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Heaven's Gate (1980)


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No, but I read about half of that Final Cut book on the making of the film. Was pretty good, dunno why I didn't finish it.

Apparently the director's cut is much better. Cimino's a weird looking dude these days.

1979:

ku-medium.jpg

2012 (age 73):

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Holy shit, just read this on Wikipedia, now I wish this had come to pass:

"Cimino's dream project has been an adaptation of Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead. Taking its cue from more than the novel, it was largely modeled on architect Jørn Utzon's troubled building of the Sydney Opera House, as well as the construction of the Empire State Plaza in Albany, New York. He wrote the script in between Thunderbolt and Lightfoot and The Deer Hunter, and hoped to have Clint Eastwood play Howard Roark."

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I've told people if they like Barry Lyndon, they'll like this one. And if they've seen Heaven's Gate and liked it, they'll prob. like Heaven's Gate.

It comes down to the movie being a western bromance about 2 guys who went to Ivy League schools and headed west with different agendas, and a bitchin' roller skate dance scene.

Critics had an agenda with directors - One From The Heart after Apocalypse Now, Heavens Gate after Deer Hunter, 1941 after Close Encounters. Go back a few years, New York New York was seen as Scosese's flop. I think Spielberg just managed to have a good team where they were able to maintain a great track record, with minor bumps.

That's why George Lucas had gotten out of Hollywood and broke out of the Director's Guild. He SAW this happening firsthand and didn't want Fox running rampant over his pictures. Lucas took a hit for Howard the Duck and they made such a big deal out of it at the time.

All the documentaries behind the movies are a story in themselves.

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I've told people if they like Barry Lyndon, they'll like this one. And if they've seen Heaven's Gate and liked it, they'll prob. like Heaven's Gate.

It comes down to the movie being a western bromance about 2 guys who went to Ivy League schools and headed west with different agendas, and a bitchin' roller skate dance scene.

Critics had an agenda with directors - One From The Heart after Apocalypse Now, Heavens Gate after Deer Hunter, 1941 after Close Encounters. Go back a few years, New York New York was seen as Scosese's flop. I think Spielberg just managed to have a good team where they were able to maintain a great track record, with minor bumps.

That's why George Lucas had gotten out of Hollywood and broke out of the Director's Guild. He SAW this happening firsthand and didn't want Fox running rampant over his pictures. Lucas took a hit for Howard the Duck and they made such a big deal out of it at the time.

All the documentaries behind the movies are a story in themselves.

Finished watching Barry Lyndon last night....it was o.k. but not something I would watch again soon

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michael cimino is an odd guy for sure. he makes an unqualified masterpiece, 'the deer hunter,' but his eccentricity got the better of him.

i think in today's studio environment a big bomb like 'heaven's gate' wouldn't have ruined him forever, especially based off the merits of his breakthrough film. but back then the studio system was just a different beast, and he made THE biggest flop EVER (at the time), and he was pretty much finished after that. he made a few other films -- mickey rourke was his favourite actor to work with and 'year of the dragon' has some stuff going for it -- but i think his last studio picture was in 1996 and wasn't particularly good.

and yes, he severely modified his personal appearance (there were even rumours that he changed his sex and is now a female, but he denied this) which sealed his fate as a has-been. with the way he acts and the way he looks i doubt he'll be given any more chances.

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michael cimino is an odd guy for sure. he makes an unqualified masterpiece, 'the deer hunter,' but his eccentricity got the better of him.

i think in today's studio environment a big bomb like 'heaven's gate' wouldn't have ruined him forever, especially based off the merits of his breakthrough film. but back then the studio system was just a different beast, and he made THE biggest flop EVER (at the time), and he was pretty much finished after that. he made a few other films -- mickey rourke was his favourite actor to work with and 'year of the dragon' has some stuff going for it -- but i think his last studio picture was in 1996 and wasn't particularly good.

and yes, he severely modified his personal appearance (there were even rumours that he changed his sex and is now a female, but he denied this) which sealed his fate as a has-been. with the way he acts and the way he looks i doubt he'll be given any more chances.

It was weird at what Cimino was being attacked by critics on - the budget of the film - more than the actual film itself.

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