Heaven’s Gate (1980) Full Review

Film Scene Investigation

Here’s my review of the 1980 film, Heaven’s Gate.   Thanks for watching and please subscribe.  New videos dropping every week.   For Exclusive Content:  https://www.patreon.com/filmsceneinvestigation   Rumble:  https://www.rumble.com/filmsceneinvestigations   Odysee:  https://odysee.com/@filmsceneinvestigation:e   Daily Motion:  https://www.dailymotion.com/Filmsceneinvestigation   Help Support Me At:  https://www.PayPal.me/beaucarter91

Transcript

00:00hey guys it's me Bo back once again with another cult movie review I hope everyone

00:19is doing well in today's video I'm going to be reviewing Michael Cimino's controversial

00:27Western Heaven's Gate to say this movie was an epic piece of cinema would be an understatement

00:35I've admired the film for many years now and I've never really agreed with the criticism

00:43the film's received I have a lot to say on the matter so yeah let's get into it oh and don't

00:50forget guys if you haven't already please do consider subscribing to the channel your support

00:55is greatly appreciated so Heaven's Gate from 1980 marked Michael Cimino's third feature film as

01:03director following the success of the deer hunter from 1979 at the time Cimino was riding high from

01:13the success of his Oscar win for the deer hunter and the movie studio United Artists were very excited

01:22about his next project but Cimino's next film would ultimately be savaged by the critics upon its

01:29release so I saw this movie many years ago on DVD back in the early 2000s I remember my media studies

01:41teacher at the time mentioning the movie in class randomly and yeah I was intrigued at the time

01:50Heaven's Gate was not available on region 2 DVD so having no UK release I had to order a online copy

02:00from the States anyways it eventually came in the post and yeah sat down watched it and it was a epic movie

02:11experience to say the least now there's a lot going on with the story so to summarize Heaven's Gate

02:19followed the character James Averill played by Chris Christopherson Averill was the Marshal of Johnson

02:28County Wyoming where he lived with his French girlfriend Ella Watson played by the actress Isabelle

02:35Huppert. Ella was a madam running a bordello where she would often accept cattle as a way of payment

02:45she gave off this impression that she was harmless but in reality she could fight her own battles

02:53the gunslinger Nate Champion played by actor Christopher Walken was also romantically linked with Ella which

03:03sets up this whole love triangle between them all champion was a friend of Averill's so that added a whole

03:13deeper level of betrayal to the whole situation separately to all of this a death list which targeted many

03:22immigrant farmers had been issued by the wealthy cattle ranchers the news quickly traveled through the

03:29the county and of course spread fear among the residents Christopherson's character Averill later found out that

03:38Ella's name was also included on the list and so he encouraged her to leave Wyoming before it was too late

03:46this all eventually led to an epic battle between the immigrant settlers and the mercenary army

03:52guns were firing horses were charging lives were being lost on both sides I mean yeah just a

04:00very brutal battle there's no denying that it was impressively staged with the camera capturing some

04:09amazing visuals throughout it felt very authentic almost as if the you know cameramen had gone back in time and

04:20filmed the actual event as it happened now I don't know the exact number of days but clearly this sequence

04:28took a long time to film I mean to execute such a major scene like that would have been difficult for

04:37the most seasoned director so absolute credit to all those involved one of the most defining features

04:46heavens gate has to offer is its truly wonderful cinematography by the late Vilmus Sigmund while the

04:54cinematographer has had a lengthy career in the film industry producing some stunning work when it comes

05:01to heavens gate the imagery that he produced was truly remarkable I really just can't stress enough

05:10just how well this movie looks and you know arguably perhaps one of the greatest looking movies ever put to

05:20screen now I recently purchased the heavens gate blu-ray for the first time and seeing it again after all

05:28those years but this time in high resolution was just an amazing experience at times with certain shots

05:38it was almost like a picture had come to life it was that beautiful now some of you may know already

05:48there are a lot of stories coming out of the production of heavens gate that heavily criticized Michael

05:54Cimino and his ways in which he was directing the movie it was reported that Cimino on several different

06:04occasions delayed the filming due to poor lighting or poor weather conditions

06:11Cimino had specific imagery in mind that he wanted to capture on film and so he didn't hesitate in waiting

06:22or delaying things to make sure he got the right shots even if that meant wasting time or the movie

06:29studio's money so with the pressure off Sigmund the cinematographer was able to give extra time and

06:38attention to the imagery that he was creating for the film now of course I understand the criticisms

06:46that Cimino faced along with the other producers among them the mistreatment of animals during filming

06:55and the mismanagement of money that led to the movie studio united artists going bankrupt

07:03you know that stuff can't be excused Cimino made several poor decisions and had major miscommunication

07:13with the studio he and many others were to blame for how things turned out but through all of the bad

07:23the end result was a remarkable looking western that stands the test of time through all the obstacles

07:32Cimino persevered and was able to deliver an outstanding piece of cinema

07:39you know he gets criticized but I give him credit I give credit to Cimino because ultimately he had a

07:47vision and he had the determination to see it through besides the visual brilliance and the whole grand

07:56scope of Heaven's Gate the film also featured an amazing soundtrack by composer David Mansfield

08:03his soothing and somber material really lifted the film's overall mood and spirit

08:09the music often blended so well with the stunning imagery on screen it really was the uh perfect

08:18combination now the legendary John Williams who we all know and love was originally asked to provide

08:26the score before he declined and Mansfield was hired now I think John Williams is of course extremely

08:33talented he's provided some classic soundtracks over the years but I feel he wouldn't have been right for

08:41Heaven's Gate I could be wrong but I just get the impression that John Williams would have likely

08:48provided a more conventional and dramatic soundscape that you would expect to hear in westerns

08:55Mansfield's softer approach was the right one and gave the story a lot more depth and saw dislikes for

09:06Heaven's Gate 1980 my main dislike for the film would have to be its length now I know it's become a bit of a

09:15cliche to criticize Heaven's Gate for its length but it was detrimental to the film and it can't be

09:24ignored I love Heaven's Gate I think it deserves more praise than it gets but this was a long movie

09:32and in fact it was too long and kind of ruined the viewers experience now I've already mentioned that

09:41one of the main positives that Heaven's Gate has to offer is this wonderful authentic look and feel

09:48clearly a lot of time and energy went into capturing such stunning footage and while I loved all of

09:56that I do feel that too much time was spent on showcasing the locations which led to a significant

10:04amount of narrative and tension that was lost in the process I mean the movie ran for over three and a

10:12half hours you know I'm all for indulging in some great storytelling and cinematography but a tighter

10:19edit was needed you know let me clarify I really did like the long drawn out sequences it really helped

10:27us the audience understand the characters more I just think that certain aspects needed to be either

10:33trimmed back or completely removed to help the film's overall pace like the opening sequence the um

10:41graduation at Oxford for me the whole thing was not essential to the story it was this grandiose

10:51moment with all these students dancing in unison in circles I mean it was you know once again clearly

10:59a lot of time and effort and attention had been put into capturing and creating that sequence

11:06but was it really necessary watching that sequence again and just knowing how much of the rest of the

11:16film that we had to go I kind of feel that the graduation scene really didn't need to be there

11:23and I think it may have just be better if the film had started with Christopherson's character Averill arriving in Wyoming

11:33now in post-production Cimino took it upon himself to edit the film without any involvement from the movie studio

11:42this of course led to more issues between the director and united artists but ultimately Cimino

11:50was not budging it was his vision his baby and he didn't want to let anyone else tamper with his creation

12:00now I have experience in editing and to think about sitting down for days weeks editing such

12:10you know I mean momentous you know project like Heaven's Gate is a big task for anyone a fresh set of eyes

12:21helping Cimino in the editing room would have been beneficial to him but I guess he had kind of

12:30tunnel vision it was going to be him or no one else it is what it is but yeah I just wish Cimino

12:37Cimino was more open to suggestions and so ratings for Heaven's Gate 1980 I'm going to be rating this

12:48movie a strong 8.5 out of 10. Heaven's Gate is one of the last great masterpieces of American cinema

12:58that I do believe will be celebrated by future generations there's no denying that the media

13:05were completely unfair in their criticism of the film which led to Heaven's Gate being branded a

13:12box office failure for many years and it has to be said that upon Heaven's Gate you know coming out

13:23it kind of ruined or definitely hindered Michael Cimino's career

13:28he of course went on to make some other films including Year of the Dragon a movie starring Mickey

13:34Rourke that I've reviewed on his channel but his name definitely carried a lot of baggage unwanted

13:43baggage you know I heard about this movie and its issues and you know all the craziness surrounding the

13:52movie before I ever actually sat down and watched it by the time I actually watched it you know of course

13:59it isn't perfect and as I said the main thing is the length but no one can deny it's an absolute masterpiece

14:05it really is a superb effort in filmmaking Cimino put all of his efforts into producing a potent

14:15meditative western which I would describe as outstanding which I would describe as outstanding

14:21as I said it's not perfect and my rating reflects that but Heaven's Gate really is a unique

14:28piece of filmmaking it's a one-of-a-kind film and it's not like any other western I've seen

14:36the attention to detail the visuals the mood that was created I mean props to Cimino because

14:48for me even though it was a long film I definitely got something out of it

14:54the movie just deserves more praise I mean you know people don't really criticize films like

15:00Lawrence of Arabia or Citizen Kane wow these great amazing movies and you know they are but um

15:09Heaven's Gate should be you know listed along those titles I mean it's it's that much of a great film

15:17the media just killed it you know and it's a great example of how

15:22you know the media can turn against you so to speak I mean Cimino was loved by the critics

15:30upon the release of the deer hunter but you know a year and a half two years later he was hated and

15:36listen I'm all for you know someone getting criticized but it was unfair like I've mentioned

15:42I mean so many people have said this and it becomes more and more apparent as the years go on and as more

15:49people even a younger audience see this film for the first time it has a lot going for it has a lot to

15:55offer yes it's long but it's worth your time and uh yeah the critics are wrong about this one

16:03if you're watching this and you haven't seen it yet I recommend it it's definitely worth your time but

16:08of course be aware it is long so uh prepare yourself to uh indulge for three and a half hours but that

16:17said you know it's like a perfect Sunday afternoon movie after you're just eating dinner and you know

16:22kind of relaxing as I said it's got a very calm nature about it so yeah a unique western and uh

16:30yeah recommended from me well that's all for me today guys I hope you've enjoyed the video

16:35it's been nice to reminisce about this uh great movie and um for those that have seen it but not

16:41see it in a while uh I would recommend getting the blu-ray because that was uh quite something to see it

16:48in you know high definition for the first time anyways I'll be back next week with more reviews

16:53take care guys all the very best

17:04you

17:23you

17:36you

17:38you

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