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Heaven's Gate (1981)
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Synopsis
A notorious artistic and financial failure,
Michael Cimino
's Heaven's Gate was blamed for critically wounding the movie Western and definitively ushering out the 1970s Hollywood New Wave of young, brash, independent filmmakers. Taking a revisionist, post-Vietnam view of American imperialism, Cimino used the historical Johnson County War incident in Wyoming to create an impressionistic tapestry of Western conflict between poor immigrant settlers and rich cattle barons led by Canton (
Sam Waterston
) and his hired gun Nate Champion (
Christopher Walken
). Attempting to mediate is idealistic Harvard graduate and county marshal Averill (
Kris Kristofferson
), who is both Nate's friend and his romantic rival for the affections of Ella Watson (
Isabelle Huppert
). However, war erupts, at great cost to all involved. Flush from his success with the Oscar-winning
The Deer Hunter
(1978), Cimino demanded creative control, and his insistence on shooting on location and building historically accurate sets and props multiplied the film's original budget to a then-astronomical $36 million. When United Artists premiered the original 219-minute version (sight unseen), they discovered that Cimino had produced an elliptical epic, compounding the box-office difficulties of making a Western without any major stars. Critics howled about Cimino's incomprehensible self-indulgence, and United Artists pulled the film after several days. Re-released five months later, 70 minutes shorter, Heaven's Gate bombed again, and MGM bought out the financially crippled United Artists. The ailing Western genre virtually vanished during the 1980s, Cimino's career never recovered, and Hollywood studios had had enough of bankrolling financially risky ventures by "auteur" directors. Heaven's Gate's reputation recovered somewhat after its video release, as it garnered praise from some viewers for such visually remarkable sequences as the Harvard dance and the final battle, as well as for David Mansfield's haunting score. Steven Bach's book Final Cut provides a full production history. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
Cast
Jeff Bridges
John H. Bridges
Joseph Cotten
The Reverend Doctor
Brad Dourif
Mr. Eggleston
Ronnie Hawkins
Wolcott
Isabelle Huppert
Ella Watson
John Hurt
Billy Irvine
Geoffrey Lewis
Trapper
Rosie Vela
Beautiful Girl
Christopher Walken
Nathan D. Champion
Sam Waterston
Frank Canton
Kris Kristofferson
Marshal James Averill
Production Crew
Herbert Spencer Deverill
Art Director
Maurice Fowler
Art Director
Tambi Larsen
Art Director
Eleanor Fazan
Choreography
Vilmos Zsigmond
Cinematographer
David Mansfield
Composer (Music Score)
J. Allen Highfill
Costume Designer
Michael Cimino
Director
Jerry Greenberg
Editor
Lisa Fruchtman
Editor
Tom Rolf
Editor
William H. Reynolds
Editor
Brian Cook
First Assistant Director
Michael Grillo
First Assistant Director
Charles Okun
Producer
Joann Carelli
Producer
Peter Price
Production Manager
Michael Cimino
Screenwriter
June Samson
Script Supervisor
Richard W. Adams
Sound Editor
Winston Ryder
Sound Editor
Peter Handford
Sound Recordist
Year: 1981
Runtime: 220
Country: USA
MPAA Rating: R
Category: Feature
Genre
Western
Produced by
United Artists
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