After years of reading articles, watching making-of documentaries, and seeing clips from various scenes on YouTube, I finally sat down and watched the beautifully epic chaos known as Michael Cimino’s HEAVEN’S GATE (1980).
This film’s legacy is well known to most cinephiles and is best known for being the film where creative ego drove everyone involved into near insanity (and bankruptcy).
However, I wanted to try and watch HEAVEN’S GATE without any intention of judging the film for what it’s known for (i.e.-animal cruelty, dangerous stunts, multiple takes, and a very long running time). I wanted to watch this film in one sitting and see what I thought of it just as a movie.
I used the phrase “beautifully epic chaos” earlier and I think it’s the best way to describe my feelings towards it. HEAVEN’S GATE is an astounding achievement in photography, set design, art direction, and costuming. At the same time, the simple act of understanding relationships between the characters is very muddled. It’s difficult to feel the connections Cimino wants his audience to follow.
Loosely based on events in Wyoming during the Johnson County War during the late 1800’s, HEAVEN’S GATE is a tragic story of what happens when the law is taken into your own hands. Mob mentality and insufficient evidence to crimes is the catalyst for an abundant amount of unnecessary violence between ranch owners, and groups of immigrant farmers trying to survive.
James Averill (Kris Kristofferson) is a lawman who’s aware of the trouble in Johnson County, and feels compassion for the immigrant farmers, but is also stern when it comes to the law. James is particularly concerned for the safety of the madam who runs the local brothel, Ella Watson (Isabelle Huppert). James has a long standing relationship with her and urges her to leave her life in Johnson County while she still can. However, James isn’t alone in his concern for Ella. Nathan Champion (Christopher Walken) a gun for hire is also afraid for Ella’s life, and is fully aware that danger is eminent.
Frank Canton (played with delicious pomposity by Sam Waterston) claims to have legal grounds for creating a death list with over 100 names of immigrants to be assassinated in Johnson County, with Ella’s name included.
The love triangle between James, Ella, and Nathan didn’t hit me as emotionally as I felt it should. I chalk this up to the unclear relationship between James and Nathan. They clearly have history, but each of them take actions that left me confused. Perhaps some more insight into their past would have made things clearer.
HEAVEN’S GATE is a work of art, and tries to place emotion here and there between characters. However, it’s clear that the attention to period detail, beautiful lighting, and lavish spectacle took center stage. The main conflict is resolved in glorious and epic cinematic fashion, but the character conflict is handled so abruptly that it felt completely jarring. After spending over three hours with these characters I would have thought that their conclusion would have been handled with a little more emotional delicacy.
It’s no wonder that an audience felt “ripped off” by HEAVEN’S GATE. The quick and tragic end to our characters stands in complete contrast to the lengthy time we spend with them. We learn little about them. I understood their purpose, but I felt disconnected from them. This has a lot to do with what I feel are my two biggest issues with film: the script and the editing. Epic’s are defined by their length and scope. HEAVEN’S GATE has both, but it would have benefited from some trimming of the epic scenes, and adding some scenes of character interaction. Without the connection to the characters, this epic is splendid to look at, but ends up being in service of less than it could have been.
There is so much to love about HEAVEN’S GATE, but unfortunately there is an equal amount to be frustrated by. It could have been a film known for what it does best, as opposed to the cautionary tale it has become. The performances are great, but the actors need more to work with. The cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond is mesmerizing and this film should be viewed for the lensing alone. The fact that HEAVEN’S GATE exists is sort of a miracle. An epic art film. A tragic film with an even more tragic legacy. It will forever be the movie that could have been.
Fun Score: 1/5
QC Score: 2/5