The Gates

2005

1h 38m

Documentary

List

86%

Tomatometer

7 Reviews

60%

Audience Score

100+ Ratings

In February 2005, New York City's Central Park was adorned with 7,503 gates made from steel frames and a saffron-colored nylon fabric. This documentary chronicles the work that went into the controversial, once-in-a-lifetime installation by world-renowned artist Christo and his wife, Jeanne-Claude. The pair must overcome various municipal and political hurdles. Once completed, the installation elicits a full range of reactions from the city's celebrities and non-famous residents.

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Boston Globe

Rated: 3/4

Oct 18, 2008

Full Review

Kenneth Baker

San Francisco Chronicle

People say the $20 million cost of 'The Gates' would have been better spent feeding people, he notes, 'but this feeds the soul.' To a lesser extent, so does the documentary about it.

Rated: 3.5/4

Nov 2, 2007

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

The documentary is pretty much what you'd expect: Two decades of ignorant contempt, followed by the city finding it was really surprisingly fond of 'The Gates.'

Rated: 3/4

Nov 2, 2007

Full Review

Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

One couldn't help but be grateful for the trusting, inspired vision of Albert Maysles.

Rated: 3.5/4.0

Sep 8, 2020

Full Review

Ian Buckwalter

DCist

The film's editing is transparent in its objective: to show how opposition and rancor turn to smiles and tranquility in the face of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's artistic vision.

Rated: 8/10

Jun 9, 2010

Full Review

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Audience Member

Not to judge the art but the film itself is tedious. The last 35 minutes are nothing but gratuitous scenery shots of the artwork over and over and over. I'm a documentary lover but this one fails to retain my interest.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Art has only been born from humans progressing enough to have leisure time and not continually living at a subsistent/survival level. By no means does that take away from the appreciated of it... In the case of the gates, I'm in two minds... part of me appreciates it BUT... 23 miles of the bloody things at a price tag of $20million+ for only 2 weeks... and the faff it took to get them there with all the trip hazard cones... really was a waste. The Docu. however was interesting in that it used footage from concept to execution

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Art feeds the soul. An amazing and gorgeous documentary 25 years in the making.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A mazin' Maysles. A brilliant document of how art communicates instinctively.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I loved that they showed this from conception to implementation. It also showed all sides; the ones who loved the idea and the ones who thought he was putting a nasty scab on a beautiful park. It's real and very well edited. However, i'm not sure i ended up liking Jeanne-Claude very much. I began to feel like she held Christo back and seemed to want the attention directed at her. But, regardless, it was an interesting art film.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I wish I'd been able to see this installation in person. There's something about Christo and Jeanne-Claude that is so wacko but so compelling at the same time. It's fascinating to see how others react to their art.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

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Antonio Ferrera

Director

Albert Maysles

Director

Antonio Ferrera

Producer

Maureen A. Ryan

Producer

Vladimir Yavachev

Producer

Christo

Executive Producer

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Synopsis

In February 2005, New York City's Central Park was adorned with 7,503 gates made from steel frames and a saffron-colored nylon fabric. This documentary chronicles the work that went into the controversial, once-in-a-lifetime installation by world-renowned artist Christo and his wife, Jeanne-Claude. The pair must overcome various municipal and political hurdles. Once completed, the installation elicits a full range of reactions from the city's celebrities and non-famous residents.

Director: Antonio Ferrera, Albert Maysles
Producer: Christo, Jeanne-Claude, Sheila Nevins
Production Co: Maysles Films
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 26, 2020
Runtime: 1h 38m