Kevin Costner's new Western epic 'Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1' is being slammed by critics following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. 'Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1' is the first film in writer, director & star Costner's massive four-picture gamble that he famously leveraged one of his homes to help finance, spending $38 million out of pocket for the $90 million-budgeted film. And while the movie received a 10-minute standing ovation at Cannes, the reviews so far have been overwhelmingly negative.
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00:00 Kevin Costner's new Western epic, Horizon An American Saga Chapter One, is being slammed by critics following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
00:07 Horizon An American Saga Chapter One is the first film in writer, director, and star Costner's massive four-picture gamble that he famously
00:16 leveraged one of his homes to help finance,
00:18 spending 38 million dollars out of pocket for the 90 million dollar film. And while the movie received a 10-minute standing ovation at Cannes,
00:25 the reviews so far have been overwhelmingly negative. The Hollywood reporter's David Rooney called it, quote, "a clumsy slog," saying,
00:32 "It plays like a limited series overhauled as a movie, but more like a hasty rough cut than a release ready for any format."
00:39 Vanity Fair said it was more like "Waterworld" than "Dances with Wolves," and IndieWire called it "the dullest cinematic vanity project of the century."
00:47 However, there are a few positive reviews.
00:49 The Telegraph called it "Granddad Cinema" in a good way, saying, "Part of the pleasure of Horizon is the sheer,
00:55 magisterial sweep of the thing. With mountains and buttes and maces like these, who needs CG?"
01:00 Costner has already finished production on his second Horizon movie, with Warner Brothers set to release the first film in the U.S. on June 28th,
01:07 followed by Chapter Two on August 16th. Costner said he had started production on Chapter Three before shutting down the shoot to come to Cannes.
01:14 "I've
01:15 shot three days of three,
01:18 believe it or not, before I came here. I shut my movie down, which is unheard of,
01:23 to come here. It was so important for me
01:27 to come to a place where
01:30 movies are viewed in a very open way."
01:33 Costner is on track to invest around $100 million of his own money into his Horizon saga.
01:38 He said this of his plans following Cannes. "I'm gonna leave here, and I'm gonna go back and
01:44 start directing again and go as far as my money takes me." For much more on this story, go to THR.com.
01:52 This is The Hollywood Reporter News.
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