Summary
Kevin Costnerhas taken a shot at director’s cuts while speaking about his upcoming Western epicHorizon: An American Saga, the actor explaining why his movies won’t have different versions. Costner is known for directing lengthy Western films, such as the 181-minuteDances with Wolves, as well as the 139-minuteOpen Range. HisupcomingHorizon: An American Sagawill be made up of four films, each clocking in at around three hours in length each.
Speaking withEmpire Magazine, Costner revealed his disdain for director’s cut culture, believing thatthe movie audiences are originally shown should be the intended version.The actor said he had plenty of people trying to dissuade him from makingHorizon: An American Sagasuch a long movie series. However, that hasn’t stopped him from pursuing the vision of the film he wants to make. Check out what Costner had to say below:
It did. The streaming thing was… I had somebody who said, “Look, please don’t do this, Kevin, let’s do this.” But I’m glad about what I’m doing. I believe in the big screen. I believe in that experience. I also believe in what will come to your television. You know, I’m not one of those guys that has a director’s cut. The f***ing movie I make is the director’s cut.
Kevin Costner Has A Point About Director’s Cuts
Costner’s opinion on director’s cuts is topical, as some movie’s alternate cuts are considered superior over the product that came out in theaters. One of the most recent examples of this is thebetter reception towardZack Snyder’s Justice League, a cut of the 2017 movie that doubled the original’s runtime to 242 minutes. The favorable response to the movie makes it clear that director’s cuts hold important purpose in film development. However, they can also make the original version of films obsolete, making it unclear why said versions were released at all.
One key example of this also comes from Snyder, that being hiscritically pannedRebel Moonfilms. Released on Netflix as PG-13 entries at around 2 hours each, the upcoming director’s cuts later this year will be rated R, featuring at least an hour of new story across both movies. Because these upcoming cuts appear to be the director’s intended vision,it makes it unclear why the current versions of the sci-fi movies were released at all.Costner’s decision to make hisHorizonmovies not getting director’s cuts makes sense, as he intends for audiences to have a complete experience.
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An update surrounding Kevin Costner’s upcoming epic Western film Horizon is a positive sign for those disappointed by his exit from Yellowstone.
However, there are some movies, such asThe Lord of the Ringsextended editions, that benefit from having director’s cuts after they’ve already been released. While this doesn’t negateCostner’s disdain for the practice, examples like this show how alternate versions can be helpful in enhancing a pre-existing film. Even though this won’t happen withHorizon: An American Saga,director’s cuts can clearly be either beneficial or detrimental depending on the context.
