Luke
stu-kicks
CibbuanoHeaven's Gate
September 20th 2006 04:14
Heaven's Gate (1981)
There are a few films that get whispered amongst the film-watching fraternity with a kind of shameful reverance for those who tried and lost... these are the films that not only flopped in a very big way but also tarnished the good names of those involved. 'Ishtar', 'Town and Country', 'Cutthroat Island', 'The Postman', 'Revolution', 'Popeye', 'Cleopatra'... these are all films that gained a certain notoriety thanks to ego and excess. But no film rivals the infamy of Michael Cimino's ill-fated western 'Heaven's Gate'.
Michael Cimino's notorious follow-up to 'The Deer Hunter' is a three and a half hour film often cited as the biggest flop of all the time, and has been referred to as 'the film that sank a studio' (the fallout was pretty much the end for United Artists, who were merged with MGM after the fiasco surounding this film). It's also the film that signalled the end of a promising directorial career before it really began. Cimino would never again get to make a film of his own choice.
Now, onto the film itself... It's actually not bad! 'Heaven's Gate' concerns the Johnson County War (a minor series of battles and murders between a cattle association and German immigrants), and has some quite stunning sequences and moments. But it is definitely very overblown - from the lengthy opening sequence set in 1870s Harvard that could have been swapped for a few lines of dialogue, to an annoying sequence tacked onto the end of the film featuring a 1900s steamship - it's very easy to see where all the money went and how such a catastrophe could have been averted. Also, the fact that Cimino seems to think such an obscure historical event is worthy of such an epic treatment baffles and amuses in equal turns.
It's worth seeing though... the film makes some good points about the American class system and it's criminal allegiance to capitalism. Christopher Walken is good as the county's sheriff, John Hurt (whilst very underused) entertains whilst treading a fine line between tragedy and farce, and Brad Dourif is inexplicably seldom seen despite his name being very prominent in the film's credits. The direction is superb at times, which makes it all the sadder that Cimino's talent went to such waste afterwards... an oddly-timed film, an over-budget and overlong western in the 80s was probably always doomed to fail.
TRIVIA: The film features early turns from Mickey Rourke and Willem Dafoe.
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Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Striving to for greatness, sadly it isnt consistent. Doesnt mater though, I will proudly put my hand up and say Im a fan of Heavens Gate.
The script has some real depth and the performances are all extremly dedicated. The cinematography at times contains images so rich you dont want the editor to cut.
I love a lot of Michael Cimino's early work (Thunderbolt and lightfoot, Year of The Dragon, Deer Hunter), he peetered outof reality and his films have suffered since.
Comment by Luke
Old Movies
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