7.6 | / 10 |
Users | 4.4 | |
Reviewer | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.7 |
A Harvard graduate relocates to Wyoming as a federal marshal. There, he learns of a government-sanctioned plot by cattle barons to kill the area's European settlers for their land. The resulting battle is based on the bloody real-life Johnson County War of 1892.
Starring: Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, John Hurt, Sam Waterston, Brad DourifDrama | 100% |
War | 17% |
Western | 16% |
History | 14% |
Period | 14% |
Romance | 13% |
Epic | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.5 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
Nominated for the prestigious Palme d'Or Award at the Cannes Film Festival, Michael Cimino's "Heaven's Gate" (1980) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on this release include original promo materials; new audio discussion with director Michael Cimino and producer Joann Carelli; video interview with Kris Kristofferson; video interview with actor and musician David Mansfield; video interview with second assistant director Michael Stevenson; and a restoration demonstration. The release also arrives with an illustrated booklet featuring an essay by critic and programmer Giulia D'Agnolo Vallan. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
On the road to Heaven
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:
"Because the original negative of the film was cut down to 149 minutes during its theatrical release in 1981, it could not serve as the basis for this restoration of director Michael Cimino's preferred 216-minute version. Fortunately, the long version had been preserved in the 35mm YCM color separation masters (protection elements capable of precisely reproducing the color in the negative film). Supervised by Cimino, this new digital transfer was created at Colorworks in Culver City, California, by scanning each separation element at 2K resolution on a Scanity, then digitally recombining them to reproduce the color of the original negative. In addition, slight trims and alterations were made to certain scenes and the intermission was removed, allowing the filmmaker to finally have his vision presented as he originally intended. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter, and flicker were manually removed using MTI's DRS and Pixel Farm's PFClean, while Image Systems' Phoenix was used for small dirt, grain, and noise reduction.
Transfer supervisors: Michael Cimino, Maria Palazzola.
Colorist: Sheri Eisenberg."
The new, restored and supervised by director Michael Cimino high-definition transfer is a thing of beauty. Anyone who has previously seen Heaven's Gate only via the R1 DVD release, which MGM produced back in 2000, is essentially going to experience an entirely different film now with the Blu-ray release. Not only are detail and clarity dramatically improved, but the film's color-scheme is very different. There are major adjustments and corrections practically everywhere. In fact, the original negative of Michael Cimino's preferred version of the film, which was severely cut for the film's 1981 release, was apparently very seriously damaged and thus could not be used for the new 2K restoration. However, the colors in the original negative were restored under the direct supervision of the director and then used to regrade the new master. Needless to say, many of the panoramic sequences which the great Vilmos Zsigmond lensed now look simply stunning. The film's unique dreamy look is now also far more consistent. The darker sequences, in particular, convey a type of depth that has always been missing from the various poor DVD releases the film has had in different regions. There are no traces of excessive sharpening or degraining. There are no serious compression issues to report in this review either. All in all, considering the condition of the elements Criterion had to work with, this new restoration and reconstruction of Heaven's Gate is indeed a tremendous accomplishment. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:
"The new 5.1 surround soundtrack was remastered and restored at 24-bit from a 6-track magnetic mix, under the direct supervision of Cimino, with an emphasis on improving the audibility of dialog. Clicks, thumps, hiss, and him were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube's integrated station."
The new lossless track, which was also supervised by Michael Cimino, also impresses. There is an excellent range of nuanced dynamics that open up the film very well. The music as well as the shootouts all get a tremendous boost. The massive battle at the end of the film, in particular, should raise some eyebrows -- not because the dynamic movement is likely to test one's audio equipment, rather because from the gunshots to the sound of falling horses to the burning wood, everything sounds incredibly real. The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and easy to follow. Most viewers, however, will likely want to use the English subtitles as various characters speak with thick Slavic accents.
Note: All of the supplemental features are placed on Disc 2.
In one of the supplemental features included on this Blu-ray release, Michael Cimino states that Criterion's new restoration and reconstruction of Heaven's Gate is a miracle. I wholeheartedly agree. This is indeed a spectacular presentation of the definitive director's cut of Heaven's Gate, a glorious film and a true masterpiece of American Cinema which has been misunderstood and undeservedly dismissed by different people during the years. If you are going to experience Heaven's Gate for the first time, I urge you to ignore reading old reviews of the film. See it, think about it and form your own opinion. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
C'era una volta il West / Paramount Presents #44
1968
Il gattopardo
1963
45th Anniversary Edition
1965
2005
1956
1975
1978
2017
2010
1960
1959
1962
1946
1963
1959
1962
1932
1973
65th Anniversary Limited Edition
1957
2012