A visual feast with excellent actors in their prime, made on location by someone who wanted the story to be authentic and understood. The pace is from that time and allows for realtime contemplation and plot advancement by observation of the character's action. A gift, really. Maybe it's the natural lighting that keeps those scenes in memory.
Interesting to see so many negative comments. I think this a masterpiece and Cimino’s best work. As a young European back in the day it helped me to understand how America works. The remastered version is beautiful
Three reasons: 1. Amazing performances by a stellar cast 2. An uncompromising look on the west that rejects the American fable of cowboys and indians and replaces it with the dark reality of the deadly power struggle between poor, working immigrants and wealthy, bourgeoisie land barons. 3.Incredible visuals
I completely agree with you, although I would add "beautiful soundtrack" to Reason #3. "Heaven's Gate" reminds me very much of "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" and "Days of Heaven", which are among my favorite movies.
Visually, this might just be the greatest film about the Old West ever made. While some of its story and dialog tend to be all over the place, the movie IS a Masterpiece, a flawed one, but it truly transports the viewer to a different era. It deserves to be placed among the best films ever made.
THE best western ever made! Excellent cast, great story, strong vision, fantastic visuals... whats not to love! Watching this at least once per year, always feel like a millionaire.^^
From the NY Times: "Vilmos Zsigmond, wrote that Mr. Cimino wanted to 're-create in the audience the experience of being in the West back in those days - when things were noisy and smoky and very, very dusty and dirty.' ... As a restoration demo on the Criterion Blu-ray demonstrates, some of the scenes that looked sepia, almost nicotine brown, have been altered so that the green grass and blue sky pop almost as brightly as they would in Technicolor."
Heaven’s Gate did not tank United Artists. The studio actually had a profitable year. It was bought in 1967 by Transamerica - an insurance/investment conglomerate - for $180 million; they sold it to Kirk Kerkorian in 1981 for $383 million. Steven Bach’s book Final Cut was essentially an insider’s take down of Cimino and UA, but later research shows that the real toll of Heaven’s Gate on UA was largely symbolic and Transamerica used the failure of Heaven’s Gate as a bit of a front to get out of the movie business, which has always been driven by its own business logic. When you combine the way Hollywood ‘writes off’ box office failures and milks product over a long period time, including the packaging of product when studios and film libraries are bought and sold (follow the trail of UA in the 80s/90s/2000s), you will find that Heaven’s Gate eventually turned a profit and lined somebody’s deep pockets. In many ways, Heaven’s Gate signalled a major shift in Hollywood and film culture. First, it was used to end the myth of the 70s director-driven Golden Age. Second, it moved board-decision making to the front and centre of movie production, which led to the sterility of franchise driven Hollywood. Third, it accelerated Hollywood Accounting and cross collateralizing as a pathway to squeezing profit from stinkers, hiding profits from contractual obligations, turning loss to success, overvaluing assets to fuel takeovers, and wholly degrading the art of movies. Fourth, movie criticism became a pawn in the shell game of movie advertising and propaganda-ushering in the era of Shalit, Sisley & Ebert, and express movie criticism, which eventually led to Rotten Tomatoes. As for Heaven’s Gate, it’s a damn fine film. It has a place in the Western Genre, a notch or two below the pastiche of Once Upon A Time In The West. The whole point of Cimino’s vision was spectacle disguised as social commentary on the role immigration played in the shaping of America. It’s kind of like a cowboy Godfather with whores, sheep herders, cow dung, and guns-for-hire replacing families, capos, drugs, and button-men. I would advise taking the footage, reshaping it into a twelve hour, multi part epic, and releasing it as a special edition: Heaven’s Gate - The Sodfather. Why not! It’d still be better than 90% of the sludge being fed by Hollywood to the dumbed down American consumer.
I loved the deer hunter, and the cinematography, etc, was great. I gave it many tries over 20 years. This movie sucks. Parts of it are simply horrible.
Does the criterion release fix the sound mix issues? Parts of the movies I had to put on subtitles to hear what they were saying behind all the noise (the train station, etc.)
Wish this great trailer was shown in it's original theatrical aspect ratio. It was filmed with a larger longer widescreen scenic panoramic picture frame than the one presented here.
This movie is a steaming pile of garbage, but for some reason I love it in all of its forgettable characters yet every moment can be remembered by memory in who appears where and when and whatnot. A true masterwork of American cinema.
I have a decent old MGM Letterbox/Widescreen DVD of HEAVEN'S GATE which retains the sepia wash originally utilized for many of its out West scenes. I must say I still prefer it for this particular movie contrary to Cimino's final decision to strip it all out for the Criterion release Director's Cut. While the "picture perfect" scenes in naturalistic color are breathtaking on their own, the sepia wash imparted a feeling of a well-burnished vision of the Past which aided a more interesting and unique "read" of the film as a whole. With the sepia and it's visual distancing device gone, the picture as a whole falls even flatter for me. Vilmos Zsigmond shot his cinematography with the knowledge that it would be tinted therefore some of the blacks and darker colors were shot to register more intensely than they normally would. Nevertheless, while not a great film, it is not the irredeemable disaster it was described as being on its first release.
anyone know why the original footage had a slight orange glow? was it done on purpose or did it have something to do with the quality of film they were using at the time?
1. One of the finest American Epics of all time. 2. Stunning cinematography 3. We need a better release here in the UK, all I have is an import German DVD which plays the film in English and everything but the pictre quality is questionable at times.
I have yet to see the footage. Unless it was that one horse in the background that doesn't look like much. Is it even included in the Amazon Prime version?
He screwed that one up royally. The Sicilian, which is an amazing story, was a truly horrible film. Almost amazing how much he messed that one up.@@cooltalktalks4944
so I saw the three part cinema snob review, and though it's going to be a few months before I get this, I can say my impression from the review is this movie is an absolute masterpiece for its boldness and for being a genuine experience but also a failure for the exact same reasons.
This video makes the film look like a masterpiece. It's not, in my opinion, it's a very a frustrating movie. It could have been a masterpiece and it's one of the most visually awesome movies I've ever seen...I just think there should have bee more attention paid to the acting and the writing. Much has been made also about the fact that it's often very difficult to hear the dialogue in crowded scenes. But a long movie like this plays much better at home on blu-ray than in a theater.
Detailed, visually awesome. Just kept asking myself what the point of the movie was though, even at the end. Solid movie, not a masterpiece in my opinion, but criterion's release brings the movie back to how it should have been released.
One might ask what is the point of A Farewell to Arms or Crime and Punishment. There is no emotional payoff however. The Cavalry rescue the Killers in the penultimate scene and the Rhode Island Prologue suggests a lost life unfulfilled (He’s gone back to his College days Sweetheart but can never forget Ella) so it’s not a happy outcome
Main reason it doesn't work: terrible script. ("What do you want, Nate?" "What do I want? (Pause) What do I want??? (Another pause) Well, what does anyone want? (yet another pause) Get rich? (still another pause) Well, what am I supposed to want?" (Pause again) "Well Nate....I think you've stretched your legs under my table long enough." And who can forget the immortal line, "You look like a man about to shit a pumpkin. (Pause) You really do."?
Apparently the horse they blew up was lame and was going to have to be destroyed so they blew it up with a stick of dynamite so it would go down in movie history. gd
I'm pretty sure it was an accident, since Ronnie Hawkins was on the horse at the time. Animal cruelty is one thing (and one horrible thing, at that) but I'm pretty sure they wouldn't risk seriously hurting or killing other people on purpose.
WesMan you now realize your responding to a 2+ year old post. Congratulations, your prize is this patronizing post. Believe me, you certainly deserve it.
It is a beautiful film. The Deer Hunter was slow paced but it worked. This isn't as bad as it's reputation, but really, it wasn't something that kept you on the edge of your seat or got you involved with the characters. I try to watch it every few years, but I hate to admit it, find it a boring movie. (The roller skating scene just seems self-indulgent). But, he made the Deer Hunter.
Michael Igoe No opinion is stupid per se, you just may disagree, so there is no need to be rude. Everyone sees movies differently, that's the beauty of it.
Why do you think it's bad? (not asking in an accusatory manner, I'm just a fan of the original, director's cut and would like to know why you don't like it. I'd agree when talking about the butchered re-release version, that version is trash, but I think the original version is masterful.)
I hate to break the news to the god below but if it's flawed it can't be a masterpiece ha ha ha and heaven's gate certainly isn't look it was a big swing but a big mess very interesting story line about immigrants and how they were mistreated and the dark history of the United States but chamomile was just too much of a Got in the way
Awful awful film, embarrassing on Cimino’s part and for UA getting robbed and bankrupt lol even the beautiful (far and few between) shots weren’t saving this one… the lighting was doing all sorts of random madness too throughout, horrible film, sorry Criterion
A truly bad film. Cimino had no idea what an epic really was about. And no idea of how to build the story into a dramatic structure. And my God the inexcusable casting! What was he thinking of with Kristofferson and Huppert?! To turn the Johnson County Wars into this mess was a true negative achievement.
Nope, it still looks soulless and empty to me. For some reason, style has won out over substance in the last decade. The critics were right to pan this monster back in 1980.
R.I.P. Vilmos Zsigmond. His cinematography, especially in this movie and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" was masterful!
Right on!
A visual feast with excellent actors in their prime, made on location by someone who wanted the story to be authentic and understood. The pace is from that time and allows for realtime contemplation and plot advancement by observation of the character's action. A gift, really. Maybe it's the natural lighting that keeps those scenes in memory.
Interesting to see so many negative comments. I think this a masterpiece and Cimino’s best work. As a young European back in the day it helped me to understand how America works. The remastered version is beautiful
Three reasons:
1. Amazing performances by a stellar cast
2. An uncompromising look on the west that rejects the American fable of cowboys and indians and replaces it with the dark reality of the deadly power struggle between poor, working immigrants and wealthy, bourgeoisie land barons.
3.Incredible visuals
I completely agree with you, although I would add "beautiful soundtrack" to Reason #3.
"Heaven's Gate" reminds me very much of "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" and "Days of Heaven", which are among my favorite movies.
Some of the scenes most beautiful ever filmed are in this movie.
I agree. But some parts are ridiculously bad. As a whole is sucks. I tried and tried and tried to like this movie.
God, this Movie just looks absolutely STUNNING
Visually, this might just be the greatest film about the Old West ever made. While some of its story and dialog tend to be all over the place, the movie IS a Masterpiece, a flawed one, but it truly transports the viewer to a different era. It deserves to be placed among the best films ever made.
1 - great cast
2 - stunning visuals
2 - a treat for the ears
1. Incredible cinematography 2. Great characters 3. Spectacular action
THE best western ever made! Excellent cast, great story, strong vision, fantastic visuals... whats not to love! Watching this at least once per year, always feel like a millionaire.^^
Three reasons:
1.One Man's ambition
2. Impressive attention to detail
3. It's relevance today as a story of conflicts between groups
now if once upon a time in america could make a criterion collection list that would be great
very good comment those two films are to me very similar, even their fate is very close one another
There's a 4.5hr restoration in the works. There was a 4hr10 one that dropped but Scorsese said "hang on we can do more" so we'll wait and see!
pls. Its been 8 years since your comment. WTH Criterion?...
It would be prime Criterion material.
@@gnalkhereProblematic since the 3h49min cut was Leone’s preferred version
From the NY Times: "Vilmos Zsigmond, wrote that Mr. Cimino wanted to 're-create in the audience the experience of being in the West back in those days - when things were noisy and smoky and very, very dusty and dirty.' ... As a restoration demo on the Criterion Blu-ray demonstrates, some of the scenes that looked sepia, almost nicotine brown, have been altered so that the green grass and blue sky pop almost as brightly as they would in Technicolor."
Heaven’s Gate did not tank United Artists. The studio actually had a profitable year. It was bought in 1967 by Transamerica - an insurance/investment conglomerate - for $180 million; they sold it to Kirk Kerkorian in 1981 for $383 million. Steven Bach’s book Final Cut was essentially an insider’s take down of Cimino and UA, but later research shows that the real toll of Heaven’s Gate on UA was largely symbolic and Transamerica used the failure of Heaven’s Gate as a bit of a front to get out of the movie business, which has always been driven by its own business logic. When you combine the way Hollywood ‘writes off’ box office failures and milks product over a long period time, including the packaging of product when studios and film libraries are bought and sold (follow the trail of UA in the 80s/90s/2000s), you will find that Heaven’s Gate eventually turned a profit and lined somebody’s deep pockets.
In many ways, Heaven’s Gate signalled a major shift in Hollywood and film culture. First, it was used to end the myth of the 70s director-driven Golden Age. Second, it moved board-decision making to the front and centre of movie production, which led to the sterility of franchise driven Hollywood. Third, it accelerated Hollywood Accounting and cross collateralizing as a pathway to squeezing profit from stinkers, hiding profits from contractual obligations, turning loss to success, overvaluing assets to fuel takeovers, and wholly degrading the art of movies. Fourth, movie criticism became a pawn in the shell game of movie advertising and propaganda-ushering in the era of Shalit, Sisley & Ebert, and express movie criticism, which eventually led to Rotten Tomatoes.
As for Heaven’s Gate, it’s a damn fine film. It has a place in the Western Genre, a notch or two below the pastiche of Once Upon A Time In The West. The whole point of Cimino’s vision was spectacle disguised as social commentary on the role immigration played in the shaping of America. It’s kind of like a cowboy Godfather with whores, sheep herders, cow dung, and guns-for-hire replacing families, capos, drugs, and button-men. I would advise taking the footage, reshaping it into a twelve hour, multi part epic, and releasing it as a special edition: Heaven’s Gate - The Sodfather. Why not! It’d still be better than 90% of the sludge being fed by Hollywood to the dumbed down American consumer.
Spectacular movie. Many reasons to enjoy it.
GREAT Movie, in Fact a Masterpiece!!! With a GREAT Soundtrack!!!
Haven't seen this one, but now I want to. Looks like a western version of Once Upon a Time In America, which happens to be my favorite film.
again good comment
As european this movie contains so much of our culture and music. Its beautiful to see. One day I hope to see magnificent Montana with my own eyes.
I have never seen this film.
I will now watch this film as soon as possible.
If it had only had a great script to go with it. Sometimes beautiful cinematography, score and great actors are not enough.
I loved the deer hunter, and the cinematography, etc, was great. I gave it many tries over 20 years. This movie sucks. Parts of it are simply horrible.
Then just go reading scripts then instead of watching movies. Script is not the film.
it's better than every other film i've seen.
It's a Masterpiece.
1. reason, so can say i saw the most important flop in film history.
Does the criterion release fix the sound mix issues? Parts of the movies I had to put on subtitles to hear what they were saying behind all the noise (the train station, etc.)
Horses died damn, they coulda been the horses that cured cancer
Hahaha
He hinted recent that he just might. He said something about filming in digital (most are now 'a days).
the best! thank you MC!
Best pick for The Cinema Snob's 300 episode.
Wish this great trailer was shown in it's original theatrical aspect ratio. It was filmed with a larger longer widescreen scenic panoramic picture frame than the one presented here.
Do you need three... just surrender yourself to the picture, and you will find beauty in it.
My Three Reasons
1. Mickey Rourke grabbing a guy's tongue
2. Fiddler on Roller Skates
3. Sam Waterson hiding in the bushes, ready for an ambush
Walken's death scene wins the whole movie for me. Very badass.
Geoffrey Lewis grabbing Rourke's tongue?
This movie is a steaming pile of garbage, but for some reason I love it in all of its forgettable characters yet every moment can be remembered by memory in who appears where and when and whatnot. A true masterwork of American cinema.
Critics will write whatever shit they can to try and get people to listen to them, very few truly understand cinema or anything remotely near quality.
You know, it's funny some people remember Kris as an actor because his main trade, so to speak, was country music.
I have a decent old MGM Letterbox/Widescreen DVD of HEAVEN'S GATE which retains the sepia wash originally utilized for many of its out West scenes. I must say I still prefer it for this particular movie contrary to Cimino's final decision to strip it all out for the Criterion release Director's Cut. While the "picture perfect" scenes in naturalistic color are breathtaking on their own, the sepia wash imparted a feeling of a well-burnished vision of the Past which aided a more interesting and unique "read" of the film as a whole. With the sepia and it's visual distancing device gone, the picture as a whole falls even flatter for me. Vilmos Zsigmond shot his cinematography with the knowledge that it would be tinted therefore some of the blacks and darker colors were shot to register more intensely than they normally would.
Nevertheless, while not a great film, it is not the irredeemable disaster it was described as being on its first release.
anyone know why the original footage had a slight orange glow? was it done on purpose or did it have something to do with the quality of film they were using at the time?
I suppose it was done on purpose
I believe this to be a well woven piece related to the fabric of time that came and went.
1. One of the finest American Epics of all time.
2. Stunning cinematography
3. We need a better release here in the UK, all I have is an import German DVD which plays the film in English and everything but the pictre quality is questionable at times.
99Filmo Well we have an nice BluRay release now in the UK courtesy of SecondSight. I'm pleased to say I have it in my collection. Great film.
YES BUT THEY BLEW UP A HORSE
+patronsaintofpoison Yes, that is my one and only needed reason never to see it.
stupid
I have yet to see the footage. Unless it was that one horse in the background that doesn't look like much.
Is it even included in the Amazon Prime version?
A GREAT Movie. Masterpiece. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Curious to watch this film. Its Called worthless by numerous critics, but the cinematography looks outstanding.
My Three reasons
1. Vibrant scenery2. Walken 3. Exploding horse
No animals were harmed during the making of thi....oh.
You're so bad, but I laughed
THANK YOU
Cimino got a chance to redeem after year of the dragon but he fucked it up
i thought it was a lot better
Also The Sicilian which was a good book by Mario Puzo but Cimino screwed that up too
He screwed that one up royally. The Sicilian, which is an amazing story, was a truly horrible film. Almost amazing how much he messed that one up.@@cooltalktalks4944
4. You get to see a horse blow up
Who needs dramatically involving characters when you have spectacle?...
... said Michael Bay.
Except Michael Cimino did it successfully.
I wouldn't say they aren't dramatically involving. There are just some muddled motivations sometimes.
Bay and Cimino in the same sentence...
@0:40 Jack McCoy would prosecute that
so true.
thank you I heard About that the part about Scorsese restoring it not about the legal issues well I hope all eventually all gets resolved
150 guns firing at 3 people max. That'd be a whole lot of ammo wasted
so I saw the three part cinema snob review, and though it's going to be a few months before I get this, I can say my impression from the review is this movie is an absolute masterpiece for its boldness and for being a genuine experience but also a failure for the exact same reasons.
This movie is now on my watch list
This video makes the film look like a masterpiece. It's not, in my opinion, it's a very a frustrating movie. It could have been a masterpiece and it's one of the most visually awesome movies I've ever seen...I just think there should have bee more attention paid to the acting and the writing. Much has been made also about the fact that it's often very difficult to hear the dialogue in crowded scenes. But a long movie like this plays much better at home on blu-ray than in a theater.
There are plenty of movies that are amazing that were box office bombs
It could have been the greatest movie ever made but the dull script and pace of the movie sank it.
Fuck. I'm blown away.
No one has mentioned it yet, so I will .....Chistopher Walken's face does not blend in at all with any of the scenes that he is in.
Detailed, visually awesome. Just kept asking myself what the point of the movie was though, even at the end.
Solid movie, not a masterpiece in my opinion, but criterion's release brings the movie back to how it should have been released.
One might ask what is the point of A Farewell to Arms or Crime and Punishment. There is no emotional payoff however. The Cavalry rescue the Killers in the penultimate scene and the Rhode Island Prologue suggests a lost life unfulfilled (He’s gone back to his College days Sweetheart but can never forget Ella) so it’s not a happy outcome
Too bad there's no script underneath all those images.
Main reason it doesn't work: terrible script. ("What do you want, Nate?" "What do I want? (Pause) What do I want??? (Another pause) Well, what does anyone want? (yet another pause) Get rich? (still another pause) Well, what am I supposed to want?" (Pause again) "Well Nate....I think you've stretched your legs under my table long enough." And who can forget the immortal line, "You look like a man about to shit a pumpkin. (Pause) You really do."?
Apparently the horse they blew up was lame and was going to have to be destroyed so they blew it up with a stick of dynamite so it would go down in movie history. gd
I'm pretty sure it was an accident, since Ronnie Hawkins was on the horse at the time.
Animal cruelty is one thing (and one horrible thing, at that) but I'm pretty sure they wouldn't risk seriously hurting or killing other people on purpose.
Graham is talking of his arse lol
weird so much praise for a movie that showed AN ACTUAL HORSE BEING KILLED BY AN ACTUAL EXPLOSIVE!
TheMangled Triangle your talking to the same people who released Sweet Movie
TheMangled Triangle .....hey fatso, do you feel offended by the slaughter house that supplied the burgers that you stick in your pie hole?
WesMan you now realize your responding to a 2+ year old post. Congratulations, your prize is this patronizing post. Believe me, you certainly deserve it.
It is a beautiful film. The Deer Hunter was slow paced but it worked. This isn't as bad as it's reputation, but really, it wasn't something that kept you on the edge of your seat or got you involved with the characters. I try to watch it every few years, but I hate to admit it, find it a boring movie. (The roller skating scene just seems self-indulgent). But, he made the Deer Hunter.
did not care much for the movie and i saw the docuemtnary ughghghh it made me mad
Can we stop romanticizing animal cruelty?!
Does they *really* makin' it?
Christopher Walken was miscast. Nick Nolte, Michael Moriarty might have been better choices.
shouldve blown up the actors and directors of this crap instead of the poor horse
Nope, the horse.
No.
I don't get the newfound love for this film. It's gotta be one of the worst movies I've seen in a long time.
You're entitled to your opinion ....... even if it is a particularly stupid one.
Michael Igoe No opinion is stupid per se, you just may disagree, so there is no need to be rude. Everyone sees movies differently, that's the beauty of it.
***** You're right. I'm sorry.
Why do you think it's bad? (not asking in an accusatory manner, I'm just a fan of the original, director's cut and would like to know why you don't like it. I'd agree when talking about the butchered re-release version, that version is trash, but I think the original version is masterful.)
Jonmichael Platt It just felt really bloated and seemed to meander. But I can't give you too many details because I did see it three months ago.
I hate to break the news to the god below but if it's flawed it can't be a masterpiece ha ha ha and heaven's gate certainly isn't look it was a big swing but a big mess very interesting story line about immigrants and how they were mistreated and the dark history of the United States but chamomile was just too much of a Got in the way
Awful awful film, embarrassing on Cimino’s part and for UA getting robbed and bankrupt lol even the beautiful (far and few between) shots weren’t saving this one… the lighting was doing all sorts of random madness too throughout, horrible film, sorry Criterion
Or bad editing & a weak-ass story?
A terrible film, which destroyed UA
A truly bad film. Cimino had no idea what an epic really was about. And no idea of how to build the story into a dramatic structure. And my God the inexcusable casting! What was he thinking of with Kristofferson and Huppert?! To turn the Johnson County Wars into this mess was a true negative achievement.
Awful, boring movie. The most expensive B Western ever made. So much money wasted, so many livelihoods lost by Cimino's reckless spending.
Nope, it still looks soulless and empty to me. For some reason, style has won out over substance in the last decade. The critics were right to pan this monster back in 1980.