THE LAST WESTERN HERO

Can Kevin Costner Revive the Western with His Latest Epic Horizon: An American Saga?

The Western genre, once a cornerstone of Hollywood’s film industry, has seen a significant decline in popularity since its heyday in the mid-20th century. While the Western flourished from the 1930s to the 1960s, with stars like John Wayne and directors like John Ford leading the charge, as the 60s progressed, a variety of factors - from changing societal values to evolving audience preferences and industry dynamics - led to the slow demise of the stalwart genre.

During the early 90s, there was a period when the Western enjoyed a brief revival and looked set to rule the roost again as major studios churned out a slew of big-budget Western productions. From the award-winning Clint Eastwood classic Unforgiven and the Tom Cruise-Nicole Kidman-headlined Far and Away (both 1992) to the romantic Legends of the Fall (1994) led by Brad Pitt and The Quick and the Dead (1995) featuring a young Leonardo DiCaprio (1995), these Westerns garnered critical acclaim and box office success in equal measures by deconstructing traditional Western tropes, and drawing fresh perspectives from other genres to attract a broader audience.

This mid-90s revival in the fortunes of the Western was led by one of the biggest success stories of the decade - the frontier classic Dances with Wolves (1990). The star and director of Dances with Wolves - Kevin Costner - has remained one of the Western genre’s biggest and most recognisable stars (alongside Clint Eastwood) ever since.

EARLY LIFE