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Heaven's Gate

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Heaven's Gate (1980)

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45 %
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Reviews Counted: 20

Fresh: 9

Rotten:11

Average Rating: 5/10

Runtime: 3 hrs 42 mins

Genre: Westerns

Synopsis: An epic post-Vietnam look at the Western genre and the exploitation of immigrant settlers, HEAVEN'S GATE is based on the historical 1890s Johnson County War incident in Wyoming. Visually remarkable sequences and a haunting score frame... An epic post-Vietnam look at the Western genre and the exploitation of immigrant settlers, HEAVEN'S GATE is based on the historical 1890s Johnson County War incident in Wyoming. Visually remarkable sequences and a haunting score frame the story. Sheriff James Averill (Kris Kristofferson), educated in the east and full of idealism, attempts to protect immigrant farmers when wealthy land barons hire mercenaries to settle their scores. The hired guns, including Nathan Champion (Christopher Walken), plan to kill a number of farmers whose names appear on a death list and whom the farmers believe have been stealing their cattle. Backed by the army and the federal government, the mercenaries prepare to attack the farmers when Averill and Champion clash over the impending massacre and Ella Watson (Isabelle Huppert), a local prostitute and woman they both love. Shot right after Cimino's triumphant DEER HUNTER, the film is a violent, unsentimental look at the American frontier. [More]

Starring: Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, Isabelle Huppert, John Hurt

Starring: Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, Isabelle Huppert, John Hurt, Jeff Bridges, Sam Waterston, Mickey Rourke

Director: Michael Cimino

Director: Michael Cimino
Studio: MGM/UA

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Heaven's Gate

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Derek Adams
Time Out
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A public health menace.

comment Comment
08/08/02
Victor Olliver
Teletext
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
07/22/08
Variety
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If you can get past its self-indulgences, somewhat ineffectual action scenes and other structural flaws in its filmmaking, it's really quite a remarkable film.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment 1 Comment
03/05/06
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
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Maybe not the masterpiece Cimino intended, but in its 219-minute version Heaven's Gate is a very good Western, and not nearly the disaster some have unfairly labeled it.

comment Comment
02/15/06
Chuck O'Leary
FulvueDrive-in.com
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No review available.

comment Comment
07/01/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
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No review available.

comment Comment
03/30/05
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat
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This movie is $36 million thrown to the winds. It is the most scandalous cinematic waste I have ever seen, and remember, I've seen Paint Your Wagon.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 1 Comment
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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has considerable curiosity value... as an important piece of contemporary film history and as an example of how a filmmaker got it so wrong by trying so hard to get it right.

Full Review Source: Kalamazoo Gazette | comment Comment
10/11/04
James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette
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A great movie which did not deserve the lousy reputation heaped on it by vituperative critics.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment 1 Comment
10/07/04
Phil Hall
Film Threat
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The lie of frontier idealism is debunked, and Vilmos Zsigmond's mistily gorgeous cinematography is virtually an act of mourning in and of itself.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
10/06/04
Michael Atkinson
Village Voice
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Heaven's Gate' is something quite rare in movies these days -- an unqualified disaster.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
08/30/04
Vincent Canby
New York Times
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It is sensitive and it is condescending. It has enormous ambition and winds up with nothing to say. Eventually, it’s just sadly exhausting.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
04/18/04
Mark Athitakis
Filmcritic.com
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No review available.

comment Comment
01/30/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
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No review available.

comment Comment
09/02/03
Dan Jardine
Apollo Guide
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No review available.

comment Comment
08/22/03
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal
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Too long and pretentious to properly work -- shave off a good half-hour and you might have something.

comment Comment
06/12/03
Luke Y. Thompson
New Times
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No review available.

comment Comment
11/18/02
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
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Such attention to detail cannot overcome the impatience audiences will feel with this overlong film.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/05/02
Boxoffice Magazine
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Because of its ambition, the film is sometimes sloppy, but that sloppiness is forgivable because it’s the exalted, compelling kind.

Full Review Source: MovieMartyr.com | comment Comment
03/31/02
Jeremy Heilman
MovieMartyr.com
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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