Review of Heaven's Gate (1980) by Eric H — 25 Jun 2013
"Heaven's Gate" is not one of the worst movies ever made, but it is awfully tempting, for me, to call it just that. For 216 minutes, it left me writhing with boredom and frustration, only occasionally interested.
I can forgive the movie's pointless prologue of a beginning, for it does feature what is probably the best scene set to the "Blue Danube" waltz since "2001: A Space Odyssey." But the ending, which is factually much shorter but seems so much longer, is an incoherent and confusing fiasco.
As is much of what happens in the middle. So, no, the movie is not particularly worth rediscovering as far as I am concerned. Yes, Michael Cimino is a brilliant talent, and he deserved a better chance to redeem himself.
But that's no excuse for mislabeling one of the clunkiest pictures ever made as a masterpiece.
This review of Heaven's Gate (1980) was written by Eric H on 25 Jun 2013.
Heaven's Gate has generally received positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
