Looking back over a quarter of a century later, it's surprising how well The Deer Hunter has retained its composure. It remains a touching portrayal of human companionship, emotion and loyalty that's packed with brash political overtones that raise questions even today. The merits of his magnum opus and my love of the Western genre led me to finally view Heaven's Gate and see for myself if it was in fact the turkey that its grim reputation has allowed it to be remembered as. The gratification of viewing a gun totting cowboy movie from the virtuoso imagination of The Deer Hunter's creator was indeed an allurement in itself. I strongly hoped that Cimino had suffered only because after the bloated excess of such over-budgeted overabundances as Apocalypse Now, the media had decided to target him for career annihilation as they have with countless others in the past.

On return to Casper Wyoming, Jim Averill (Kris Kristofferson) learns from his drunken friend Billy Irvine (John Hurt) that the association have written up a death list to rid the county of what they see as thieving and money-hungry immigrants. His hooker with a heart of gold sweetheart Ella (Isabelle Huppert) is on the list, which forces him to beg that she leaves the state to head West with him away from the animosity. However Ella is also involved in a relationship with a hired gun, Nate Champion (Christopher Walken), who has accepted the task of assassinating those that the association has targeted at the price of $50 dollars a head. Although the coupling is initially professional, emotions become confused when Nate proposes that Ella marries him. As the rivalry between the rich and poor worsens, the immigrant community realise that to survive they have to adopt the policies of their aggressors, which results in a bloody battle for survival and independence.

Upon viewing Heaven's Gate, one of the immediate things that you notice is how damn beautiful the movie actually is. Vilmos Zsigmond's lush cinematography is a sight to behold and frame by frame the runtime looks like a collection of stunning and realistically gritty portraits strung together artistically for audience appreciation. Cimino manages to handle scenes with a huge abundance of activity like the master craftsman that he truly is. Although many sequences, like the sprawling dance at the beginning or the bizarre roller skating 'disco' are predominantly pointless, his dedication, flare for authenticy and overall guidance remain highly textured and visually astounding throughout. Averill's locomotive arrival is (arguably) unintentionally reminiscent of Jill's mesmerising landing from C'era una volta il West. The streets bustle with activity as passers by go about their everyday business, and the director does well to control an amazing number of accurately costumed extras, without taking the emphasis away from the plot's focal points. It's interesting to see a pre-CGI outing that has such strong and realistic art direction and set locations that weren't simply created over a blue or green screen. In fact, Heaven's Gate puts Lord of the Rings and Troy to shame with its stark realism and dedication to historical accuracy.

However, brief flashes of genius cannot hide the film's only too numerous flaws. Kris Kristofferson gives a lifeless lead performance and even master actors to the class of Jeff Bridges and a bizarrely miss-cast Brad Douriff seem to struggle aimlessly to find a relevant plot point to chew upon. John Hurt adds swagger to a tissue paper thin persona, but overall his appearance is as redundantly pointless as his woefully miss-judged exit. A young and almost unrecognisably handsome Christopher Walken ends up carrying the majority of the film on his shoulders, and even a pre-famed Mickey Rourke pops up briefly only to die tragically moments later. The time dedicated to the uninteresting romance between the three leads severely jeopardised the entire motivation of the story, and one is left wondering whether the whole thing could have been cut down to perhaps 15% of the runtime instead of the long winded 75. The heavy handed editing is in fact the feature's biggest downfall. With Cimino in full control, his obsession with excess is no less than devastating, and five hours and twenty two minutes is not a movie by any length of chalk; it's a bloated mini-series.

All in all, Heaven's Gate is a tough title to judge. At times beautiful and compelling and in others pointless and lengthy, over the years it has gained as many fans as it has critics for its discrepancies in reviews and acclaim. The Deer Hunter may have had scenes that just acted as wallpaper without moving the plot anywhere, but it was saved by strong performances and a story that was much clearer, more coherent and easy to follow. Kris Kristofferson is no Robert Deniro and Isabelle Huppert isn't Meryl Streep either, which didn't make things any easier when Heaven's Gate finally showed up at box offices to strong anticipation. But in its favour, David Mansfield's score is unmissible and viewers will be rewarded by the over powering beauty of the cinematography. For serious cinema lovers, Heaven's Gate is worth a look, if only to see the film that sunk a studio - the last of its kind. But if you're expecting a popcorn western in the vein of Tombstone, stay well away...

A classic where I come from.
Review date: 2002-12-22 Rating: 10 out of 10

Michael Cimino's film would be held up as the archetypal Hollywood film that went vastly over-budget & failed to recoup the costs. Deemed a failure, jounalists gathered like vultures and books like The Final Cut (Stephen Bach) appeared- this would spell the end of New Hollywood- an era that had been ushered in with Bonnie & Clyde and Easy Rider would come to a close with this film- and Beatty's Reds (and perhaps Schrader's Lucas/Coppola produced Mishima). Art cinema would be off the menu- Bogdanovich & Coppola would have money problems, Scorsese would become a director for hire & Cimino would never recover. The High Concept would dominate the 80's- movies like Top Gun, Flashdance & Rambo would replace the possibilities offered up by auteurs like Cimino and Coppola. Our loss.

Heaven's Gate has dated wonderfully, this full-length 3hours 28 minutes version is much more satisfying than the edited take previously released (the 1980's would see many works cut to bits- such as Dune and Once Upon a Time in America). This is a far more satisfying Western than many that have followed it, such as Pale Rider, Dances with Wolves, Wyatt Earp, Tombstone & Ride with the Devil (but not Unforgiven or Dead Man). Cimino's epic ambition is all evident on-screen (photographer Vilmos Zsigmond captures a stunning world). As with Reds, you can see where the money went- a stunning recreation of an era in terms of art direction, design & costume.

This easily ranks next to Thunderbolt & Lightfoot and The Deer Hunter (whose epic vision was leading towards this epic-epic) and can a film with a cast including Kris Kristofferson, Isabelle Huppert, John Hurt, Christopher Walken, Jeff Bridges, Sam Waterson, Joseph Cotton & Brad Dourif be anything less than wonderful?

As Peter Biskind notes in Easy Riders, Raging Bulls- it could have been any of the late films of New Hollywood that broke the studio- Raging Bull, Reds, the projected 1983 version of Last Temptation of Christ, One from the Heart etc. Heaven's Gate has an appalling reputation, but in time I believe people will watch it and see that Cimino's vision is one of the great works of late 20th century American cinema.

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