Review of Heaven's Gate (1980) by The3Academysins — 02 Apr 2019

Heaven's Gate lives up to its reputation of being one of the worst films of all time. However, is it a perfect zero? I don't think so. There are some good performances scattered throughout the star studded ensemble cast, and the soundtrack is pretty good.

There are even some really beautiful shots. The problem with Heaven's Gate lies solely on the the direction. The Deer Hunter, this ain't. There is absolutely no focus on anything happening in this movie.

The plot is so confusing and underexplained I had no idea what was happening onscreen. The only thing I was able to discern is that Kris Kristofferson is the main character. Where The Deer Hunter was tightly focused, the sprawl of Heaven's Gate is difficult to wade through, particularly at a nearly 4 hour run time.

At least the nearly 4 hour runtime version makes a little more sense. God help you if you watch the 2 hour version. If you are curious about film history, the death of United Artists, the death of naturalism in film, and the death of Michael Cimino's career, and the reason we have "No Animals Were Harmed in the Making of This Movie" then I cannot recommend Heaven's Gate enough.