John Sayles on His Inexpensive Epic

John Sayles has made a career out of writing and directing some of the finest ensemble films of all time, movies like “Matewan,” “Eight Men Out,” and “Sunshine State” that create rich tapestries of American life filled with intimate detail and epic sweep. One of his most entertaining and sophisticated works, the 1996 contemporary Western “Lone Star,” is newly available in 4K and Blu-ray editions from Criterion, and it has, like most of Sayles’ movies, only improved with age. As a Texas sheriff investigates an old murder, the film becomes timeless and specifically of its era (particularly in the border crossing scenes conceived and shot before the wall that eventually went up in Sayles’ location), a complex consideration of cultural conflicts and generational divides that seem hardwired into the American consciousness.

It’s a great American epic, yet like all of the director’s films it was shot on a modest budget; although Sayles has written several big studio films for hire, he’s never had Hollywood money on his directorial efforts. Yet none of his movies ever seem to strain against their resources; Sayles began as a writer on low-budget genre fare like “Piranha” and “Alligator” and as a director on the self-financed “Return of the Secaucus Seven,” and he’s never lost his ability to maximize whatever time and money he’s given to create ambitious work that looks like it cost five times its budget. In an interview with…