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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
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 Gen G Rampant animal abuse. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 07/09/24 Full Review Dave S Universally panned, and justifiably so, upon its release in 1980, Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate is now considered (by some) as some sort of masterpiece. It’s not a masterpiece. To its benefit, the premise is interesting – wealthy cattle barons in 1890s Wyoming wage war against poor European immigrants, who they believe to be immoral and a detriment to the American way of life. Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond does a commendable job, creating a handful of memorable images of the remarkable landscape. However, many scenes appear to be shot through a veil of dust, smoke, and/or fog, muddying what is already, in many ways, a muddy movie. Many scenes, including the odd roller-skating dance party, serve no discernable purpose, the motivation of many of the characters is unclear, there is some truly cringe-worthy dialogue (“you talk like a man with a paper ass!!”), and Cimino’s ponderous decision making as a director would lead you to believe he was never really sure where he was going with the movie. It might be worth watching as a curiosity item, but not much else. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 06/26/24 Full Review Scott M I enjoyed it. It does take effort to remain engaged throughout the film. Kind of like a European movie. The action gets really good in the last hour. The first hour was very slow and could've been cut by half. The acting was okay. Nothing great but it didn't hurt the film. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/02/24 Full Review Read all reviews
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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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