Heaven's Gate

Movie

1980

3h 37m

English

Drama, Western, Romance

User Score:

6.5

Critic Score:

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Heaven's Gate

Movie

1980

3h 37m

English

Drama, Western, Romance

Play Trailer

Watch on Hoopla

Harvard graduate James Averill 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, a mercenary competing with Averill for the love of local madam Ella Watson. As the struggle escalates, Averill and Champion begin to question their decisions.

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6.5

IMDB

CRITIC SCORE

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Cast

James Averill

Nathan D. Champion

Billy Irvine

Frank Canton

Mr. Eggleston

Ella Watson

The Reverend Doctor

John L. Bridges

Major Wolcott

Mayor Charlie Lezak

Trapper Fred

Cully

Beautiful girl

Mary Catherine Wright

Nell

Small man

Big man

Photographer

Captain Minardi

Morrison

Mrs. Eggleston

George Kopestonsky

Mrs. Kopestonsky

Mrs. Lezak

Jake

Russian Merchant

Directed By: Michael Cimino

Written By: Michael Cimino (Screenplay)

Featured Comments/Tips

stevenst1892 says...

7 years ago

Do not believe ratings for this truly amazing movie and go watch the Michael Cimino-approved version of 219 minutes. It is one of the best films ever made and a true masterpiece (that has cruelly been bashed or overlooked for too long). Photography is breathtaking, music is astounding, the actors are great, the narrative technique is close to a literary feat with the very effective use of ellipses (used perfectly by Cimino in The Deer Hunter as well) and the overall story is really human, touching and down to earth. It is a grandiose American epic with a philosophical spirit. It is one of the best proofs that cinema is Art.

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Spiritualized Kaos says...

5 months ago

One of Hollywood's biggest flops, without being too bad.

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tcg37 says...

4 months ago

this was surprisingly good until the last act when it took a nosedive. and holy crap, the very end... wtf? killing the love interest and the best friend can potentially work, but this execution was terrible.

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amasulem says...

3 years ago

A sprawling epic which languishes luxuriantly over atmosphere, sound and visuals. Storywise it falters, as it builds too slowly, with too much given over to the artistic excess. Yes, a feast for the eyes, but it spends too long on establishing shots or creating a feeling. The Johnson County War was just a thematic device and the story is not really to be found her except in a few bits of plot scaffolding. Yet, and I mean this, the story once you get through it, stays with you, and you are there with him on the boat at the end, pondering what could have been.

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Featured User Reviews

bruadaire-deleted-1546374802

10/10 6 years ago

_It's gettin' dangerous to be poor in this country._

I've been aware of _Heaven's Gate_ for years as little more than a punchline, the butt of a thousand jokes about Hollywood's over-indulgence. It didn't occur to me that it might actually have some worth as a film until I More

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adorablepanic

4 years ago

Has any film undergone the level of critical turnaround afforded HEAVEN'S GATE (1980) since its initial banishment and failure? Nearly four decades removed from the vitriol and scorn heaped upon, not only the film, but the hubris of its director and the perceived wastefulness of an out-of-control pr More

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Wuchak

5 years ago

***Cimino’s epic Western about the Johnson County War, unjustly lambasted by critics***

With the government’s blessing, cattle barons in Wyoming circa 1890 hire an army of mercenaries to kill claimed rustlers who, in many cases, are innocent settlers. A marshal born into wealth (Kris Kristoff More

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John Chard

5 years ago

Heaven’s Gate (1980)

Barbed wire and women are the two greatest civilising agents in the world.

Heaven’s Gate is written and directed by Michael Cimino and stars Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, Isabelle Huppert, Jeff Bridges, John Hurt and Sam Waterston. Music is by David Mansfield More

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