Kevin Costner heads west in his new movie Horizon: An American Saga, which chronicles the journey and struggles of a wide range of characters as they attempt to make their lives in the 19th-century Old West. One of the key elements for Costner to bring the Old West back to the big screen in his epic is finding the perfect locations to film Horizon: An American Saga.
Sweeping vistas are a trademark of classic westerns — think John Ford and his frequent use of Monument Valley in Arizona for movies like The Searchers. One look at the trailer for Horizon: An American Saga previews expansive deserts, luscious forests and more to depict a West that was still free and full of possibility. So where did they go to create that look?
Let's take a look at many of the different locations where Horizon: An American Saga was filmed.
Where was Horizon: An American Saga filmed?
According to official production notes from Warner Bros., Horizon: An American Saga was filmed primarily in rural areas of Utah. The studio said that the state "provided incredible geological vistas — from planes to mesas to iconic red rocks to mountains and rivers — that evoke the time and places covered in the story."
Let's take a closer look at some of the specific locations that were used for the movie.
Shivwits Reservation
The Shivwits Reservation is the home of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes, one of several Southern Paiute groups. The group of Native Americans have always been "closely tied to the awe-inspiring land which surrounded them," according to the Shivwits Band website. Today, the reservation includes 28,000 acres of land in Washington County, Utah.
Moab
Moab is a city in eastern Utah and is largely defined by the red rock formations that surround the area and are part of the Arches National Park, which is sure to be a striking image on the big screen. In a recent article in Moab's Times-Independent newspaper, Stephen Schultz, an extra in the movie who ended up earning a line of dialogue, said "When you see the Moab countryside … it's kind of the epitome of what a lot of people think of the American West and it definitely sells people on the sense of openness and adventure and that anything's possible."
Apple Valley
While the town of Apple Valley, Utah, is relatively new (it was incorporated in 2004), its picturesque landscape that harkened back to the Old West was what Costner was after when he chose it and its surrounding area for a location in the movie.
Zion National Park
Utah's first national park and one of the most popular parks in the US, Zion is known for its sandstone cliffs, its canyons and a variety of plants and animals. Around 5 million people visit Zion each year, but now those who haven't will get to see part of the park on the big screen in Horizon.
Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 premieres exclusively in movie theaters on June 28, then Chapter 2 arrives a few weeks later on August 16.
