Rating summary
Movie | | 5.0 |
Video | | 5.0 |
Audio | | 5.0 |
Extras | | 5.0 |
Overall | | 5.0 |
Heaven's Gate Blu-ray Movie Review
Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 21, 2013
mmNominated 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 French label Carlotta Films. The supplemental features on this release include a new video introduction by Michael Cimino; new
conversation with the American director; new trailer for the recent restoration and reconstruction of the film; new interviews with actors Kris
Kristofferson, Isabelle Huppert, Jeff Bridges, and David Mansfield; and restoration demonstration. Also included with this release is the film's entire
script, in English, with Michael Cimino's hand-written notes and corrections; a CD with the film's soundtrack; and collector's booklets. In English, with
optional French subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Casper, Wyoming
The film opens up with a spectacular graduation ceremony. The year is 1870, the place is Harvard, and the characters followed closely by the camera
are young idealists. One of them, Billy Irvine (John Hurt,
The
Osterman Weekend,
Scandal), everyone’s favorite orator, delivers a memorable speech. He praises knowledge and wisdom and
then eloquently questions the morality of those who have educated him. James Averill (Kris Kristofferson,
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia,
Convoy), one of Billy’s closest friends, looks enormously pleased.
Twenty years later. James, now a man of the law, arrives in Casper, Wyoming. The place is full of European immigrants who have come in search of
the American Dream. Most of them look
different and barely speak more than a few words of English. They stay in small groups and only
occasionally mingle with other immigrants. A few have managed to purchase land outside of the city, but many are poor and waiting to get work,
save, and then purchase a piece of land.
The wealthy cattle barons are not pleased with the immigrants that have flooded Casper. Some see in them future competitors, others simply don’t
like foreigners. To get things back to normal, the barons have organized themselves and decided to effectively clean up Casper. Their leader, Frank
Canton (Sam Waterston,
The Great Gatsby,
The Killing Fields), and a few of his associates have put
together a Death List with the names of 125 immigrants, the overwhelming majority of them men, and hired a gang of mercenaries to kill them. The
only member of the Association that does not like what is underway is Billy, but he is rarely sober and no one pays attention to what he has to say.
In Casper’s busiest corner, James meets John Bridges (Jeff Bridges,
8 Million Ways to Die,
Blown Away), an old friend who has turned his bar into a gambling saloon. His best customers are immigrants
trying to get rich quick who often lose their last savings there, either to him or local scammers. When James reveals to John that he is soon going to
lose the majority of his customers, he decides to help him stop the barons.
Soon after, James also meets Nathan Champion (Christopher Walken,
King of New York,
The
Deer Hunter), a fearless immigrant and assassin who has started working for the barons. With the money he is getting paid, Nathan hopes
to soon have enough to marry Ella Watson (Isabelle Huppert,
La Cérémonie,
Going Places), a French
beauty running a tiny brothel just outside of Casper and James’ on-again, off-again lover.
Inspired by a true story and one of Hollywood’s most ambitious epics, Michael Cimino’s
Heaven’s Gate is a film of startling poetic beauty.
There are numerous sequences in it that could easily be compared to some of the greatest sequences from David Lean’s
Doctor Zhivago. The emphasis on detail also astonishes - from the costumes
to the weapons to the dances and even the unique Slavic expressions the immigrants often utter, everything in the film looks and sounds incredibly
authentic.
Those who have spoken against
Heaven’s Gate or outright dismissed it as a grandiose failure must have their heads checked. Or admit that
they are idiots. Because
Heaven’s Gate is easily one of the most straightforward films about the dark side of the American Dream, the one
that pro-American films, and especially westerns, rarely, if ever, mention. This isn’t to imply that
Heaven’s Gate is a political film, rather to
say that it is an honest film that condemns greed and violence, which unfortunately some Americans still worship.
Most of the events in the film are seen through the eyes of Kristofferson’s character, but Cimino never allows the viewer to get too comfortable with
him. There are endless other characters that enter the story and then disappear without a trace. This makes the film look rather chaotic at times -
but only if one ignores the big picture, which is about the sea of immigrants that are never identified until their names appear on the Death List or
the mercenaries begin killing them. Until then they are simply “The Mob”, nameless men and women who have come to Heaven and suddenly
discovered that its self-appointed guardians do not want them there.
It is difficult to watch the newly restored director’s cut of
Heaven’s Gate and not think about the various events that have rocked America in
recent years. The rise of civil disobedience targeting and involving immigrants, the abuse of power by the wealthy, and the desire to justify
extremism with patriotism are some of the many serious issues modern America faces. Isn’t it sad to see that they are some of the same issues
America struggled with more than a century ago?
Heaven's Gate Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality
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 French label Carlotta Films.
The release uses as a foundation Criterion's new restoration and reconstruction of Heaven's Gate, which was supervised and approved by
director Cimino. Unsurprisingly, the presentation is indeed very impressive.
Image depth, clarity and most importantly color reproduction are virtually identical to those observed on the Criterion Blu-ray release. The various close-ups impress with terrific
depth, while the larger panoramic shots boast excellent fluidity (see screencaptures #4 and 14). There are no traces of problematic degraining and
sharpening corrections. Image stability is also outstanding. Encoding and compression are also as satisfying as they are on the Criterion release.
Finally, there are absolutely no damage marks, scratches, debris, cuts, stains, or warps to report in this review. To sum all up, this is indeed a beautiful
presentation of Heaven's Gate, and there is no doubt in my mind that fans of the film in Region-B territories will be enormously pleased with it.
(Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its
content).
Heaven's Gate Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality
There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Carlotta Films have provided optional French
subtitles for the main feature.
The new lossless audio mix, which was also supervised by Michael Cimino, is also very impressive. Depth, clarity, and especially dynamic intensity are
outstanding. The big battle scene in the final third of the film, in particular, sounds terrific. David Mansfield's epic soundtrack also benefits
tremendously from the lossless treatment. The music is crisp, well rounded, and always well balanced (there are no sudden spikes or drops in dynamic
activity). The dialog is stable, free of background hiss, and very easy to follow.
Heaven's Gate Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras
Blu-ray Disc One
- Introduction de Michael Cimino - director Michael Cimino introduces the new restoration and reconstruction of Heaven's
Gate. Mr. Cimino notes that this version of the film, which was produced by Joann Carelli and Peter Becker (from The Criterion Collection), is the
only version that has his "unequivocal approval". Mr. Cimino also notes that it took Mrs. Carelli and Mr. Becker ten years to secure the rights to the film,
and that he worked close to a year to complete the restoration of Heaven's Gate. In English, with optional French subtitles. (2 min).
- Bande-annonce 2013 - the new Cannes trailer for the restored version of Heaven's Gate. In English, with optional
French subtitles. (2 min).
- Bande-annnonce d'epoque - original vintage United Artists trailer for Heaven's Gate. In English, with optional
French subtitles. (2 min).
Blu-ray Disc Two
- Retour au Paradis/Return to Paradise - an absolutely fascinating conversation with Michael Cimino moderated by Michael
Henry Wilson. The director discusses American Cinema and the system some of the great American directors were part of years ago, the complex
choreographic structure of some of the mass scenes in Heaven's Gate, the music in the film, some popular misconceptions about the film, etc.
The conversation was filmed in the summer of 2013, and is presented here courtesy of Allerton Films. In English, with optional French subtitles. (51
min).
- Entretiens/Interviews - presented here are four new interviews with actors Kris Kristofferson, Isabelle Huppert, Jeff Bridges,
and David Mansfield.
1. Kris Kristofferson. In English, with optional French subtitles. The interview is also included on the Criterion release. (10 min).
2. Isabelle Huppert. In French, not subtitled. (25 min).
3. Jeff Bridges. In English, with optional French subtitles. (18 min).
4. David Mansfield. In English, with optional French subtitles. The same interview also appears on the Criterion release. (9 min).
- La Restauration - a short restoration demonstration with selected clips and information about the restoration and
reconstruction of Heaven's Gate. Music only. The demonstration also appears on the Criterion release. The English text descriptions are offered
with optional French subtitles. (3 min).
- Script - Carlotta Films have included the entire script for Heaven's Gate, as a book, in English (135 pages), with
Michael Cimino's hand-written notes and corrections. Please take a look at the screencaptures provided with this review to see the script/book.
- Portfolio - this booklet contains production photographs taken near Glacier Park, Montana during the spring, summer, and
fall of 1979. All photographs were taken by Susan Geston Bridges, Jeff Bridges' wife. The booket contains opening notes in English and French.
- La Porte du Paradis: A propos du film - 55-page collector's booklet with writings on the film, in French, and archival
photographs.
- Booklet - second booklet with archival stills and quotes in English and French.
- Soundtrack - the soundtrack for Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate, placed on a separate CD.
1. Slow Water
2. Song of '70s
3. Heaven's Gate Waltz
4. Snowfall
5. Blue Danube
6. Battle Hymn
7. Ella's Waltz
8. Sweet Breeze
9. Mamou Two-Step
10. Moonlight
11. Morning Star
12. Village Dance
13. The Long Road
Heaven's Gate Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation
French label Carlotta Films' Limited Edition Blu-ray release of Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate is a thing of beauty. It is the most elegant Blu-
ray release I have seen produced in any region. I think that fans of the film residing in Region-B territories who could not take advantage of Criterion's
release will be very pleased once they see what Carlotta Films have done to celebrate and promote the film's recent restoration and reconstruction.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.