Winning a total of seven Academy Awards for his 1990 Western film, Dances With Wolves, including for Best Director against acclaimed filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, Kevin Costner has since been hailed as one of the greatest filmmakers in the industry. However, the ill-fated Horizon Saga has cast doubts on the enduring brilliance.
As the epic Western saga fails to capture the same magic, it has raised questions about whether his directorial prowess was perhaps overestimated, with the actor lacking any substantial recognition from Academy Awards even 34 years after the release of Dances With Wolves.
Did the Oscars Overestimate Kevin Costner’s Directorial Genius?
Surpassing the likes of Martin Scorsese, who was nominated for his 1990 film Goodfellas, Kevin Costner won the Oscar for Best Director and Best Picture, along with earning a Best Actor nomination for Dances With Wolves.
However, the Oscar-winner has since seen a stark contrast in his career trajectory compared to peers like Martin Scorsese, who would eventually win his Best Director Academy Award for The Departed.
While he has since continued to receive Academy recognition, earning his 16th nomination for the 2023 film Killers of the Flower Moon, Costner has failed to land another nomination following the 63rd Academy Awards.
Despite the acclaim and industry reputation earned from Dances with Wolves, Costner’s subsequent directorial efforts have struggled to match its success. His four-part Horizon Saga has also not lived up to the critical or financial heights of his 1990 Western.
The Oscar-winner certainly had high expectations with his epic Western saga, Horizon, but it has also failed significantly, earning mixed to negative reviews and a $36.1 million worldwide box office collection.
The sweeping epic Western, Horizon: An American Saga, which is both a personal passion project and the first installment in a planned four-part series, aims to explore the American West across 12 years before and after the Civil War.
Despite its ambitious scope, the first installment of the series fell short of perfection, leading to skepticism about Costner’s ongoing pursuit as a filmmaker and raising questions about the effectiveness of his vision.
Kevin Costner Highlights the Enduring Appeal of His Films
Kevin Costner recently addressed the underwhelming reception of Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1, along with the scrapped theatrical release of its sequel, Chapter 2 during its world premiere at the 81st Venice International Film Festival.
The actor and director of the film speculated that the delay and the scrapped theatrical release could be due to the underperformance of the first movie at the box office.
“It didn’t have overwhelming success,” Costner admitted, as per Variety, while noting that many of his movies have stood the test of time despite such challenges. “I’ve had a lot of movies that way, that have stood the test of time,” he further stated.
He explained that the studio had originally planned to release the sequel six weeks after the first installment, but the decision was later made to push the release to next year.
Despite the setback, Costner pointed out the silver lining of the delay, as it allowed the sequel to be showcased at the Venice International Film Festival. The sequel, initially scheduled for August 16, 2024, is now set for release on February 28, 2025.
Dances With Wolves and Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 are available to rent and buy on Prime Video.
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