Kevin Costner’s top shots
A teary-eyed Kevin Costner got up and waved at the crowd at the Cannes cinema. He had just received an 11-minute standing ovation following the world premiere of his magnum opus Horizon: An American Saga. Horizon is a western, a sprawling saga stretched across four movies. Chapter 1 will be out on June 28, with Chapter 2 closely following on August 16. The other two movies are currently in development.
This is Costner’s passion project, a movie he first developed in 1998 but no studio wanted to touch. He wrote, directed, starred in and produced it, putting tens of millions of his own money on the line. Here’s the thing with passion projects though: most of the time, they are not good.
Turns out, there’s a reason no studio wanted to touch it.
After the standing ovation, the reviews started to come in and boy, they are not good: “dull”, “jumbled”, “inexplicably confusing” and “a three-hour slog fest”. As it turns out, Costner used the first movie to set up the rest, which is fine for a TV series pilot but not cool for a three-hour feature.
Vanity Fair came with the killer shot. “Makes you wonder whether we were too harsh on the Postman”.
Ouch.
I’d like for Costner to succeed. I like people seeing their dreams come true and I have been a fan of his for a long time. I will be there to watch Horizon although I suspect I will regret it. But until then, here are some Kevin Costner classics to watch!
The Bodyguard
“And IIIIIIIIIIII, will alwayyyys love yououououou!” Sorry, reflex. This is a cult classic, Kevin Costner at his absolute very best! Whitney Houston stars as Rachael Marron, a spoiled pop singer who is being targeted by a stalker while Costner plays a former Secret Service Agent turned professional bodyguard.
What the movie is best known for is of course the soundtrack and specifically Houston’s rendition of I Will Always Love You. Her performance was so captivating that people today forget that it was written and performed by country music legend Dolly Parton.
Dances With Wolves
There’s a reason Costner’s name is so closely connected to Westerns. It would not be an overstatement to say he reinvented the genre and brought it back from relative obscurity with his classic epic Dances-With-Wolves.
Veering far from the campy, simplistic and mindlessly violent Westerns of the 60s and 70s, Costner’s movie explored how the westward expansion wreaked havoc on the indigenous population, and how the protagonist was transformed after meeting and interacting with natives.
The movie was a huge success and a personal triumph for Costner, who produced, directed and starred. It won seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Set during the US Civil War, Costner plays John Dunbar, a soldier who is given command of a remote post on the frontier. There he meets a tribe of Native Americans who are initially suspicious of him but gradually accept him as one of their own.
The Untouchables
Yet another brilliant period drama. Costner plays Elliot Ness, the Federal Agent in charge of bringing down the most notorious gangster who ever lived: Al Capone.
Ness leads a group of supposedly incorruptible agents struggling to survive within a thoroughly corrupt system.
Along for the ride is veteran cop Jim Malone, played by none other than Sean Connery, who guides young Elliot through the seedy underbelly of Prohibition-era Chicago. Topping the cast, in one of his most memorable roles, is Robert De Niro as the murderous crime boss who terrorised Chicago in those days.
The Untouchables is a Costner classic and a must-see for anyone who loves gangster movies.
Field of Dreams
I would LOVE to have been a fly on the wall when Costner did the elevator pitch for Field of Dreams. When he had to look a studio exec dead in the eye and with a straight face say “Three words: haunted baseball field”.
Costner plays a farmer in the state of Iowa who had a troubled relationship with his dad and grew into a cynical man. Worrying that his life is going nowhere, he decides one day to build a baseball field in the middle of his cornfield.
Unlike those who discover too late that sports cars are uncomfortable and need maintenance, Costner doesn’t regret his decision, as some time after he finished the ghost of a deceased baseball legend appears and wants to play a round in the field.
There’s racism, disgraced authors, evil businessmen and some serious psychotherapy. It sounds convoluted now but believe me, it all makes sense when you watch it.