Heaven's Gate

Even in its 'full' four hour version, 'Heaven's Gate' seems like it's been badly butchered - the editing is abrupt, the sound is botched. Whole scenes seem to have been removed, all sense of momentum is repeatedly broken down. The plot is difficult to follow because the characters keep mumbling, and because the film-making was rarely clear. Characters are abruptly introduced and abandoned throughout. There is no attempt to clarify the relationships between characters, place and event. The action sequences verge on the abstract, dissolving into a senseless fog. The imagery is similarly fuzzy, and there are too many pointlessly gratuitous camera movements.

If 'Heaven's Gate' was supposed to be an epic piece of American storytelling, than it was clearly a failure. But all the negative things I mentioned above, all no-nos in Hollywood, are virtues in European cinema. The sense of narrative and generic fracture is pure Godard; the alienation of the individual from narrative, history, society and his environment is very Antonioni. The attempt to make History and the People the heroes (all those idealising shots of characters against the sky) is familiar from Soviet cinema.

The fact that 'Heaven's Gate' is almost a left-wing picture is another probable reason for its failure. 'The Deer Hunter' took a national trauma (Vietnam) and tried to heal it: hence its success. 'Gate' takes something Americans are proud of - the American way; capitalism - and showed it to be fascist. this is true, but not what an America who had just voted Reagan wanted to hear.

For all its good intentions, there was only one scene I liked, where Christopher Walken hits a bearded colleague: the lightening, dance-like movement was the one moment this lumbering dinosaur threatened to perk up.


How the West was Won   December 22, 2002
James Ferguson (Vilnius, Lithuania)
25 out of 32 found this review helpful

Cimino may not have made a blockbuster, but he did make one of the best Westerns in cinematic history. Unfortunately, most people can't sit through a 4-hour movie. If you are one of those persons who can appreciate a complex narrative, delivered by a stunning cast, that tells a more candid tale of the West, then "Heaven's Gate" is a real treat.

Cimino has collected a set of compelling stories that swirl around the range wars of the Montana. He relates these stories through his protaganist, a federal marshall played by Kris Kristofferson. His thoughts drift back to Harvard Yard in the opening sequence, where he reveled in the commencement ceremonies with his old schoolmate, John Hurt. Much of this scene was chopped out in the theatrical release, undermining the content of the film. It is this Eastern view, which Cimino wants you to take note of. How one can meld into the West as Kristofferson does, and how one can become part and parcel of the cattle syndicate as Hurt did.

The stories mainly focus around the Eastern European immigrants who attempted to carve out a life in late 19th-century Montana. They came up against the great cattle syndicates, who owned much of the range, leaving little for the immigrants to settle on. Cimino gives you a very intimate view of the events. His camera angles take you right into the action. This is a very visceral movie.

Eventually these immigrants come up against the cattle barons, who had formed their own vigilante gangs in an attempt to combat the encroachment of the new settlers on their land. Kristofferson has grown close to the immigrants and eventually chooses to support their claims, leading to a final gut-wrenching confrontation, which includes his old schoolmate, John Hurt.

The cast is first rate. Walken, Bridges, Huppert, Watterston all give excellent performances. Cimino has inverted many of the myths that surround the Old West, and provided a living history. The film almost has the quality of a sepia tone, as he has muted his colors to give the sense of age. The [fourty]... million budget seems paltry by toda's standards, but at the time it was one of the most expensive films ever made. Unfortunately, not everyone was ready for it.


Heaven's Gate is pure heaven-only in the widescreen original   December 8, 1998
chrisb@primenet.com (Flagstaff, Arizona)
24 out of 33 found this review helpful

Despite the bad reviews (many of them came before the orginal film was even released) and despite a despotic director (Michael Cimino single-handedly brought down United Artists), Heaven's Gate in the orginal 3 hour 40 minute wide screen is perhaps the best american western ever made, and ranks in the top ten of american films. Seen in its enitirety, again despite the reviews, there is a magnificent story told here: of Cattle Barrons, Immigrants, of Lawmen and Outlaws, and although the story's characters (for the most part) are heavily fictionalized, the core story is absolutely true, based on a book, banned in Wyoming for many years entited "The Banditi of the Plains". Of note is the incredible cinematography, superb acting-especially William Hurt and Christopher Walken, spectacular art direction and a set that is immense.

Heaven's Gate never got the chance to be seen in theaters the way the Cimino had envisioned it, but in widescreen video it comes close. Pay particular attention to the internal rythms that Cimino and his editor have built into this film!

Give it chance-it pales anything that Leone, Ford, Hawks and Hathaway have made-but it is different, more of a foreign film than american in style and structure. ENJOY!