Michael Cimino
Heaven's Gate

Destroyed by criticism from a country where President Reagan was emerging, tormented by cuts that resulted in numerous different but never complete versions, paradoxically, defined as one of the most beautiful western films in cinema history.

This is "Heaven's Gate," a colossal film made by Cimino, released in 1980 after the success of "The Deer Hunter"; the director did not expect to be quickly crushed by the propaganda machine supporting the new Republican government which would never have tolerated a film that shed light on a forgotten slice of American history, namely the massacre of a Hungarian community in the epic of the North American westward expansion at the hands of mercenaries hired by the local landowners. The film was a colossal fiasco, the critics succeeded in influencing the public, who decreed its complete failure. The film cost a fortune and earned practically nothing, prematurely ending Cimino's career in Hollywood.

The full version of the film has been shown on rare occasions, with few copies circulating among collectors, and only Enrico Ghezzi was fortunate enough to broadcast it on television. Unfortunately, I have not had the pleasure of seeing the full version, but the copy available on the market is a testament to the film. Having undergone many cuts and lacking a definitive edit, the main characteristic of the film is its alternation of moments and pieces of history in a somewhat disjointed way where the plot seems to jump around. The main flaw is perhaps also the element that enhances its charm. Because "Heaven's Gate" in this version is a collage of beautiful moments, of great cinema, especially the dialogues between Sheriff Kristofferson and the prostitute Isabelle Huppert filled with delicate poetry, immersed in splendid cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond. Among the rurality of distant places, violence is the key element; the film is violent, a direct and bitter violence in many scenes, with the blood-soaked finale being its pinnacle.

It's impossible to judge the direction fully, but Cimino crafts a tableau where the roots of the United States are imprinted, a land of strong contradictions exasperated during the era of the moving frontier.