Western expert Jim Kitses, author of the pioneering study Horizon’s West, provides a detailed account of the powerful mythology of America’s past as forged by Western films and the men who made them. Kitses traces the history and development of the genre from its beginnings in the silent era to more contemporary and even post-modern examples. Special emphasis is given to the films of John Ford, Howard Hawks, Anthony Mann, Budd Boetticher, Sam Peckinpah, Clint Eastwood, Sergio Leone, and Kevin Costner. This exclusive 60-minute interview was filmed in 2004 by German filmmaker Eckhart Schmidt.