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Heaven's Gate

Play trailer Poster for Heaven's Gate R Released Apr 23, 1981 3h 38m Western History Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
57% Tomatometer 46 Reviews 54% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Harvard graduate James Averill (Kris Kristofferson) is the sheriff of prosperous Jackson County, Wyo., when a battle erupts between the area's poverty-stricken immigrants and its wealthy cattle farmers. The politically connected ranch owners fight the immigrants with the help of Nathan Champion (Christopher Walken), a mercenary competing with Averill for the love of local madam Ella Watson (Isabelle Huppert). As the struggle escalates, Averill and Champion begin to question their decisions.
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Heaven's Gate

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Critics Consensus

Heaven's Gate contains too many ideas and striking spectacle to be a disaster, but this western buckles under the weight of its own sprawl.

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Critics Reviews

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Wendy Ide Times (UK) It is a bloated Western that contains some extraordinary moments, a lot of heavy-handed political commentary and a hell of a lot of padding. Rated: 3/5 Mar 27, 2015 Full Review Peter Bradshaw Guardian It is a demanding film, without a doubt - but a passionate one. Rated: 5/5 Aug 1, 2013 Full Review Nigel Andrews Financial Times Cimino endows the visuals with a Zola-esque texture and realism. But the characterisation and dramatic reach go beyond even that. Rated: 5/5 Aug 1, 2013 Full Review Yasser Medina Cinefilia An epic western in which Cimino portrays a panorama of injustice and class struggle, with a beauty close to a Frederic Remington canvas, but whose narrative consistency dissipates like a cloud of dust. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 5/10 Oct 5, 2023 Full Review Stefan Pape Common Sense Media Epic but brutal Western has nudity, sexual violence. Rated: 4/5 Jan 16, 2021 Full Review Alberto Abuín Espinof A masterpiece that in every new dancing party presents new dancing steps. [Full Review in Spanish] Aug 28, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (366) audience reviews
Audience Member "The Deer Hunter" sucked and this was worse. Who ever said Kris Kristofferson could act? Or Jeff Bridges, either? At least this didn't have Meryl Streep or Robert DeNiro adding to the overall stink, but it did have that freak Christopher Walken. Roller skating is the Big Thing in a so-called "Western?" Let's get real here: those currently giving this multiple stars are watching it on their big screen home theatre on a comfortable couch with free snacks and a private bathroom which they can use anytime without missing any of the movie. They didn't get soaked for tickets and overpriced popcorn at 1980's prices. They can conveniently break up the overlong running time over multiple viewing sessions. They can even fast-forward through numerous poorly edited scenes; ie. Cut to the Chase. IOW, they can avoid all the inconveniences and expenses that totally ticked off the original audience. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 12/09/24 Full Review Benjamin R A misunderstood masterpiece. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/22/24 Full Review nick s Worth watching for the impressive sets alone. Don't expect a movie that feels terribly authentic - I suspect it has neither the historical accuracy or atmosphere of actual events. But I think the biggest issue with this movie is in the story telling. For much of its runtime it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. There are drawn out scenes that don't appear to advance the plot and I started to lose patience with it. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/18/24 Full Review Jerry E The movie is simply boring. It’s long and dull. A few impressive crowd scenes don’t save the basic drabness of the whole thing. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 10/13/24 Full Review Linda W This film failed in America but was received well in Europe. Tastes are quite different and imo, Europeans have greater patience and appreciation for films and tv shows that allow a story to develop at a slower pace. My husband and I saw this on tv and could not tear ourselves away from it. It's depth and the story it tells on how brutal the west was rings truer than it is all too often depicted in sugar coated views of many westerns coming out of Hollywood. It's tough to watch some scenes and the music from the waltz scene still rings in my ears some 20 years later. Yes, it is long, but then so are some of the mini series shown today, but we truly loved everything about this film. It is still my favourite 'western' to this day Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/30/24 Full Review Andy B Welcome to the film that makes a Peter Jackson film look like a masterpiece of editing and brevity. While the acting is good, the script ranges from the incomprehensible to the bizarre (I’ve never heard of anyone being accused of having a “paper arse-hole” before). Some of the scenery is spectacular, but most scenes are overlong and the plot proceeds at a glacial pace. The good thing about the film is that you can step out to go to the toilet, take a shower, prepare and eat a three course meal and the film will still be going. Also, you’ll know what’s going on as absolutely nothing will have happened. When it came out, this film was rightly panned and considered one of the great flops of all time. Since then, opinions have changed with commentary looking at the filmmaking. With that in mind, it’s still mine-bendingly dull. It is an endurance test rather than an enjoyment. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 07/11/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Heaven's Gate

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis Harvard graduate James Averill (Kris Kristofferson) is the sheriff of prosperous Jackson County, Wyo., when a battle erupts between the area's poverty-stricken immigrants and its wealthy cattle farmers. The politically connected ranch owners fight the immigrants with the help of Nathan Champion (Christopher Walken), a mercenary competing with Averill for the love of local madam Ella Watson (Isabelle Huppert). As the struggle escalates, Averill and Champion begin to question their decisions.
Director
Michael Cimino
Producer
Joann Carelli
Screenwriter
Michael Cimino
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, United Artists
Production Co
United Artists, Partisan Productions
Rating
R
Genre
Western, History, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 23, 1981, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 16, 2008
Runtime
3h 38m
Sound Mix
Dolby, Surround
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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