MovieChat Forums > Heaven's Gate (1981) Discussion > Still finding its audience 35 years late...

Still finding its audience 35 years later.

posted 9 years ago by Mickey77
1 reply | jump to latest

Heaven's Gate is seriously flawed - miscasting, uneven pace etc.

But it does have a quality that is unique.

A stronger producer would have ensured a more organised production while allowing Cimino to still achieve his vision.

The FATAL ERROR was the withdrawing of the film after its initial opening in 1980. I think it would have found its audience in its original form over time. Initial reviews for the film were woeful - but that's not unique. When ROCKY first opened the reviews were luke-warm at best - but the film was allowed to find its audience over the first month - and it went on to be a smash. I'm not saying that this would have happened to Heavens Gate - but Cimino's pulling it for theatres after a week killed any hope of the film ever finding an audience. And postponing the worldwide release compounded the error.

I saw it in 70mm on a giant screen in 1983 (after having seen the awful short version the year before). There is no comparison - original with all its flaws it still a thing of beauty - short version is an incoherent mess.

"Thank God For Darwin"

[–] col_rutherford 9 years ago

Opinions about Heaven's Gate have become more favourable in the last few years. Heaven's Gate recently placed 98th in a BBC poll of critics' choices for the top 100 greatest American films.