Heaven's Gate

I probably would've been content never seeing Heaven's Gate and just referencing it as a historical mess. One that almost ruined a studio. But my workplace, The Hollywood Theatre, was showing a 35mm print the past few days, so I figured if I'm ever going to see it, on a big screen in 35 was the way to do it.

There's a good movie in there somewhere. Perhaps contained in what was shot. At its core, the story is quite arresting. Two men love the same woman, a madame who takes stolen cattle as payment for her and her girls services. She ends up on a hit list along with most of the town. One of her lovers has been tracking down people on this list.

There's potential for an awful lot of conflict there and in many ways I admire the film. There is a tremendous sense of place with the sets feeling authentic and, more importantly, bustling with life. Much like McCabe and Mrs. Miller (also shot by Vilmos Zsigmond), Heaven's Gate lacks the romanticized feel of many westerns; you feel like you have to wipe your feet watching everyone tromp through the mud. There's some beautiful imagery and nice performances, so why doesn't it work? I'm inclined to forget about the many controversies surrounding Heaven's Gate (discussions about animal cruelty and budget overruns aren't very productive when trying to evaluate a films merits) in trying answer that question.

First, I want to make it clear that Heaven's Gate isn't nearly as bad as its reputation. I think the critical reception has as a lot to do with people wanting to get their licks in on an already notorious film (interestingly, readers of Empire voted it the 6th worst film of all time, but on IMDb it has just under 5,000 user ratings suggesting that perhaps people are voting based on reputation alone). Christopher Walken's climactic scene is phenomenal. Actually, nearly all of the post-intermission film is worthwhile. It's getting there that's a slough.

The film opens at a Harvard graduation (note: there is a lot cut out from this scene) where we meet several of the men with whom we'll be spending quite a lot of time. This preface to the story reminds me a lot of the wedding in The Deer Hunter except without anything of importance being set up. The only thing really established is that Jim (Kris Kristofferson), Billy (John Hurt), and Frank (Sam Waterston) graduated from Harvard together. That and Jim liked a girl in college. The film takes around twenty or so minutes to set that up and it doesn't really matter much in terms of the rest of the story (apparently the studio let Cimino shoot it for $3 million in England after principle photography was finished, which is crazy to me). In fact, the only thing to come out of this is paid off in the equally useless epilogue where it turns out Jim was married the whole time to his college sweetheart. It adds a nice irony to his anger about Ella's (Isabelle Huppert) desire for two men, but that comes through pretty clearly with the photograph by Jim's bed. By excising the prologue and epilogue, the film loses about 30 minutes of run time without hurting the narrative remotely.

We head to Wyoming twenty years later and are introduced to a mightily impressive set and we ease into the action (and ease is a polite way of saying it). I'll admit to drifting in and out of consciousness during these scenes and frankly, I didn't miss anything. Bloated is the perfect term for why Heaven's Gate doesn't always work. Scenes go on well past their expiration date. Spectacle becomes the order of the day. As nice as this scene looks (followed up by the embedded clip), it doesn't really serve much purpose (and why is it in sepia?). We already know the town is close.


In the first hour and fifty minutes, there's probably around thirty to forty minutes of useful footage. As I said, the film picks up after the intermission and I'd be content to leave most of that in. Sure, it's still bloated, but at least it's action. The shootouts reminded me of Peckinpah, which is never a bad thing.

One minor annoyance was the use of The Blue Danube Waltz in the soundtrack (played by a lone acoustic guitar). That song is completely linked to 2001: A Space Odyssey in my head that every time I heard it, I was distracted, and you hear it a lot. I can't really fathom why composer, David Mansfield, would choose a song already associated with another film, especially one so popular. At least he was good at roller skating and fiddling at the same time.

Say whatever you will about the methods of Cimino (allegedly he tore down the town only to have it rebuilt because he thought the streets weren't wide enough), when the dust has settled, there's something remarkable about the accomplishments of him and his crew. A studio may have been nearly destroyed, but their craftsmanship stands as a testament to their incredible work. In the end, the film is the thing. If it doesn't get finished, then all was for nothing (the same can be said of The Adventures of Baron Munchausen). Studios have to keep their eyes on the bottom line, but trying to craft a motion picture purely for big opening weekends is missing the point. Films are not brief moments in time. They have a life beyond that weekend. Some age well, some don't, but playing it safe will never yield more than fleeting notoriety. Sure, Heaven's Gate is a mess, but that's what makes it interesting.

As a final note, I think it would be interesting to try to edit the footage available to see if one can make a good 1.5 to 2 hour movie out of it.