Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 was released in the summer of 2024 after decades of development and false starts. It is the first part of a planned 4 part series that tells the story of the settling of the American West, before and after the civil war. It was directed, co-written, produced by, and starring Kevin Costner. J. Michael Muro is a celebrated director of photography who has worked with Costner several times. He recently spoke to Immersive via Zoom.
[This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.]
Let us talk about Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1. I had the pleasure of seeing it this summer in a theater. I think it’s a unique film. I look forward to the rest of them. Talk briefly about how you got involved.
I heard about Horizon while we were filming Open Range. Kevin’s mentioned it several times to me, but I guess when you have the momentum of Yellowstone… Covid had happened and the lockdown, and he thought it was time to do this movie. He asked me if I wanted to do it and I said yes. I have a long relationship with him now and he is all about the work. His enthusiasm for storytelling is inspiring.
When I worked on Field Of Dreams, he was telling me about Dances With Wolves. He’s the same wonderful person I met years ago telling me about the stories he wants to make. Then when we get to the job, he knows when something looks good, he knows how to, he’s just good in all facets of directing.
What did he tell you initially about Horizon, about it being like a four-movie saga… how did that sound when he first told you?
We knew we wanted to head for Moab, Utah. The American Southwest is beautiful, but some of it is overused because of tax rebate reasons. I knew we could ultimately end up there. The wagon train goes from the East to the west.
Let’s talk about Horizon in the context of the Western genre…
This is a pioneer story, you could call it a western… Trains are coming and nothing can stop them from coming. We know ultimately what happened. I felt the same way I felt when I read Titanic, I felt like, wow, this is a piece of history. This is less about the gunslinger and more about the birth of America and that blew my mind.
Horizon is a beautiful-looking movie. The landscapes are amazing. What did you shoot on?
We shot with the RED V-Raptor Sensor with Leica Cine Lenses. We wanted as much negative as we could. I knew in my heart of hearts, this was going to end up on your 16×9 screen. We just wanted the fattest negative everywhere. We didn’t want the black band on the top and the bottom of the thing in perpetuity. The movie looks amazing right now. There it is. The theatrical release is over and you are watching it on your 80-inch screen. It’s incredible. It fills every inch of that frame. Those cliffs in Utah are commanding the thing. It looks unreal. It’s amazing and the colors are insane.
What would you say was the biggest challenge of making this movie? A lot is going on in it. A lot of settings, a lot of characters…
Getting the elements to the place and having it all there together. That was the biggest problem. We did have a little bit of a lack of Kevin because of Yellowstone scheduling, so it was a lot of being ready for anything. I could compare him to David Lean where you’re going to follow this guy way up over the mountain. You’re going to go over there and you way over here and alright, how do we get the shit to there? Because that’s where we’re filming.
Any favorite moments in the film?
I had a little RED Komodo camera, the little handheld gimbal that skateboarders use… There were these moving wagons taking the girls out of town and I just love that little shot of this one girl’s face up there on top of the thing. We’re riding away. And in the background, you see the towns folks, and it reminds me of the poster for Les Miserable. The hair is blowing in her face. It’s a gorgeous closeup. And there it goes—the town folks off in the distance. I just love that shot.
Well obviously this has come out and it has its place in history now. People are discovering it on streaming…
Kevin didn’t make the movie to make a fortune, he is a romantic cinephile and felt this story needed to be told. You will be touched by the story, I just think young people should watch this film and see those wagons crossing the country. There’s intimacy, there’s hate, there’s jealousy… everything, the human experience. In the settling of the country. It’s incredible. The cast is incredible. The music was incredible. I love the movie. It was the adventure of a lifetime for me.
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 is available to stream on MAX.
