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Heaven's Gate

  • 1980
  • R
  • 3h 39m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
18K
YOUR RATING
Christopher Walken, Isabelle Huppert, and Kris Kristofferson in Heaven's Gate (1980)
During the Johnson County War in 1890 Wyoming, a sheriff born into wealth does his best to protect immigrant farmers from rich cattle interests.
92
 
Play trailer1:17
92
2 Videos
99+ Photos
Costume DramaEpicPeriod DramaWestern EpicAdventureDramaWestern

During the Johnson County War in 1890 Wyoming, a sheriff born into wealth does his best to protect immigrant farmers from rich cattle interests.During the Johnson County War in 1890 Wyoming, a sheriff born into wealth does his best to protect immigrant farmers from rich cattle interests.During the Johnson County War in 1890 Wyoming, a sheriff born into wealth does his best to protect immigrant farmers from rich cattle interests.

  • Director
    • Michael Cimino
  • Writer
    • Michael Cimino
  • Stars
    • Kris Kristofferson
    • Christopher Walken
    • John Hurt
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.7/10
    18K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Michael Cimino
    • Writer
      • Michael Cimino
    • Stars
      • Kris Kristofferson
      • Christopher Walken
      • John Hurt
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    • 294User reviews
    • 102Critic reviews
    • 57Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 2 wins & 9 nominations total

    Videos2

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:17
    Official Trailer
    92
    Heaven's Gate: The Criterion Collection
    Trailer 1:23
    Heaven's Gate: The Criterion Collection
    21
    Heaven's Gate: The Criterion Collection
    Trailer 1:23
    Heaven's Gate: The Criterion Collection
    21

    Photos125

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    Top cast76

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    Kris Kristofferson
    Kris Kristofferson
    • Averill
    Christopher Walken
    Christopher Walken
    • Champion
    • (as Chris Walken)
    John Hurt
    John Hurt
    • Irvine
    Sam Waterston
    Sam Waterston
    • Canton
    Brad Dourif
    Brad Dourif
    • Mr. Eggleston
    Isabelle Huppert
    Isabelle Huppert
    • Ella
    Joseph Cotten
    Joseph Cotten
    • The Reverend Doctor
    Jeff Bridges
    Jeff Bridges
    • John L. Bridges
    Ronnie Hawkins
    Ronnie Hawkins
    • Wolcott
    Paul Koslo
    Paul Koslo
    • Mayor Lezak
    Geoffrey Lewis
    Geoffrey Lewis
    • Trapper
    Richard Masur
    Richard Masur
    • Cully
    Rosie Vela
    • Beautiful Girl
    • (as Roseanne Vela)
    Mary Catherine Wright
    • Nell
    • (as Mary C. Wright)
    Nicholas Woodeson
    Nicholas Woodeson
    • Small Man
    Stefan Shcherby
    • Big Man
    Waldemar Kalinowski
    • Photographer
    Terry O'Quinn
    Terry O'Quinn
    • Captain Minardi
    • Director
      • Michael Cimino
    • Writer
      • Michael Cimino
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews294

    6.718.4K
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    Featured reviews

    FLKFREK

    A film not that dreadful, but understandably ripped

    I'm only one of a very few people who has actually seen BOTH versions of "Heaven's Gate". A frequently asked question is "Why was it ripped apart so badly?" The answer lies in this story here:

    In 1984 I rented "Heaven's Gate" in order to show a friend of mine who had wanted to know if the film was as bad as he had heard. About 50 or so minutes into the film, Averill walks into Casper, Wyoming, which at the time this scene takes place is 1890. The town is filled with many meticulously dressed pedestrians, and the streets are filled with horses and buggies. My friend starts laughing uncontrollably. I asked, "Did I miss something?" He pulls himself together and says, "You gotta be kidding. There ain't even that many people in Casper, Wyoming NOW."

    That in a nutshell can easily describe what went wrong. The film reeks of a director desperately trying to convince us that this movie is very important and cries for us to think he's an absolute genius. Actors take long breaths between sentences as though they were going to choke on what they are saying (man, just wait till you get to the scene where the deathlist is read out - you truly believe he'll read all 125 names), while every shot is filled with either smoke or dust in order to give us the feeling that this is ART. Camino's intentions were honorable as I truly believed that he believed he was making a masterpiece. This is what happens when you go out to make a masterpiece. I had only wished he tried to go out and make a good western. Then this film might have worked.
    7snaunton

    A film rich in confusion

    Heaven's Gate seems to attract extreme reactions: outright dismissal or unqualified admiration. It is an extreme film, in length, theme and treatment. Its faults have been well-rehearsed, but some are overstated and, equally, some extraordinary virtues seem to have been little noticed. The film is very slow, certainly in the first half, but the central plot is interesting. The Johnson County disturbances exemplify a critical moment in American history, even if the sub-plot of the alienated Harvard man, at the opening and closing of the film, is irredeemably trite. That the working out of the plot is incoherent and chaotic is not a problem - these characteristics are implicit in the term "disturbances" and are an effective metaphor for the central concern of the film. The settlers are disorderly in the conduct their lives and community affairs, they are thieves, not especially lovely people, and the moral balance is tipped in their favour only by the arrogance of power of the Stockmen's leader.

    Kris Kristofferson's plays his leading role to the limit of his talent as an actor, but sadly that talent is very small. However, since the part requires him to say little, this is not a fatal flaw. John Hurt plays a decadent drunk as well as an irrelevant and ridiculous part will permit. On the other hand, Isabelle Huppert's performance is outstanding: every expression, every nuance in the tone of her voice, is convincing. The subdued photography, with its narrow palette, is highly effective in communicating the sheer colourless drudgery that life at the frontier must have involved. Most striking of all is the soundtrack, that constant bustle of noise, the rushing of trains and carts and horses and men and wind across the range. This film captures a living experience and the soundtrack does most to bring it alive.

    Heaven's Gate is a strange confusion of a film, but in that confusion many good things can be found.
    Dunelm

    This film more than lives up to its bad reputation!

    The text on the back of the videobox when I rented this dirge implied that Heaven's Gate is notorious as one of the worst films ever made because the cruel studio took a masterpiece and slashed and burned it, and the critics never got to see the original, which (oh hooray!) is now available for home viewing. Actually, the critics saw the original, hated it, and then the studio tried to edit it into something watchable, which of course was impossible because the problem was not only that the film was far too long, but much of the dialogue was unintelligible, the characters were undeveloped, and the plot was tedious. Why anybody would waste any tears mourning the fate of this dreadful film and Cimino's wounded feelings is beyond my comprehension.
    6ezradavid13

    Infamous epic-scale western from Deer Hunter Director not as bad as you've heard

    i have anticipated the viewing of this film for quite some time. its legend, being as infamous as it is, required me to see it, no matter how awful. i was also eager to see it based not only on my love for The Deer Hunter, which is tremendous, but also on my even greater love for the western genre in general. when i saw that IFC was playing the film this afternoon, i almost soiled myself with glee. however, i must admit that my eagerness was coupled with the bias of reviewers labeling the work as self-indulgent. i had no idea. the film is remarkably similar to the work of Terrence Malick on Days of Heaven. both films are image-heavy, but light on dialogue and plot. however, Days of Heaven succeeds in transporting the viewer to a world of transcendence and naturalistic beauty where HG succeeds only in forcing the viewer to act as surrogate editor since none of the five persons credited with the responsibility were able to do their job correctly. this is not to say that the film is bad. not in the least. it is, however, quite necessary for enjoyment that the viewer either be a student of film and its history, or at least have a lot time on your hands with no real concern about whether a story is being told, or simply hinted at. it would also help for the viewer to carry with her/him a sense of idealistic nostalgia bordering on naiveté, since the film seems to be resplendent with said qualities. i happen to possess all of the above and was therefore able to thoroughly enjoy myself for the entire 3hrs and 45min. of the film. i find myself wanting to watch it again. i think some of the muddled characters bare repeat viewing for complete understanding, while others are archetypal and without dimension. Sam Waterston's character does everything short of twirling a handlebar mustache in order to leave us without doubt of his villainy. in contrast, Walken, Kristofferson, and Hurt all have multi-faceted characters not easily recognizable in the realm of Hollywood caricatures. David Mansfield's score is exquisitely complimentary of the majestic cinematography helm-ed by Vilmos Zsigmond. the battle scene, while confusing, is more true-to-life than most of the overly choreographed "epics" of that period or any other. i submit that this film is essential viewing for aspiring film makers. its viewing, if not ownership, is also necessary for the exhaustive collection of all true cinemaphiles. did i mention it's a little long?
    7Theo Robertson

    Flawed Epic

    What ? You expect me to review HEAVEN'S GATE a movie that destroyed the Hollywood studio system and bankrupted United Artists ! Okay then , but mind if I ask where do I begin ?

    I've seen this movie twice . The original cut in 1986 and the short version ( Amazing to think a movie that has a 149 minute run time qualifies as a short version ) last night and I must say that it's a much better movie than Michael Cimino's Oscar winning THE DEER HUNTER if only because it has a much clearer plot : An association of cattle barons hire a mercenary army to kick immigrants out of Wyoming . There that's the plot perfectly explained and I doubt if anyone can clearly explain the plot of THE DEER HUNTER in one sentence . By a bitter irony Cimino then decides to muddy the waters by throwing everything but the kitchen sink into the movie and the film starts with a character set up in Harvard where friends James Averill and Billy Irvine have the party of their life . These scenes are very cinematic and epic as boys and girls waltz on the lawn but as for introducing the characters they become totally redundant later in the film . It's interesting to note that in the shortened version much of this has been edited out and replaced with a voice over where Averill travels to Wyoming on a train . This could easily have been the opening scene without any detriment to the narrative

    HEAVEN'S GATE has four credited editors a ridiculous amount for a movie and while watching the short version you can't help noticing how badly edited it all is . For example we see Averill and Irvine talking in a billiard room . Averill walks away into another room and confronts the association heads and receives applause from Irvine who is now sitting in a chair in the same room which gives the impression that he can teleport ! Even if you have no knowledge about film editing you can't fail to notice that many , many scenes start or finish in a completely unnatural manner but one can't help thinking it's not the fault of the editors since so many scenes should have been discarded from the script at first draft stage which would have led to a better and much more compact screenplay without it losing any epic quality . Having said that it wouldn't have stopped the sound editing being so awful and many sequences are ruined because the background noise drowns out the duologue

    Where the film works best is when it concentrates on the hatred the association has for the immigrants and when it does it is a great film at portraying man's callous inhumanity to man . It also contains some very shocking violence and epic battle scenes and it's a pity that HEAVEN'S GATE is known only for the behind the scenes fiasco than what takes place on screen . So if you watch this movie please forgot that it caused studio bosses to be the driving force on a movie instead of the director or that its production costs ballooned from two million dollars to forty million . Enjoy it for what it is - A flawed epic

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    Final Cut: The Making and Unmaking of Heaven's Gate
    7.6
    Final Cut: The Making and Unmaking of Heaven's Gate

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This movie is notorious for the amount of animal abuse that took place during production, including real cockfights and decapitated chickens. Horses were tortured, and at least four died. The outcry prompted the Screen Actors Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers to contractually authorize the American Humane Society to monitor the use of all animals in all filmed media.
    • Goofs
      Despite music and a yard full of waltzing couples, several 360-degree panning shots at the Harvard commencement ball show that there is no orchestra.
    • Quotes

      Frank Canton: Mr. Champion, my grandfather was the Secretary of War to Harrison. His brother was the governor of the state of New York. My brother-in-law is Secretary of State. And to you, I represent the full authority of the government of the United States and the President.

      Nathan D. Champion: Fuck him too.

      Billy Irvine: Bravo, sir!

    • Alternate versions
      After its disastrous premiere engagement, the film was heavily edited to 149 minutes for wide release in 1981. Full-length version (228 minutes) later restored for home video and syndicated television.
    • Connections
      Edited into Gli ultimi giorni dell'umanità (2022)
    • Soundtracks
      Mamou Two-Step
      Written by Doug Kershaw

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    FAQ24

    • How long is Heaven's Gate?Powered by Alexa
    • Why was Ella's name on the death list?
    • How could the cattle ranchers' association get permission to create the death list? Wouldn't they have to go through at least some judicial channels?
    • The 1985 first edition of Stephen Bach's book, what was its original title?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 24, 1981 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Serbo-Croatian
      • Russian
      • French
      • Polish
      • German
      • Ukrainian
    • Also known as
      • La puerta del cielo
    • Filming locations
      • Kalispell, Montana, USA(rollerskating rink)
    • Production company
      • Partisan Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $44,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $3,484,331
    • Gross worldwide
      • $3,484,523
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 3h 39m(219 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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