Heaven's Gate: The "Cursed" Film that Nearly Took Down United Artists

1980's Heaven's Gate by director Michael Cimino was 400% over budget and a year late, serious undermining the success and stability of the once dominant United Artists. Critics across the the board panned it, calling the film everything from "ugly," to "cursed." Hollywood Suite's Alicia Fletcher explains how the subsequent 40 years have allowed a re-assement of a film that features a stellar cast and mesmerizing cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond.

[@nicholasjanke3476]

Isabelle Huppert hoped this film would get her hired for more work in Hollywood, but that didnt really happen-though she has had a few more parts in Hollywood.

[@curly_wyn]

This is one of the most misunderstood and wrongfully lambasted films ever, and the newest versions of the film restored it to what it was meant to be, Heaven’s Gate is a masterpiece!

[@LanceStoddard]

I've seen the remastered long version. If you offered me a thousand dollars to watch it again, I would decline.

[@MichaelTelman-we5dm]

I would for 1,000

[@clumpyschlipz7571]

didnt Cimino make UA pay to rent land that he already owned, as well as kill a horse.

[@MichaelTelman-we5dm]

It has it's moments, but it was pretty pretentious

[@MichaelTelman-we5dm]

The criterion version takes the sepia tone off,but Siskle and Ebert were right, it's like a shit ton of dust and fog. They're great set pieces,but basically it's a western. Cimino probably should have stayed closers to the actually Johnson County war, instead of making it an American progrome. There really wasn't that many eastern Europeans there. Year of The Dragon had the same themes,but it was much more exciting. Too bad,because Cimino actually was a talented director. Terrible screen writer, and kind of arrogant. It's the only Hollywood story were you feel bad for the executives. Probably loved more by Europeans because it really is the most anti American western ever. Even spaghetti westerns believed in the myth.