brothers, Martin Scorsese, and Jane Campion, when it isn\u2019t restrained to Turner Classic Movies reruns.<\/p>\n<p>The notable exception to this is Kevin Costner, whose passion for the genre has led the man to take wild risks in self-financing his own Westerns. In 1990, he self-funded $3 million toward the budget of \u201cDances with Wolves\u201d and walked away with blockbuster success. Costner did this again for 2003\u2019s \u201cOpen Range,\u201d though to less critical acclaim.<\/p>\n<p>Now Costner has gambled his financial security on the largest risk of his career, putting $38 million of his own money into producing a four-part, 12-hour epic, \u201cHorizon: An American Saga.\u201d It is an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-real-life-iron-man-the-incredible-story-of-elon-musks-rise-to-worlds-richest-man\/\" title=\"\u2018A Real Life Iron-Man\u2019: The Incredible Story Of Elon Musk\u2019s Rise To World\u2019s Richest Man\">ambitious project<\/a> that he\u2019s been trying to direct and produce for decades, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.economist.com\/culture\/2024\/05\/24\/why-did-hollywood-not-want-to-fund-megalopolis-and-horizon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">risk-averse studios<\/a> were too afraid to touch it. In his own <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/06\/25\/movies\/kevin-costner-horizon-yellowstone.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">words<\/a>, he\u2019s \u201cterribly satisfied in my own life that God allowed me to get these first two done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, \u201cHorizon: Part 1\u201d has taken a walloping in the press. It\u2019s been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rottentomatoes.com\/m\/horizon_an_american_saga_chapter_1\/reviews\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">critically panned<\/a> as a tedious, punishing, disjointed mess. It\u2019s been called \u201coffensive,\u201d with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thedailybeast.com\/obsessed\/kevin-costners-horizon-review-a-misogynistic-racist-mess\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Daily Beast<\/a> dismissing it as a \u201cmisogynistic, racist, retrograde mess.\u201d The press has also seen fit to portray Costner as dealing with a frantic behind-the-scenes <a href=\"https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/news\/kevin-costner-reportedly-financial-worries-170653530.html?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&#038;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAGt6w97ALSBNI4DZzQXFaSGQygKekLGgKIBw-zvmOwKHNP8Dg_rmjhDXFQdxFJaT7FhnG0ok2t9h-siK6rJWz_X9xI0SarUX1x_GvIir1lxNBBbzMBXUOdEskq4S0PxVOAeLGNmFq2ijkCo0DXOU7FUHU_1JUuGvqJkrjmWdGlKG\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">crisis<\/a>, at the very least <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/kevin-costner-horizon-box-office-numbers-break-even-2024-7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">saying<\/a> he is \u201cgoing to lose a lot of money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In its first week, the film grossed $14.3 million at the box office and needs to gross $63 million to break even. Fortunately, this first chapter has a 71 percent audience rating on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rottentomatoes.com\/m\/horizon_an_american_saga_chapter_1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Rotten Tomatoes<\/a> and is quite fascinating despite its flaws.<\/p>\n<p>As many have complained, \u201cHorizon\u201d is a film that feels like a pilot for a television show. It spins six separate stories in its first three hours and leaves all of them hanging by the end, likely leaving them to intermingle and collide by the end of the second part. It definitely leaves the audience grasping for something solid, but when it finds its footing, it goes for a wild ride.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/10-hollywood-movies-that-snuck-conservative-themes-on-screen\/\" title=\"10 Hollywood Movies That Snuck Conservative Themes on Screen\">main character<\/a> is the setting \u2014 Horizon Valley \u2014 which becomes a microcosm for the entire history of the West; poor whites being sold a poor bill of goods with the hope of opportunity, natives being displaced and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/theres-something-about-women-and-emily-blunt-knows-it\/\" title=\"There\u2019s Something About Women, And Emily Blunt Knows It\">seeking vengeance<\/a>, governments retaliating brutally, innocents being slaughtered, lawless feuds breaking out, with murderers and prostitutes being left to pick up the mess and find some semblance of justice, etc.<\/p>\n<p>After a prologue showing the first three new inhabitants of the valley meeting a poor end against the local Apache tribe, the film slowly begins to unfurl its massive story. Its pacing is deliberate, and it\u2019s nearly half an hour into the film before an inviting incident moves the plot. Thankfully, the film is a good start to a story that could become something remarkable.<\/p>\n<p>What we do get is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/george-floyds-girlfriend-floyd-hospitalized-for-overdose-months-earlier-drug-dealer-with-him-during-arrest\/\" title=\"George Floyd\u2019s Girlfriend: Floyd Hospitalized For Overdose Months Earlier, Drug Dealer With Him During Arrest\">classic story<\/a> of nobody being guilty but everyone being responsible. As Danny Huston\u2019s character exposits, what is happening in the West is more than just manifest destiny. There are simply too many interests at play to stop fate. The wheel of history is turning in the background as 1,000 people\u2019s lives are affected by it and there\u2019s no way to stop it. This leaves all the small figures of history scrambling to survive on a chaotic frontier.<\/p>\n<p>Much remains to be seen in how this will play out, but the first chapter already approaches the topic with nuance. Natives are given complex motives and internal dissent between peaceful and violent factions. Europeans and Americans are portrayed as both innocent peasants seeking hope and brutal monsters that scalp innocents and murder women. There\u2019s no racial moral binary inherent in these characters.<\/p>\n<p>The closest thing the movie has to statements on contemporary social issues are scenes of its prostitute lead character calling out the \u201cproper\u201d women of her town\u2019s hypocrisy and a British woman insulting American girls for being too tomboyish. The film otherwise portrays race and sex quite gently, showing men and women with assigned roles in a dangerous society, and even showing black families living harmoniously alongside white families.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s no one reason why \u201cHorizon\u201d isn\u2019t doing well at the box office. It could be that Costner\u2019s \u201cYellowstone\u201d fans aren\u2019t interested in the movie, theaters are too expensive right now, or conservatives are still mad at Costner for his <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/blogs\/in-the-know\/3736298-kevin-costner-says-its-ok-if-he-loses-fans-over-political-views\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">support<\/a> of Liz Cheney. It also remains to be seen how this will affect the third and fourth chapters, which reportedly started <a href=\"https:\/\/screenrant.com\/horizon-part-3-filming-start-confirmed-kevin-costner-bts-photos\/#:~:text=Kevin%20Costner%20confirms%20filming%20for,upcoming%20first%20and%20second%20movies.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">filming<\/a> in May.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s always possible that good ol\u2019 word of mouth or licensing deals could fix some of the film\u2019s financial woes. How the project will unfold in the next chapter remains to be seen. <\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Tyler Hummel is a Nashville-based freelance journalist, a College Fix Fellow, and a member of the Music City Film Critics Association. He has contributed to The Dispatch, The New York Sun, Hollywood in Toto, The Pamphleteer, Law and Liberty, Main Street Nashville, North American Anglican, Living Church, and Geeks Under Grace.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Western genre has seen some success in recent years, with films like &#8220;True Grit&#8221; and &#8220;Django Unchained&#8221; and TV shows like &#8220;Deadwood&#8221; and &#8220;Yellowstone&#8221; doing well. However, the genre has not experienced a full resurgence. Actor Kevin Costner has taken risks by self-financing his own Western films, with varying degrees of success. His latest project, &#8220;Horizon: An American Saga,&#8221; has received mixed reviews and struggled at the box office. Despite its flaws, the film has potential and sets up an intriguing story. The movie explores complex themes of history, race, and gender, with nuanced portrayals of its characters. The reasons for its lackluster performance at the box office are unclear, but there is hope that future chapters may fare better<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3027,"featured_media":2293292,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-08-155348.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[9792,34779,34780],"class_list":["post-2293291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-drama","tag-horizon-an-american-saga","tag-tv-show"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-08-155348.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2293291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3027"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2293291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2293291\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2293292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2293291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2293291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2293291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}