Review of Heaven's Gate (1980) by Calvin C — 05 Mar 2013

Considered the biggest flop in movie history, this nearly 4 hour western epic gets a bad rap for its original cut that many panned when it first came out. The new cut that is shown now and what I saw was not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. It is still long by an hour-and-half or so and some scenes just go on and on for no reason other than to pleasure director Michael Cimino. I see why studios don't give directors full creative control anymore. Michael Cimino ruined it for all future directors with his endless takes and unnecessary scenes. If no one told me about its bad reputation, I would think this movie to be a decent epic with some worthy and effective scenes, especially the last 30 minutes. I love long movies, but here you feel it and it does become a strain 2 hours in. I didn't hate it as much as I thought I would, but I didn't love it either. It's one of those films you watch once and then never bother with it again, just like most people who have seen it. But it is hardly the worst film ever made.

Grade: B-.