January 2025

Visions of Grandeur on The Big Trail

This article originally appeared in AC April 2015. All images courtesy of the Margaret Herrick Library. It was the movie that made John Wayne a star — and nearly ruined his career. It was the most ambitious Western of it's time — and nearly ended the genre for good. It’s a movie about which everything was genuinely big, from its 70mm Grandeur cameras, to its payroll of 20,000 extras and five separate casts, to its epic behind-the-scenes tales of Prohibition-era carousing. It was director Raoul Walsh’s sprawling, rambunctious 1930 feature, The Big Trail, and nothing about it was small — including its legacy. As The Big Trail celebrates its 85th anniversary this year, it’s worth looking back at this hugely innovative film that not only...more

The Big Traill Featured

Historical


Waterworld Featured New
December 2024

An Oceanic Odyssey: Waterworld

Director Kevin Reynolds and cinematographer Dean Semler, ACS discuss their work on the most complex and lengthy production ever attempted on the high seas....more

Wolfman 7
October 2024

Bad Moon Rising: The Wolfman

“My initial instinct was to integrate opposing elements and have them share the same frame: light and dark, hard and soft, warm and cool, symmetry and asymmetry.”...more


Subscribe Today

Act now to receive 12 issues of the award-winning AC magazine — the world’s finest cinematography resource.

January 2025 AC Magazine Cover
December 2024 AC Magazine Cover
November 2024 AC Magazine Cover