Review of Heaven's Gate (1980) by Marguerite C — 03 Sep 2009

A mediocre movie overall, in some ways Heaven's Gate was lucky to have gotten so completely slammed back in 1980. If it had received the middle-of-the-road reception it deserved, we'd all have forgotten it by now.

But young movie buffs watch it to see if it was really all that awful. And us oldies return to see if we can remember just what the hubbub was all about back in the day. This movie gives us Kris Kristofferson before he ravaged himself and Christopher Walken at the height of his out-of-place ethereal young beauty.

Cimino was obviously a director who appreciated attractive, talented young men with a future; also giving us a young Jeff Bridges and Sam Waterston (pre-Law and Order), John Hurt and Brad Dourif, in addition to an unknown Mickey Rourke in a small part and Willem Dafoe as an undcredited extra.

So, in my latest viewing of this film, I note the disparity between the treatment of men and women by Cimino. Isabelle Huppert stands out in the only good female part. But, even though she is playing a working girl, Ms.

Huppert is left to look drab and virtually make-up free. In scenes with both she and Walken the amount of make-up on the already well-dressed Walken reminds one of silent movie cosmetics. And the scene where Walken takes Kristofferson's hat and eyes himself admiringly in a mirror reinforces one of the ruling errors in the making of this film.

It is a self-indulgent work of art by Michael Cimino that helped bring down a studio and, in the long run, hurt thousands of people employed in the film industry by making is harder to get funding to make good films.