Heaven's Gate (2012 Restoration Edition)

Written and directed by Michael Cimino, Heaven’s Gate is the story of a Harvard-educated marshal who finds himself in the middle of a conflict between rich and established cattle barons who wage war on a group of poor, European-based immigrants over claims of stealing cattle. A fictional account of the Johnson County War of 1892, the film is scathing look into the world of American Imperialism and the myth of the American dream as a man finds himself battling a friend as they’re both in love with a prostitute who is among the many that cattle barons want killed. Starring Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, Isabelle Huppert, Sam Waterston, John Hurt, Jeff Bridges, Brad Dourif, and Joseph Cotten. Heaven’s Gate is a visually-stunning and enthralling film from Michael Cimino.

Based on the real-life events of the Johnson County War in 1892, the film explores a piece of American history where a group of established cattle barons battled against small settling ranchers where these more established men hired killers with the backing of the American government. Yet, the film is a re-interpretation about these events as the cattle barons are portrayed as rich men who want to kill these poor European immigrants for stealing their cattle as they think of them as thieves and anarchists. On the other side is a group of European immigrants who only steal because they’re hungry as they just want to live in America and live the American dream. In the middle of this is the marshal of Johnson County in James Averill (Kris Kristofferson) who wants to smooth out the conflict before it gets more troubling yet he is a man full of complications and contradictions. Especially as he’s in a love-triangle with a bordello madam in Ella Watson (Isabelle Huppert) who is in love with an enforcer in Nate Champion (Christopher Walken) who is a friend of Averill.

The film’s screenplay is quite vast as it starts in 1870 where Averill graduates from Harvard with his friend William Irvine (John Hurt) and ends with an epilogue set in 1903 in Newport, Rhode Island. Yet, much of the story is set in 1890 Wyoming where Averill tries to use his wealth and education to help the people of Johnson County that is full of European immigrants that is this mix of German, Russian, Slavic, Dutch, and other ethnicities who are just trying to live good lives. Averill is inspired by the ideas that is instilled upon him from his Harvard graduation when its speaker the Reverend Doctor (Joseph Cotten) urges the graduates to use their knowledge to help those in need. That moment is mocked by Irvine who later finds himself as a man lost in his role as he becomes a rambling, poetic drunk who has no clue on what to do as he would regret those actions. Irvine is part of this faction known as the Stock Growers Association led by Frank Canton (Sam Waterston) who is a rich cattle baron that has a lot of government connections while being very arrogant about what he does.

It is all part of something that is very complex as well as containing lots of ambiguities as Champion is an enforcer of the Association as he just enforces the law where he does kill an immigrant and later threatening another from stealing as he is just a lawman. He’s also in love with Ella who doesn’t mind being paid either in cash or cattle for prostitution as she is this woman who is in love with both Champion and Averill. Averill wants to take her out of the world of prostitution and protect her from what is coming once he learns about what is going to happen. Yet, she prefers a life that is simpler which is something Champion is offering as he would later question what Canton and the Stock Growers Association is doing. Especially when Ella’s name is in a death list that features many immigrants where Averill tries to figure out what to do as he becomes troubled by his own personal issues and the longing for a life that isn’t complicated. It’s part of that sense of conflict he’s in because of Ella where he would eventually take part in this brutal battle between the Stock Growers Association and the immigrants with very bloody results.

The script does have flaws in some of the characterization as the William Irvine character is an ambiguous figure as he is this rambling, poetic drunk that had the power to make a difference with his wealth and education. Yet, he’s a lost figure who has no clue what he’s doing or why he’s still in the Stock Growers Association as there’s a scene where a character asks why is he even here. Another flaw is its politics where it’s clear that it is one-sided in the way Canton is portrayed as this snobbish and arrogant antagonist while the poor is treated more fairly though there’s aspects of them that are just as flawed where one of them would try to make a bargain only to get his ear shot off. Still, it is a commentary on the idea of American Imperialism where Americans try to infuse their own ideas and such all for something as childish as money.

Michael Cimino’s direction definitely recalls a lot of the visual traits of the western as well as his own fascination with American landscapes as he shoots with such a wide canvas that covers so much of the landscape as it’s largely shot in Montana. There are aspects of the film where Cimino definitely wants to create something that has the attribute of an epic with these massive wide shots that includes this terrifying shot of a large group of horsemen on top of a mountain about to kill someone. Cimino’s approach to the widescreen in its 2:40:1 aspect ratio would showcase some of the lavishness of the film such as the Harvard dance sequence where Averill and Irvine waltz around a tree with a bevy of beautiful women. The Harvard prologue serves as a place where Averill and Irvine are being tasked as men who have the power to make change and help those who are less fortunate. It’s something that would drive Averill to do what is right in Johnson County as he feels the need to do with the power and responsibility he’s given.

The direction is also quite excessive in terms of its attention to detail in the way 1890s Wyoming is portrayed in its buildings and such that would also include this beautiful sequence of people in a roller skating rink to showcase what it was like to have fun in those times. It is in contrast to the sense of terror that would happen as much of the violence is quite graphic and bloody where it would culminate into this very spectacular battle scene that is frenetic at times but also very direct with the cameras being on wagons and such as well as shooting it from multiple perspectives. There’s also some unique ideas in camera angles and crane shots that Cimino uses while he also creates some intimate moments that plays into this love triangle where there’s some humor but also a sense of longing as both Averill and Champion want to have a better future with Ella. Its climax in the battle and its aftermath would lead to not just this understanding over how things are but also the question into what difference Averill made. Especially as he tries to come to terms with his own identity and the responsibilities he has as the film ends with this somber epilogue in 1903 Rhode Island. Overall, Cimino has created a grand yet very visceral film about a dark piece of American history seen through the eyes of a marshal trying to make some kind of difference.

Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond does absolutely incredible work with the film‘s rich and evocative cinematography with its approach to sepia lighting for some of the film‘s interiors with its shading and such as well as the colorful exterior settings of Montana in the day time as well as some low-key yet beautiful lighting for some of the film‘s interior scenes. Editors Tom Rolf, William Reynolds, Lisa Fruchtman, and Gerald Greenberg do brilliant work with the editing with its unique approach to rhythms in some of the film‘s dramatic moments along with its frenetic cutting in the battle scenes. Production designer Tambi Larsen, along with set decorators James L. Berkey and Josie MacAvin and art directors Spencer Deverell and Maurice Fowler, does phenomenal work with the set design from the look of the small town of Sweetwater with its cabins and roller skating hall as well as the home of the Stock Growers Association.

Costume designers Allen Highfill does excellent work with the costumes from the suits that the men wear to the period dresses that the women along with the more lavish look in the Harvard dance sequence. Sound editor James J. Klinger does fantastic work with the soundtrack from the way gunfire is presented to the sound of cannons as well as some of the intimate moments as it is quite sprawling in its mixing and editing. The film’s music by David Mansfield is just sublime for its mixture of eerie string arrangements with these rich arrangements of acoustic guitars, mandolins, and balalaikas to play into the film’s Eastern European tone as it features some amazing themes plus reinterpretations of classical pieces and traditional themes as Mansfield’s score is one of the film’s major highlights.

The casting by Cis Corman, Tony Gaznick, and Jane Halloran is amazing for the ensemble that is created as it features some appearances from composer David Mansfield plus T-Bone Burnett and Huey Lewis & the News keyboardist Sean Hopper as the live band in the skating rink, Willem Dafoe as a bar waiter, Anna Levine and Caroline Kava as a couple of young prostitutes, Mary C. Wright as the fiery prostitute Nell, Tom Noonan as an Association hitman who tries to rape Ella, Mickey Rourke as Nate’s friend Nick Ray, Waldemar Kalinkowski as the immigrant photographer, Terry O’Quinn as cavalry leader Captain Minardi, and Roseanne Vela as a beautiful girl that Averill eyed on at the Harvard graduation. Other notable small roles include Geoffrey Lewis as a trapper friend of Nate’s, Ronnie Hawkins as a military leader working with Canton, Paul Koslo role as the town’s cowardly mayor, and Richard Masur as the train station manager Cully who is friends with Averill. Brad Dourif is terrific as the town commerce head Mr. Eggleston who would have this great monologue about what it means to be poor and from another country as he would inspire his fellow immigrants to fight back.

In a small yet crucial role at the Harvard graduation scene, Joseph Cotten is superb as the Reverend Doctor who speaks to the graduates to ensure the weight of responsibility they have for the future of America. John Hurt is wonderful as Averill’s old Harvard classmate William Irvine as this rambling drunk who often spouts poetry though his role is one of most flawed elements of the film. Jeff Bridges is excellent as the town proprietor John L. Bridges who runs the bar and skating rink as he is a friend of the immigrants and becomes one of their leaders in the battlefield. Sam Waterston is brilliant as the smarmy and arrogant Stock Growers Association leader Frank Canton who is a man that is driven by greed as he is someone that is full of himself as Waterston brings this smarmy quality to a character that everyone loves to hate.

Isabelle Huppert is fantastic as Ella Watson as this bordello madam who is caught in a love triangle with two men as she wants to maintain a life that she built for herself while dealing with the reality of what she is facing as her name is on a death list. Christopher Walken is marvelous as Nate Champion as an Association enforcer who is quite prejudiced towards immigrants as he would eventually question his bosses once Ella is targeted as he realizes that they’re breaking the law. Finally, there’s Kris Kristofferson in a remarkable performance as James Averill as a marshal with a very posh and educated background who tries to mediate a deadly situation as he deals with his own personal feelings for Ella while dealing with who he is and what he tries to do to make a difference.

The 2-disc Region 1 DVD/Region A Blu-Ray from the Criterion Collection presents the film in a 2:40:1 theatrical aspect ratio in a widescreen format with 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound in a newly-restored transfer supervised by Michael Cimino in a new 216-minute cut where the only scene removed is the film’s intermission scene plus a few slightly-trimmed shots in some sequences. The first disc of the Blu-Ray is the film in its entirety as it is given a much richer transfer while on the DVD version, the film is split into two parts where the split occurs just after James Averill receives the death list.

The film’s second disc features many extras relating to the film and its notorious production starting with a 31-minute illustrated audio interview with Michael Cimino and producer Joann Carelli (which appears as an extra in the DVD‘s first disc). Through various still photos of the film and its production, Cimino and Carelli talk about the film where Cimino dominates much of commentary as he revealed that the version on the Criterion DVD/Blu-Ray is his final version. Cimino and Carelli talked about the research they went through about the actual Johnson County War as Carelli talked about Cimino’s approach to writing and how she discovered David Mansfield during the production. Cimino admits to not using monitors or watch dailies in his approach to directing while commenting on a lot of the things about the film as it’s a very compelling piece that showcased Cimino feeling validated that the film is being given a second chance.

The extras include new interviews with three people involved the film as the first is a nine-minute, twenty-three second interview with actor Kris Kristofferson. Kristofferson talks about what made him do the film as he was interested in the subject matter and working with Cimino. He felt it was a story that needed to be told as he admitted that Cimino was difficult and excessive but only because he wanted to get things right. Kristofferson admitted to being hurt over the film’s reception yet he doesn’t regret doing the film which he is still proud of while he also talks about the political aspects of the film where he felt that it was probably too controversial for audiences to handle.

The nine-minute interview with music composer David Mansfield has him talking about the music and his background as he had been proficient in a lot of string instruments. He was discovered by Joann Carelli who had seen him play with Bob Dylan in the mid-1970s as he was among several real musicians including T-Bone Burnett that were hired to play a band that actually played live music. Through his work and what he was able to do on the set, Cimino hired Mansfield to do the score as Mansfield talked about his approach to the score as well as infusing a lot of Eastern European influences into the music since his father is from a Eastern European background.

The eight-minute interview with second assistant director Michael Stevenson who talked about making the film as he knew what Cimino wanted in terms of scenery and in its attention to detail. Having worked with David Lean, Anthony Mann, and Richard Brooks, Stevenson knew that Cimino had that sense of wanting to get things right where Stevenson also talks about some technical moments in the film. Especially in how close Cimino was with his actors in making sure they would get their performances right as they trusted him as Stevenson would work with Cimino in his next two films. Other minor extras include a two-and-a-half minute restoration demonstration that showcases what had to be done as the film was drenched in sepia as a lot of work through digital scanning had to be made to restore its original color. The extras include a teaser and a TV spot for the film where the latter displayed the sense of controversy about the film.

The DVD/Blu-Ray set includes a booklet that features two pieces of text relating to the film. The first is an essay entitled Western Promises by the New York-based film writer and programmer Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan about the film. Vallan discusses much of what Cimino wanted to say in the film as well as its disastrous screening in November of 1980. Vallan also talks about the film’s politics and some of the aspects of the production as she feels like it is a film that got attacked over what was going on in its production and its cost rather than it was about. Even as it was well-received in Europe who were looking for the kind of films that old masters like John Ford and Howard Hawks used to make while it was getting trashed by American critics just as the film industry was in a state of transition in the age of the blockbuster as it’s a very engaging essay about the film.

The second piece of text is an interview with Michal Cimino for the November 1980 issue of American Cinematographer entitled The Film That Took On a Life of Its Own by the magazine editor Herb Lightman who was a guest camera operator on the film. Cimino talks about what he wanted to say and do with the film as well as his meticulous approach as he needed people who were able to recreate things from the past as he felt it was something that was lost at the time. Cimino also talked about wanting to shoot in certain locations where he said that if he ever found the right location, he would go ahead and shoot somewhere just to capture something that is just magical. Even as he would capture something that was just accidental yet felt right for the story as it is a compelling piece that showcased his perspective on the making of the film before it would have its notorious premiere.

Heaven’s Gate is a tremendously rich and harrowing film from Michael Cimino. Armed with a great ensemble cast plus major technical achievements in its art direction, Vilmos Zsigmond’s photography, and David Mansfield’s score. It’s a film that showcases a man trying to make a difference in a conflict driven by greed and class differences set to a dark piece of American history. While it is a film that is flawed, it has aspects that are thematically provocative as well as visuals that really defines the concept of epic filmmaking. In the end, Heaven’s Gate is a remarkable film from Michael Cimino.

Michael Cimino Films: Thunderbolt & Lightfoot - The Deer Hunter - Year of the Dragon - The Sicilian - Desperate Hours (1990 film) - The Sunchaser - To Each His Own Cinema-No Translation Needed - The Auteurs #35: Michael Cimino

© thevoid99 2014

September (1987 film)

Written and directed by Woody Allen, September is the story of a woman who stays at a country home following a suicide attempt as she befriends a widower while getting visitors who are concerned for her well-being. The film is one of Allen’s more straightforward dramas to play out the idea of death as it is inspired by Chekov’s Uncle Vanya. Starring Mia Farrow, Dianne Wiest, Elaine Stricht, Sam Waterston, Denholm Elliot, and Jack Warden. September is a harrowing yet chilling film from Woody Allen.

The film is about a weekend in the country where a woman is in recovering from a suicide attempt as she is living at the house with her mother, her stepfather, and a friend. Meanwhile, two more visitors come to the house to hang out and such where things start to get a little crazy involving the attraction of two people as well a stormy night where a lot of uncertainty happens. Notably as this woman in Lane (Mia Farrow) is trying to sort out her own feelings just as some of the people around her start to unravel in their own messy lives. Woody Allen’s script is quite minimalist as it plays into the life a woman and the people she’s with in the course of a weekend. One of which is a widower named Howard (Denholm Elliot) who admits to Lane that he has feelings for her which surprises Lane though she knows that he’s a good kind man.

Another man in the house is a struggling writer named Peter (Sam Waterston) whom Lane has feelings for but Peter is more interested in Lane’s married friend Stephanie (Dianne Wiest) who is going through her own personal problems relating to her marriage. Adding to the chaos is Lane’s mother Diane (Elaine Stricht) who is aware of Lane’s problems as she is more concerned with having a good time and telling Peter about her life for a possible memoir. Diane’s husband Lloyd (Jack Warden) prefers to be in the background while trying to keep things peaceful as he also chats with Peter about his life as a physicist. All of it would play into some of the feelings that had been building in Lane as well as the dark secrets that she had to carry all of her life.

Allen’s direction is quite straightforward as he sets the film entirely in the house with no scenes set outside of the home. There’s an intimacy to the direction but also it is engaging for the way Allen puts the actors into the frame to showcase the intensity and restraint of the drama. While there are a few humorous moments in the dialogue, it is mostly presented as a drama where Allen uses a lot of close-ups and medium shots to capture the action. Even as he uses some tracking shots and slow pans to play out the atmosphere in the house. Overall, Allen creates a chilling yet interesting drama about death and secrets.

Cinematographer Carlo Di Palma does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography to create a colorful yet low-key approach to the look as well as its lighting schemes. Editor Susan E. Morse does nice work with the editing as it‘s mostly straightforward while using fade-outs to emphasize the story‘s structure. Production designer Santo Loquasto, with set decorator George DeTitta Jr. and art director Speed Hopkins, does wonderful work with the look of the house to play out the sense of intimacy that the people are in.

Costume designer Jeffrey Kurland does terrific work with the costumes as it‘s mostly straightforward with the exception of the clothes that Diane wears. Sound mixer James Sabat does some fine work with the sound to capture some of the sound effects outside of the house while maintaining the intimacy of the house from inside. The film’s soundtrack consists of mostly jazz music from Art Tatum, Bernie Leighton and Bert Ambrose playing the standards of the 30s and 40s.

The casting by Juliet Taylor is brilliant as it features appearances from Rosemary Murphy as a real estate agent and Ira Wheeler and Jane Cecil as a couple interested in buying Lane’s home. Jack Warden is excellent as Lane’s stepfather Lloyd who tries to keep everything peaceful while dealing with some of Diane’s flighty decisions and such. Elaine Stricht is wonderful as the very lively Diane as a woman who wants to feel young despite her age while trying to help out Lane though her approach isn’t very good. Sam Waterston is terrific as the struggling writer Peter who is trying to sort out his ideas as a writer and his feelings for Stephanie.

Denholm Elliot is superb as Howard as a widower who befriends Stephanie while talking with Lane about his own loss. Dianne Wiest is amazing as Lane’s friend Stephanie who is trying to sort out her own personal issues while finding herself attractive towards Peter. Finally, there’s Mia Farrow in a remarkable performance as Lane as a woman trying to sort out her issues while dealing with all of the chaos at home as it’s a very intense performance from Farrow.

September is an excellent film from Woody Allen. Armed with a great cast, the film is an intriguing drama that explores family secrets and death as well as a woman’s difficulty with depression. Though it’s kind of a minor work from Allen, it is still interesting for the way he approaches something that is quite heavy in its themes of depression. In the end, September is a stellar film from Woody Allen.

Woody Allen Films: What's Up Tiger Lily? - Take the Money & Run - Bananas - Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) - Sleeper - Love and Death - Annie Hall - Interiors - Manhattan - Stardust Memories - A Midsummer's Night Sex Comedy - Zelig - Broadway Danny Rose - The Purple Rose of Cairo - Hannah & Her Sisters - Radio Days - Another Woman - New York Stories: Oedipus Wrecks - Crimes & Misdemeanors - Alice - Shadows & Fog - Husbands & Wives - Manhattan Murder Mystery - Don’t Drink the Water - Bullets Over Broadway - Mighty Aphrodite - Everyone Says I Love You - Deconstructing Harry - Celebrity - Sweet & Lowdown - Small Time Crooks - The Curse of the Jade Scorpion - Hollywood Ending - Anything Else - Melinda & Melinda - Match Point - Scoop - Cassandra’s Dream - Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Whatever Works - You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger - Midnight in Paris - To Rome with Love - Blue Jasmine - Magic in the Moonlight - Irrational Man - (Cafe Society)

The Auteurs #24: Woody Allen Pt. 1 - Pt. 2 - Pt. 3 - Pt. 4

© thevoid99 2013

Interiors

Written and directed by Woody Allen, Interiors is the story about three adult sisters dealing with the separation of their parents as they have a reaction towards this separation. Inspired by the works of Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, the film is a full-on drama that explores the world of marriage and family. Starring Diane Keaton, Geraldine Page, Mary Beth Hurt, E.G. Marshall, Maureen Stapleton, Kristin Griffith, Richard Jordan, and Sam Waterston. Interiors is a compelling yet mesmerizing film from Woody Allen.

The film is the story about three women who are dealing with the separation of their parents as it relates to their very artistic yet mentally-unstable mother. For the older sisters in Renata (Diane Keaton) and Joey (Mary Beth Hurt), both would have a different reaction towards the news as they have to deal with their mother Eve (Geraldine Page) who is known for being an interior decorator but is someone who is very aloof and is a bit of a control freak. Notably as Eve is having a very hard time dealing with her separation from Arthur (E.G. Marshall) while the youngest daughter Flyn (Kristin Griffith) is away working on a movie as an actress. When Arthur returns from his trip to Greece, he arrives with a woman named Pearl (Maureen Stapleton) that would shake the foundation of the entire family as well as some the attributes that Pearl carries that the women realize that their mother never had.

Woody Allen’s screenplay is a major departure from his previous work which was comedy where he goes into a full-on drama. In exploring the complexities of family and marriage, he also reveals how fragile this family dynamic is where it’s sort of told in a non-linear fashion early on where Renata is talking to a psychiatrist about her mother and how troubled she is. There’s also some tension between Renata and Joey where the two seem to resent each other as they often have to watch their mother after a suicide attempt yet neither of them seem capable of taking care of her as they’re busy with their own lives. Renata has become obsessed with death as she’s suffering from writer’s block while her husband Frederick (Richard Jordan) is dealing with negative reactions towards his own book. Joey is a woman who has no idea what she wants to do as she is more attached to her mother though there’s also a sense of resentment as her husband Mike (Sam Waterston) has a very testy relationship with Eve.

When Pearl is introduced in the film’s second half, there is a bit of a tonal shift of sorts where Pearl is a woman who is more open with her feelings and is very kind to people around her. While she is admittedly not in tune with politics or art, she makes up for it with the fact that she does know things and is also someone who is full of charm. Plus, she makes Arthur very happy where he can be more outgoing yet it causes tension between himself and Joey. While Renata isn’t happy about the news either, she wants to support her father while knowing that Eve will not handle it very well at all as she is still clinging to the idea that she and Arthur will get back together.

Allen’s direction in the film definitely recalls a lot of the compositional style and framing of Ingmar Bergman. While Allen does infuse some of his own ideas into the shooting, he does maintain this air of melancholia and dread into the drama where something is going to happen. Yet, he takes it very slow to showcase a family that is unraveling through these changes as well as the fact that there’s a woman in that family who is becoming more detached and impossible to deal with. The first half of the film is a completely straightforward drama where there are elements of melodrama as Allen infuses a sense of coldness that is lurking. Even in the framing of where he puts his actors in a frame where he will shoot from afar at times while keeping the camera still for most of the time.

In its second half, things do get a bit warmer when the character of Pearl arrives as she liven things up a bit with her personality. Plus, her presence including a party scene with the entire family minus Eve features the only use of music in the film that is played on location. Still, there is a sense of dramatic tension in the way both Renata and Joey react towards Pearl as it will play to some huge moment. Even in the film’s very emotional penultimate sequence where Allen showcases not just all of the resentment and anger that had been looming towards Eve. There’s also a sense of sadness in how detached Eve was with her children and with Arthur though the latter does love her deeply but admits she was impossible to deal with. Overall, Allen creates a very haunting yet evocative drama about family.

Cinematographer Gordon Willis does brilliant work with the film‘s photography where it‘s mostly shot in interior settings to underscore the mood in some of its locations while using the scenes at the beach house to play up the film‘s melancholia with its use of low-key lights and natural setting for some of its exterior scenes. Editor Ralph Rosenblum does excellent work with the editing to create very steady yet methodical cuts to underplay the drama as well as keeping things low-key to create some effective moments in the drama. Production designer Mel Bourne, along with set decorators Mario Mazzola and Daniel Robert, does amazing work with the set pieces from the apartments that Renata and Joey live in to Eve’s interior decorating work place and the family beach house.

Costume designer Joel Schumacher does nice work with the costumes where a lot of the clothes from the characters doesn‘t have any sense of color where it is intentionally bland with the exception of Pearl who wears clothes that are colorful to match her warm personality. The sound work of Nathan Boxer is superb for the sense of intimacy that occurs in many of the film’s location setting from the sounds of the waves in the beach house scenes to the more intense moment in a meeting between Arthur and Eve at a church.

The casting by Juliet Taylor is fantastic for the ensemble that is created as it features some notable small roles from Kristin Griffith as the youngest sister in the actress Flyn who is often away and somewhat oblivious to what is happening while Richard Jordon is terrific as Renata’s husband Frederick who is dealing with his failings as a writer as he finds himself attracted towards Flyn. Sam Waterston is wonderful as Joey’s husband Mike who is often frustrated towards Eve as he is also dealing with Joey’s sense of aimlessness. Maureen Stapleton is amazing as Pearl as this woman who is so full of warmth and love as she is someone that likes to have fun while being gracious towards the people around her. E.G. Marshall is excellent as Arthur as a man who does love Eve but feels overwhelmed by her behavior as he seeks to escape where he falls for Pearl as he’s eager to find something in his life that isn’t complicated with the support of his daughters.

Mary Beth Hurt is brilliant as the middle sister Joey who is troubled by her mother’s declining state while feeling lost in her role in life as she takes it out on Renata while becoming more angry by Pearl’s presence as well as her mother’s lack of love towards her. Diane Keaton is phenomenal as the eldest daughter Renata who is dealing with a troubled marriage and her mother’s mental illness as she tries to comprehend everything while trying to keep everything grounded including her own relationship with Joey. Finally, there’s Geraldine Page in a remarkable performance as Eve as she brings this sense of aloofness to a woman detached from reality as she believes Arthur will come back to her only to fall prey to the truth as Page has this haunting quality in some of the quieter moments to display a woman who is becoming more lost in the real world.

Interiors is a ravishing yet intense drama from Woody Allen that features a great ensemble cast that includes Geraldine Page, Diane Keaton, E.G. Marshall, Maureen Stapleton, and Mary Beth Hurt. While it’s a film that is definitely different from Allen’s more light-hearted comedic work, it is still a very engrossing film that explores the world of family and how fragile it can be. It’s also a fascinating ode to the works of Ingmar Bergman where Allen is able to put his own spin on Bergman’s style. In the end, Interiors is an exquisite film from Woody Allen.

Woody Allen Films: What's Up Tiger Lily? - Take the Money and Run - Bananas - Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) - Sleeper - Love and Death - Annie Hall - Manhattan - Stardust Memories - A Midsummer’s Night Sex Comedy - Zelig - Broadway Danny Rose - The Purple Rose of Cairo - Hannah & Her Sisters - Radio Days - September - Another Woman - New York Stories: Oedipus Wrecks - Crimes & Misdemeanors - Alice - Shadows & Fog - Husbands & Wives - Manhattan Murder Mystery - Don’t Drink the Water - Bullets Over Broadway - Mighty Aphrodite - Everyone Says I Love You - Deconstructing Harry - Celebrity - Sweet & Lowdown - Small Time Crooks - The Curse of the Jade Scorpion - Hollywood Ending - Anything Else - Melinda & Melinda - Match Point - Scoop - Cassandra’s Dream - Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Whatever Works - You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger - Midnight in Paris - To Rome with Love - Blue Jasmine - Magic in the Moonlight - Irrational Man - (Cafe Society)

The Auteurs #24: Woody Allen Pt. 1 - Pt. 2 - Pt. 3 - Pt. 4

© thevoid99 2013

Crimes & Misdemeanors

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 12/22/05 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

Written, directed, and starring Woody Allen, Crimes & Misdemeanors is two stories about two different men and their own conflict with their own moral values. One story involves a doctor whose affair with another woman gets out of control as he tries to end it with the help of his brother. The other story involves a neurotic filmmaker who tries to vie for the affection of a woman while making a documentary on his brother-in-law and his own film about a professor he idolizes. Combining elements of comedy and drama, Allen uses the genres to study the issue of morality that comes together in the end. Also starring Allen regulars like Mia Farrow, Alan Alda, Sam Waterston, and Anjelica Huston as well as Martin Landau, Claire Bloom, Joanna Gleason, Jerry Orbach, Caroline Aaron, and Martin Bregmann in a non-credited cameo role as Professor Louis Levy. Crimes & Misdemeanors is an enigmatic, intelligent, and funny film from Woody Allen.

Judah Rosenthal (Martin Landau) has just returned home from a ceremony where he's being honored for his charity work as he's joined by his wife Miriam (Claire Bloom), their daughter Sharon (Stephanie Roth) and her husband Chris (Greg Edelman). Then Judah receives a letter addressed to Miriam which is from his mistress Dolores (Anjelica Huston) who confesses about the affair. Haunted by his childhood that surrounded by religious morality, he turns to his rabbi Ben (Sam Waterson) whom he's treating for blindness. Judah also turns to his criminal brother Jack (Jerry Orbach) as Judah ponders what to do until Jack takes care of things. Judah is then forced into a spiritual crisis as he dreams of old life as he sees his father/rabbi Sol (David S. Howard) and his Aunt May (Anna Berger) where they talk about guilt and morals while his younger self (Garrett Simowitz) watches.

Meanwhile, a struggling documentary filmmaker named Cliff Stern (Woody Allen) is trying to finish a documentary on his favorite philosopher in Professor Louis Levy (Martin Bregmann). Though he gets joy in taking his niece Jenny (Jenny Nichols) to see old movies, Lester reluctantly takes a job from his successful TV producer brother-in-law Lester (Alan Alda) to film a documentary on him for PBS. Though he gets to meet and fall for its producer Halley Reed (Mia Farrow) who is interested in his Levy doc, the two begin an affair. Yet, Cliff also has to deal with his lonely sister Barbara (Caroline Aaron) and his own wife Wendy (Joanna Gleeson) as a night with her, Halley, and Lester becomes a disaster as Lester is attracted to Halley. When Cliff receives some awful news about his Levy documentary and Halley leaving for London, his project for Lester doesn't turn out well. Months later at a wedding for Ben's daughter, Judah and Cliff begin to have a discussion of everything they've been through.

If there is one singular theme that Woody Allen discusses in this film, it's the morality issue of what comes from an extramarital affair. While the issue is dealt with in two ways, they're both profound and very cerebral in the way Allen questions humanity and the sins that they had to deal with. While the segment involving Cliff's attempt to engage in an affair with Halley is more comical, it's done in a more naturally way through dialogue and behaviors. Especially in one hilarious scene where Barbara talks about a one-night stand that becomes a disaster that reveals a hilarious yet disgusting event in her affair. Still, that segment also reveals the reality that is discussed throughout the entire film whether it's in the issues of morality or in artistic values. In Cliff's case, despite the fact that his own little documentary on Levy is interesting, they don't exactly pay the bills where it's Lester's own views on comedy and his ideas do despite the fact that they suck.

The other segment involving Judah's affair with Dolores is a far more cerebral story of morality where here's this man who has everything including a loving family, money, a great career, and is respected by everyone. Yet, he does a deed that is so horrible in engaging an affair with this charming but emotionally unstable woman where he confides into trying to find answers that will end the situation. That brings a moment of two consciences in the rabbi-going-blind Ben and the organized crime works of Jack Rosenthal. What Judah chooses doesn't really make the problem go away but he questions his own actions where he has an imaginative moment where he sees an old family dinner where his father prefers to choose the words of God instead of the truth while his more cynical aunt believes that what goes around, comes around. There, Judah is forced to believe in that reality will play out his outcome or as his father puts it, "the eyes of God are always on us" where his afterlife will play things out.

Allen's script and observant direction really brings out a film that isn't just intelligent and witty but also questions the behaviors of humanity. Bringing both elements of comedy and drama with a bit of tragedy definitely gives the film a non-linear tone in some ways where the film moves back and forth into the Rosenthal and Stern segments while the Rosenthal sections features a lot of flashbacks of Judah's affair with Dolores. Including in one scene where Allen shoots Judah and Dolores' discussion of the affair in one entire take. The mix of comedy and drama might seem to be uneven at first but in the final scene in the wedding, it all comes together where the film has a disturbing yet somewhat cynical ending but it works in how humanity would behave to the point of morality. It's not just a Jewish issue of how murder and infidelity is dealt with but it's a universal issue of how humans will deal things whether they choose to let reality play things out or dealing with religion.

Helping Allen in the film's technical scales in terms of presentation is cinematographer Sven Nykvist, who is the cinematographer for some of Ingmar Bergman's films. Nykvist brings a colorful yet eerie feel to many of the film's dramatic sequences while the light sequences is more upbeat in many of the film's comedic sequences. The film's look of upper-class and middle class New York is captured wonderful by production designer Santo Loquasto and art director Speed Hopkins along with costume work of Jeffrey Kurland. Allen's longtime editor Susan E. Morse brings a tight style of cutting and pacing for the film while adding some great parallel scenes of Rosenthal's murder plot to some of the movies Stern is watching while giving the film a nice movement in Allen's structure. The film's soundtrack includes not just Allen's love for ragtime jazz music but also a bit of classical music that brings that tone of what Allen conveys for the film where one part of the film in the comedy with jazz is quintessential Allen but the other is Allen being a bit more cerebral.

The film's cast is amazing from the people who works with Allen to the people who are participating in a film by Allen. With small, nice performances from Greg Edelman, David S. Howard, Anna Berger, Garrett Simowitz, Stephanie Roth, Jenny Nichols, Frances Conroy as the new owner of his childhood owner, and Victor Argo as a detective who questions Rosenthal about Dolores' murder along with cameos by Darryl Hannah and writer/director Nora Ephron. Claire Bloom and Caroline Aaron have small roles but they're important to the issues that the male protagonists are dealing with. Martin Bregmann is excellent as the philosophical Professor Levy whose views on life are very universal on many sides which brings a lot of the film's morality issues until the action that troubles Clif's morality when the project falls apart. Joanna Gleason is pretty good as Stern's frustrated wife who seems to be more into her own brother than her husband as she brings the tension that would spark Cliff to break his own values. Alan Alda brings a funny, witty performance as a pompous but smart producer who knows that he might be a phony at times but his intelligence and ability to be successful brings a nice, antagonism to Stern's more artistic pursuits.

Playing the moral conscience of the films for Rosenthal are Sam Waterson and the late Jerry Orbach who both bring great performances. Waterson is amazing as the faith-driven Ben who raises a lot of moral questioning into Rosenthal's psyche while his growing blindness isn't just physical but in some ways, it also deals with the idea that Ben could become blind of what's really going on with the world. Jerry Orbach is also brilliant as the dark, cynical conscience who reveals his own power and connections into what he can do while reminding Rosenthal that it's reality that will become the outcome.

Mia Farrow is excellent in the role as Halley Reed who enjoys Stern's artistic pursuits only to realize that she's played as a trophy of sorts while dealing with her own divorce and realizing that not all of Stern's criticism on Lester are entirely true. The best female performance easily goes to Anjelica Huston as the hysterical, emotional Dolores who is desperate to continue her affair with Judah only to try and break his marriage with Miriam. It's an amazing performance from Huston who provides the spark for Judah's moral exploration. Woody Allen is funny in his most restrained performance to date as a struggling filmmaker who has the talent and passion but remains unsuccessful. In the role of Cliff Stern, Allen brings that anguish of an uncompromising artist who realizes that he is filled with jealousy while trying to win the heart of Halley Reed which doesn't work either. Allen gives a great performance as he has great chemistry with not just Farrow but Alan Alda as well.

The film's best performance easily goes to Martin Landau in the role as the guilt-ridden Judah Rosenthal. If there was any indication into the talents of Landau, this performance reveals all as he doesn't over-dramatize or underperforms his character. While Landau has some amazing chemistry with Claire Bloom, Anjelica Huston, Sam Waterson, and Jerry Orbach, he really carries the film where he brings the audience into an exploration of the moral values of humanity. He doesn't make himself entirely sympathetic in his own actions yet there's a period that we want to forgive him for what he does. It's a masterful performance from Martin Landau who often never gets the respect he deserves.

While Annie Hall and Hannah & Her Sisters are considered some of Allen's finest works, Crimes & Misdemeanors is definitely up there as one of his greatest films thanks to some smart directing, writing, and the performances of Allen, Anjelica Huston, Mia Farrow, Alan Alda, the late Jerry Orbach, Sam Waterston, and Martin Landau in a great performance. While it's funny and raises a lot of issues of morality, it's also a very entertaining film that reveals how humans can do bad things. In the end, Crimes & Misdemeanors is a smart yet engaging comedy-drama from Woody Allen.

Woody Allen Films: What’s Up, Tiger Lily? - Take the Money & Run - Bananas - Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask) - Sleeper - Love & Death - Annie Hall - Interiors - Manhattan - Stardust Memories - A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy - Zelig - Broadway Danny Rose - The Purple Rose of Cairo - Hannah & Her Sisters - Radio Days - September - Another Woman - New York Stories-Oedipus Wrecks - Alice - Shadows & Fog - Husbands & Wives - Manhattan Murder Mystery - Don't Drink the Water - Bullets Over Broadway - Mighty Aphrodite - Everyone Says I Love You - Deconstructing Harry - Celebrity - Sweet & Lowdown - Small Time Crooks - The Curse of the Jade Scorpion - Hollywood Ending - Anything Else - Melinda & Melinda - Match Point - Scoop - Cassandra’s Dream - Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Whatever Works - You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger - Midnight in Paris - To Rome with Love - Blue Jasmine - Magic in the Moonlight - Irrational Man - (Cafe Society)

The Auteurs #24: Woody Allen: Pt. 1 - Pt. 2 - Pt. 3 - Pt. 4

© thevoid99 2011

Hannah & Her Sisters

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 4/20/06 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

Written, directed, and starring Woody Allen, Hannah & Her Sisters deals with an actress/homemaker who deals with her own life and the relationship of her two sisters. Meanwhile, her husband is falling for one of her sisters while the other is trying to get a career going while dealing with her own sobriety from drugs. Another story involves a woman's ex-husband whose neurotic obsession with death leads him to question his own existential issues. With an all-star cast that includes Allen regulars like Mia Farrow, Dianne Wiest, Sam Waterston, Julie Kavner, Tony Roberts, Joanna Gleason, and Julia-Louis Dreyfus plus Michael Caine, Barbara Hershey, Lloyd Nolan, Maureen O’Sullivan, Max Von Sydow, John Turturro, Daniel Stern and Richard Jenkins. Hannah & Her Sisters is a funny, sweet comedy-drama from the always talented Woody Allen.

Hannah (Mia Farrow) is hosting another Thanksgiving dinner in New York City with family and friends while her husband Elliot (Michael Caine) is falling for Hannah's younger sister Lee (Barbara Hershey). Also attending is Hannah's other sister Holly (Dianne Wiest) who also brought her friend April (Carrie Fisher) where the two created appetizers for the dinner that is a hit. This gives Holly and April an idea to start a catering business though Hannah reluctantly gives Holly a loan due to her to inability to pay off loans based on Holly's past drug abuse. Lee returns home to her reclusive lover Frederick as his anti-social behavior has made him bitter as Lee ponders about Elliot's feelings towards her.

Meanwhile, Hannah's former husband Mickey (Woody Allen) is going through another of his hypochondriac behaviors following the departure of his TV show partner (Tony Roberts). Having to deal with various writers, his friend Gail (Julie Kavner) suggests having him visit a doctor about the deafness in his right ear while going to another as Mickey is convinced he's dying. Holly and April's friendship starts to fall apart due to April's sudden fascination with an architect named David (Sam Waterson) whom Holly likes as well. Lee's friendship with Elliot starts to get serious as the two begin an affair after Lee breaks up with Frederick. When Mickey learns that he's going to be fine, he suddenly endures a spiritual crisis that makes him leave his show as he tries to figure out what to do when he is to face death.

Following her falling out with April and many failures to get an acting career going, Holly decides to become a writer as the relationship with the three sisters start to become troubled. With Lee feeling guilty about her affair with Elliot and Holly questioning about Hannah's generosity, complications start to emerge when Holly's finished script leaves Hannah upset. Lee tries to figure out what to do with Elliot as well as her own individuality while Mickey goes into an existential crisis as all of the people in Hannah's life face their own dilemmas.

Inspired by the works of Chekhov, Allen definitely goes for a story where there's layers upon layers with multiple storylines that comes together on a few occasions. What is really amazing is that Allen brings enough stories and little subplots that it doesn't lose sight of its main theme. That main theme is family. While everyone has their dysfunctions and issues with each other, they still come together for one reason or another. While the role of Hannah might have been a breadwinner and is the most stable among her entire family, as the film develops. She still has problems that every other character has, even in a little subplot as she tries to settle issues with her bickering parents. It's Allen's script that is really full of surprises in not just its approach to comedy but drama as well.

While Allen's own segment as the hypochondriac trying to find answers about his own existence is the funniest bit of the film. It's the segment that balances everything else as it gives a break from the often dysfunctional storylines of the film involving Hannah, Lee, Elliot, and Holly. Yet, it's that segment that provides some of the film’s smartest moments about existential and spiritual issues. The storyline about Elliot's affair with Lee is wonderfully handled in the way it reveals this love triangle as Elliot is a bit bored with Hannah's stability while Lee has become frustrated with Frederick's anti-social, cynical view of the modern world. The development of that storyline leads to guilt where Hannah becomes a bigger player about her own role as a wife and sister. Then, there's Holly's storyline where she aims to try to be successful and find a man while she deals with her own insecurity often caused by Hannah's generosity and her own past as a drug addict.

This is one of the reason why Woody Allen is regarded as an amazing artist where its his writing that provides the crutch for all of these storylines to come together. When he's playing a director, he takes the structure of his script and breaks it down to moments where he's trying to have the audience be aware of what's going on. Using his beloved New York City as the backdrop, it couldn't be anymore perfect. There, Allen uses New York City to show the characters in their own unique personalities whether it's the punk club that Holly takes Mickey go to or the bookstore that Lee brings Elliot to. Its Allen in one of his most heartwarming and funny takes on humanity as it truly stands out as one of his best films.

Helping Allen in his vision is longtime cinematographer Carlo di Palma whose lighting in many of the film's interior scenes reveals the lovely feel and atmosphere that is New York City. The work of the late Italian cinematographer is gorgeous to see from the exterior locations he shoots to the diverse world that is New York City. Production designer Stuart Wurtzel and set decorator Carol Joffe also help capture the atmosphere and vibrancy of the city with their detailed look at the posh world of its people to the art world that Frederick lives. Longtime editor Susan E. Morse does great work with cutting many of the film's varied storylines into wonderful little segments and moments while cutting to black backgrounds to help structure Allen's script. Another part that makes Allen's films so interesting is the soundtrack that is filled with not just elements of musical cuts ranging from Bach and Mozart but jazz music featuring a performance of Bobby Short while Allen does something rare by putting a rock band in 39 Steps to convey their post-punk sound.

Finally, there's the film's large cast which include some small, early appearances from the likes of John Turturro, Julia-Louis Dreyfus, Joanna Gleason, and Richard Jenkins plus Tony Roberts in an un-credited cameo as Allen's ex-partner. Also making cameos are the scores of children that were adopted by Mia Farrow including Allen's future wife, Soon-Yi Previn. Daniel Stern makes a funny appearance as a kooky art collector while Julie Kavner does excellent work as Allen's producing partner.

Sam Waterson is wonderful as the architect, opera-loving David while Carrie Fisher is also great as Holly's flirtatious friend and business partner April. Max Von Sydow gives a fantastic performance as the anti-social Frederick whose ills against the modern world and its pop culture plays against him when Lee decides to break up with him. In his final film role, Lloyd Nolan is great as the frustrated, compulsive Evan while Mia Farrow's real-life mother Maureen O'Sullivan is also great in the role of Norma whose boozy, crazed personality brings a perfect tone as both characters stand out.

Barbara Hershey is amazing in the role of Lee, a young woman whose life with a reclusive, intelligent artist has trapped her emotionally as she finds comfort in Elliot. Hershey brings a lot of warmth and sympathy to a woman who later finds guilt and her own role in life as Hershey brings a true complexity to the character. Mia Farrow is also great as the eldest of the three sisters, Hannah. Farrow brings a lot of stability to her character until the third act when all of her generosity and supportive gestures backfires as she becomes a woman who is in need and trying to understand her role. It's one of Farrow's best performances while her co-star Dianne Wiest gives the film's best performance as Holly. Weist brings a lot of complexity as a woman whose cheerfulness exterior is balanced by her internal struggle to get by as an actress only to turn to writing. While her character has the most showy role of the female cast, she brings a lot of charm and excitement to the role as it stands as one of her best performances.

Michael Caine brings in one of his best performances as Elliot with his subtle, flirtatious behavior and charming personality. He carries his performance with ease and innocence as a man who is just smitten by his sister-in-law only to develop into a man driven by guilt and confusion. Caine brings all the right notes and reactions to his performance as he has great chemistry with Hershey and Farrow in their respective scenes. Woody Allen also gives a great performance as Mickey with his neurotic, funny take on a hypochondriac who goes a quest for spiritual and existential answers. Allen brings his comic timing and reaction to a role that only he can do best. It's truly one of Woody Allen's finest performances.

Released in early 1986, Hannah & Her Sisters was a hit as it was also hailed by fans and critics as another triumph from Woody Allen. The film went on to win three Oscars for Best Screenplay to Allen and Supporting Acting honors to Michael Caine and Dianne Wiest. While it maintains to be one of Allen's most successful features, it would only be topped three years later with 1989's Crimes & Misdemeanors. Still, Hannah & Her Sisters offers something for fans of Woody Allen while newcomers will find this to be enjoyable for its humor and realistic take on family. Thanks to a great cast and Allen's talents, Hannah & Her Sisters is a true, heartwarming film.

Woody Allen Films: What's Up, Tiger Lily? - Take the Money & Run - Bananas - Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask) - Sleeper - Love & Death - Annie Hall - Interiors - Manhattan - Stardust Memories - A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy - Zelig - Broadway Danny Rose - The Purple Rose of Cairo - Radio Days - September - Another Woman - New York Stories-Oedipus Wrecks - Crimes & Misdemeanors - Alice - Shadows & Fog - Husbands & Wives - Manhattan Murder Mystery - Don't Drink the Water - Bullets Over Broadway - Mighty Aphrodite - Everyone Says I Love You - Deconstructing Harry - Celebrity - Sweet & Lowdown - Small Time Crooks - The Curse of the Jade Scorpion - Hollywood Ending - Anything Else - Melinda & Melinda - Match Point - Scoop - Cassandra's Dream - Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Whatever Works - You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger - Midnight in Paris - To Rome with Love - Blue Jasmine - Magic in the Moonlight - Irrational Man - (Cafe Society)

The Auteurs #24: Woody Allen: Pt. 1 - Pt. 2 - Pt. 3 - Pt. 4

© thevoid99 2011

Heaven's Gate (Take One)

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 5/23/05 w/ Additional Edits & a New Closing Paragraph.

Throughout the history of cinema, there had been some notable triumphs and milestones that many people will remember for. Then, there are other films that people remember but for all the wrong reasons. While cinema has had its history of failures since the day it began, by the 1960s, many films that were costing lots of money ranging from $20 million at the most were giving studios a lot of financial woes. At that time, those films didn't really mean anything to an audience driven by politics, the counterculture movement, the civil rights movement, and the women’s movement. Even to young filmmakers at the time in the U.S. as they were becoming influenced by the cinema that was coming out of Europe and Asia.

That of course, led to a decade of personal films that meant something to people no matter what genre was as the old Golden Age era was dwindling. Then in 1977, Star Wars came out as the days of personal films that didn't cost a lot of money or make a lot of money were over. Studios knew if they wanted to make a lot of money, they had to spend a lot. This would become a bad lesson as for the next several years, there had been a lot of notable big-budget flops.

Recently, there were films like Gigli, Alexander, Waterworld, Ishtar, and Hudson Hawk. While they became known as turkeys, only a few like Brazil, Once Upon a Time in America (the 3-hour, 45-minute version), The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, and most recently, Francis Ford Coppola's 1982 big-budget flop One from the Heart found audiences through DVD with critics re-evaulating about those films with the exception of Brazil and the uncut version of Once Upon a Time in America that are now considered as classics. Unlike many of those films, there was one massive failure that not only ended the decade of personal, artistic studio films that was led by the directors of the 1970s, but bankrupted a studio company and destroyed the career of a promising director. That film was the 1980 epic-western Heaven's Gate.

Written and directed by Michael Cimino, Heaven's Gate is an epic-western set in the 1890s during the Johnson County Wars in Wyoming between wealthy ranchers and immigrant settlers in the West. Prior to making Heaven's Gate, Cimino had only made two features and written several screenplays for other filmmakers. After 1974's quirky heist film Thunderbolt and Lightfoot with Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges, Cimino scored a monster hit with 1978's epic, Vietnam War drama The Deer Hunter that won several Oscars including Best Picture and director for Cimino despite the controversy over its portrayal of the Vietcong army and historical inaccuracies. After the victory at the Oscars, Cimino seemed to be the next big thing as he was slated to direct a monster project on the Johnson County Wars. At a time when big budget films were the thing for movies like Martin Scorsese's New York, New York, Steven Spielberg’s 1941, William Friedkin's The Sorcerer, and Coppola's Apocalypse Now. Yet, it was a huge risk with many of them either becoming flops or just barely recouping the budget.

Cimino however wanted full control on how he wanted Heaven's Gate from the detail of the production, the location setting, and historical accuracy while putting a romantic subplot in the film as well. For his cast, Cimino brought in Christopher Walken, who won the Best Supporting Actor prize for The Deer Hunter along with Jeff Bridges from Thunderbolt & Lightfoot. Also cast in the film was country singer/actor Kris Kristofferson, British actor John Hurt, Sam Waterson, Brad Dourif, Joseph Cotton, and then-French newcomer Isabelle Huppert, who had just won the Best Actress prize at the 1978 Cannes Film Festival for Claude Chabrol’s Violette Noziere. While the film was originally going to include a budget of less than $12 million at the most, a production that featured no major stars seemed to be a major risk. What became a much bigger risk was the amount of creative control Cimino wanted and all hell breaks loose.

Cimino demanded more money and United Artists got into trouble as Cimino began to fight with producers and executives during a grueling shoot that lasted for several months. Finally, when Cimino finished shooting and began post-production, it was becoming more problematic. When Cimino finished The Deer Hunter, it was originally shown at four hours until Cimino decided to cut the film to three hours which was well-received from a test audience. In Heaven's Gate, the film ran as long as nearly five hours to the point that Cimino decided to cut the film at a final three hours and forty-five minutes for its late 1980 release. Once the film was completed, news spread about Heaven's Gate as word got out that the film's final budget escalated to a whopping $40 million, which at the present time would be $120 million.

When it premiered in New York City in November 19, 1980, the critics overnight killed the film with a barrage of negative reviews. While Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert admits the attack was unfair, he too didn't like the movie but the worst review of them all came from the New York Times' film critic, Vincent Canby. In his infamous review on November 19, 1980, Canby proclaimed that the film is "an unqualified disaster" while saying nothing in the film works as well as many scenes ran too long. Canby continues to trash the film to the point where no only he talks about the budget but also says watching the film at a near-four hours is "like a forced, four-hour walking tour of one's own living room".

Once Canby's review came out, the film was pulled immediately as Cimino was forced to cut the film to nearly two-and-a-half hours but once it got re-released in early 1981, the film was already dead on its tracks. While Cimino tried to present the film at the Cannes Film Festival in 1981 in competition, the film was still hurt by its American reception as the film received numerous Razzie Award nominations including a Worst Director prize for Cimino. After that, United Artists nearly went bankrupt and Cimino's never recovered as a few years later, a book on the making of the film came out with many of the blame placing on Cimino and its producers. Now nearly 30 years since its release, Heaven's Gate became a running joke as the ultimate turkey of American cinema while the film has a cult following for those who felt the critics reviews at the time were unfair. Well, let's get to it and see what the fuss is about.

The movie begins in 1870 Harvard at a graduation ceremony where two men are on the verge of graduating. One is an American named James Averill (Kris Kristofferson) and the other is a British man named Billy Irvine (John Hurt) as Billy is the class valedictorian. After a long speech from the Reverend Doctor (Joseph Cotten) who urges his graduates to spread culture through the world, Billy mocks the whole speech claiming the world doesn't need any kind of change. After a huge dance and celebration, the two young idealists are on their way to become a part of the world.

Twenty years later, Averill is a marshal for Johnson County, Wyoming as he arrives to the town of Casper to discuss the growing tension between rich cattle baron and poor immigrant settlers is boiling. Leading the Stock Farmers Association is Frank Canton (Sam Waterson) who has hired an enforcer in Nate Champion (Christopher Walken) to maintain order. After talking to train conductor Cully (Richard Masur), Averill wonders what's going on as he goes to the house of the Stock Farmers' meeting where he meets Billy. Billy has become disillusioned with the increasing tension as he now drinks himself to death while he chooses to stay with the Association for political reasons. After confronting Canton, Averill leaves to return to Johnson County.

After meeting with the town's tavern owner John H. Bridges (Jeff Bridges) and the immigrants' political leader Mr. Eggleston (Brad Dourif), Averill goes to meet his lover and French brothel madam Ella Watson (Isabelle Huppert). After presenting her with a new carriage, they ride around town where Averill tells her that things for the immigrants are more problematic as he wants her to leave so she can be safe but she wants to stay with him. After a party with Bridges and Eggleston along with several immigrants, Ella returns to her work one night as Nate arrives where he asks her to marry him.

One morning as Averill stays at the tavern, Nate sees him to talk about Ella as Averill says that Ella is his. Nate, who is in conflict as an immigrant and as Canton's enforcer while Averill learns about the death list of 125 names that included Ella. Averill confronts Nate about Ella's name on the death list leading to a fight. Nate is confused over the news as Averill leaves to the tavern while Nate takes Ella to his cabin where he lives with a trapper (Geoffrey Lewis) and a friend named Nick (Mickey Rourke). Meanwhile back in Casper, Cully sees an unscheduled train pass by as he learns it's Canton and several men including bounty hunters.

Cully tries to make his way to Johnson County only to be killed while Ella stays with Nate for a while seeing despite the fact that he doesn't have much. Averill meanwhile, holds a town meeting with Eggleston and Bridges to announce the death list where the immigrant settlers become unruly. Ella returns home to find a few of Canton's men (one of them is Tom Noonan) as they rape her until Averill comes to the rescue. When Nate arrives, his motives change as he confronts Canton and declares war on him and his men. With Ella unsure on who to turn to, Averill isn't sure if he wants to be part of a war as he quits his job as the town's marshal. With increasing tension mounting, the war between cattle barons and immigrant settlers finally come to ahead in a bloody climax that leads to tragedy and the realization of the American dream.

While the intentions as a revisionist Western to comment on American imperialism seems lost in what Michael Cimino was aiming for. What he offers instead is one hell of a mess in the film's story. From its beautiful yet irrelevant opening scene at Harvard (that was shot in Oxford) to its hazy and enchanting Western scenery, the film doesn't hold itself together. The crime for this film really belongs to Cimino, both in his sloppy writing and his muddy direction. If the film had been shown in its unseen five-hour cut, maybe there would've been more about all the central characters in the film but instead, the audience doesn't really get to know or sympathize with anything.

The film's major fault is in its script. Cimino really should’ve gotten some help in the writing, especially in an epic Western like this. It's because there's not much back-story on some of the characters or why there's tension between Nate Champion and James Averill, or how they even got involved in the Johnson County Wars. Plus, the script really hashes out some very messy dialogue, even in the scenes with immigrants talking in their respective language that really makes no sense. While the portrayal of the cattle barons are well spot-on since their intention is money and power, the portrayal of the immigrant settlers is horribly written. Yes, the audience can understand why they moved West and steal expensive cattle but as the movie develops, they turn from a poor, hungry group of small people into an unruly, violent mob that really loses idea of sympathy as they almost become as sick and depraved as the cattle barons.  If an immigrant that came to America saw this, it's likely they would be horrified by the portrayal of the immigrants shown on the film.

The script is really one of the biggest reasons for the failure of this film while it's also one of the first films that puts in a love story set in some historical landmark. While the love triangle of Averill/Champion/Watson is a big part of the story, it really doesn't go anywhere nor does it provide any kind of motivation for its characters. It was something that is needed to give the audience something else other than its Western like settings. While there's some moments in that subplot that works like Averill and Watson dancing in the town hall building or Watson's intimate moments with Champion in their respective houses. It really doesn't add anything to the film except as an unnecessary distraction. Still, it at least beats the soulless love story subplot in Michael Bay's 2001 crapfest known as Pearl Harbor. 

If the script a major fault in what Cimino wanted, it's his directing that really screw things up. While he has a great eye for exterior epic-canvas that Sergio Leone would be proud of, in terms of his intentions. It really doesn't do anything for the film. His idea of putting a Harvard prologue to convey the idealism that Averill would bring later on doesn't give any sense of what will happen nor does it do anything for John Hurt's character either. It's a beautiful scene, especially the Harvard dance sequence but for the audience. It seems like they're watching an entirely different film.

There's only a few bright moments in Cimino's directing like the town hall party with a violinist performing on roller skates with Jeff Bridges and Isabelle Huppert dancing in a big circle. Even some parts of the battle scenes are excellent in its classic shoot-out scenario. Unfortunately, it's those same battle scenes that really messes up the film since the audience doesn't know who to root for while at the end, it was supposed to the disillusionment of the American dream for immigrants. Instead, it's just a violent battle were neither party gains anything. Aside from its portrayal of characters, loads of extras, and intentions, the film doesn't really go anywhere and the result is like watching a disaster unfolding right to its ridiculous epilogue scene in the early 20th Century where Averill is on a ship in Rhode Island feeling melancholic by what has happened those years ago. In that ending, it makes the entire movie to be nothing but a complete waste of time to begin with.

There are many reasons why this film failed in the first place aside from its poor script and chaotic directing. The fault should be going to the film's producers as well for letting all of this happen. When the audience look at the film in terms of its production, they will realize how much they spend on extras and the detail of all the buildings they built despite how good they look. What is more baffling was how in the hell did they end up spending $40 million into all of this. This is why both producers and directors should watch out for themselves. Finally, one of the things that is really aggravating was the opening credits where it reads Michael Cimino's... Heaven's Gate that is an example of pure egomania. Sure Federico Fellini and Lars von Trier were also egotistical but they always had strong films to back up their egos.

While the detail of production from art directors Tambi Larsen and James I. Berkey are wonderful to look, notably the tavern and town hall along with the costume design of J. Allen Highfill. The real star of the film in terms of its technical achievements is the cinematography of Vilmos Zsigmond. Zsigmond's use of sepia-orange colors and lighting gives the film not just a sense of authenticity and a look of what the film should look like if it was set in those times. In its exterior scenes, Zsigmond really does a great job in capturing the epic canvas in what Cimino wanted, even in its smoky, hazy settings of the battle sequences and the locations of the outdoors. In the exteriors, Zsigmond's use of candles, sunlight, and lanterns are very spot on for his emphasis on authenticity. If there's one true positive aspect of this film, it's Vilmos Zsigmond.

Another wonderful achievement of the film is the string-drenched score of David Mansfield with his use of mandolins, guitars, and strings that gives the film a haunting tone along with a melancholia about the plight of the immigrants and its revisionist take. Even in the town hall sequence, the music is very vibrant that is performed well by Mansfield and T-Bone Burnett (who makes a cameo in the film as a musician). While the film's editing manages to create a nice, leisurely paced.  Whatever Cimino wanted from his four editors, it seemed like the amount of footage and transitions are often jerky and the rhythm of some of the scenes (notably the battle scenes) is off at times.

Then there's the film's cast that includes appearances from future unknowns like Willem Dafoe, Elizabeth McGovern, and Anna Levine-Thompson while there's nice appearances from Mickey Rourke, Geoffrey Lewis, Tom Noonan, and Richard Masur. In terms of the performance, a lot of it is very uninspiring. The only performance that seems to make any sense of the mess that is this film is John Hurt. Playing a disillusioned drunk who is watching everything unfold, Hurt comes off as pathetic but in Hurt's mind. Since he knew it was a disaster, he decided to make his character be the disaster himself. When the film just goes on, Hurt just rambles on and on about how the world sucks and everything and at least was given a fitting departure.

Brad Dourif is a great character actor but his performance as Mr. Eggleston is badly written since he comes off as a pathetic immigrant trying to get his people to be reasonable only to fall into their trap and later, be ousted as he turns to Averill in the end. Jeff Bridges is excellent as the drunken bar owner who tries to be reasonable as he is one of the very few actors who actually does a worthy performance. Unfortunately, because of the situations he's in, Bridges couldn't make his character memorable enough. It would be more memorable, if he channeled THE DUDE. Neither does Joseph Cotten since he's only in the film for 10 minutes delivering a dull speech that will make anyone fall asleep. Sam Waterson does a fine job in playing the villainous Frank Canton with his desire for money and power but really doesn't do anything since the character comes off as very one-dimensional leaving the very talented Waterson to play a very mediocre character.

Isabelle Huppert, who is one of the greatest actresses of international cinema, only gives a slightly fair performance as a naive brothel madam. Though she can bring some chemistry with any other actor, because of the script, Huppert comes out of this film as an idiot who is in love with two men and really has not motivation for what she's doing. Huppert is really given a very one-dimensional part that really doesn't add up, even as she goes out and fight in the battle sequences. Because of Cimino's sloppy direction, Huppert isn't given anything for an audience to remember her by except get naked frequently, even as she takes a bath in the river. That however, despite the fact that it was unnecessary, is a bright spot since she looks great naked and is still an art-house hottie as once some guy sees her ass, that dude will wish he was Jason Schwartman in I Heart Huckabee's and get a piece of that. Aside from that, it's no wonder why Huppert has had a hard time trying to get recognition in the U.S. despite being an icon in her native France and all over the world with an American cult following.

The GREAT Christopher Walken also suffers from Cimino's directing and script despite giving out some great lines and a shadowy presence. Of all of the performances in the film, no matter how mediocre they are, he was the only one who actually came close to actually delivering a great performance only if Cimino hadn't restrained him too much. Walken brings charm and sensitivity to his scenes with Huppert while bringing in a restrained tone to his scenes with Kristofferson. Unfortunately, that restraint almost makes his character dull unless he's in a shootout or killing people. If Walken had his way, he would've made Nate Champion funny and memorable to the point that we would say, "Hey, it's the GREAT Christopher Walken" where Walken would probably sing and dance and do all those great WHOA moments. And if anyone wondered how he acted his way flawlessly in bombs like Gigli and Country Bears, they will see why.

Finally, there's Kris Kristofferson who is a very fine actor but doesn't bring enough charisma or stature that a character like James Averill should be. Kristofferson does well when he's acting tough and can deliver great dialogue but his character also suffers from Cimino's poor script and directing. When Kristofferson tries to look young in the Harvard prologue, he almost looks ridiculous but he looks even worse with its bad makeup and gray hair in the film's epilogue scene. Kristofferson also falters in his scenes with Huppert since he doesn't seem likely to be the kind of guy you want to bed Huppert. Couldn't they have brought someone like Robert Redford or Robert de Niro to play that character? They could've done a better job but they too would probably suffer from Cimino's directing as well. It's a shame too since the film was supposed to be a star-making turn for Kristofferson though he has managed to survive this flop.

It's been 30 years since the release of Heaven's Gate while many of the actors who partook in this notorious film has gone on to do bigger and better things. Though United Artists did come back with the James Bonds films, it was still wounded by the release of Heaven's Gate. While the film did survive in video and got a critical re-evaluation from the LA-based cable channel, Z-channel when it premiered its uncut version in 1982. The film did nothing to help the career of its director Michael Cimino. After turning down chances to direct other movies including Footloose, he went on to direct a couple of more films in the 80s like 1985's Year of the Dragon with Mickey Rourke and 1987's The Sicilian with Christopher Lambert which got some good reviews but venomous ones from those who still remembered Heaven's Gate.

Things only got worse when a former United Artist executive named Steven Bach released Final Cut about the unmaking of Heaven's Gate where Cimino's reputation was hurt. Cimino would direct two more films in the 1990s, 1990's remake of Desperate Hours with Mickey Rourke and Anthony Hopkins and the 1996 straight-to-video film The Sunchaser with Woody Harrelson. Since then, Cimino has likely disappeared while in 2004, Heaven's Gate was re-released to theaters in the U.S. along with a documentary on the making of the film as many still debate about the film's legacy.

So why is the film so important? It's because of the fact that it's a failure and shows how egomania can destroy a movie that could've great in its potential. Anyone who's a film student should watch this for one reason, what not to do when making a movie. Here's the lessons that should be learned from this film:

1. Whenever you have complete freedom including final cut, you have to understand your limits.

2. When making a big-budget film such as this, make sure you're going to get some money back by hiring some major film stars that can bring in an audience.

3. In terms of writing an epic, make sure you have a full understanding on how an epic works and it's best to get help from other writers, even if only you will have final credit in the writing.

4. If you plan to make a period piece, especially that concerns a part of history. Bring a historian first to help with the script for accuracy and such. Worry about the production later. It's going to take a long time but once you have it right, then you have nothing to worry about.

5. When being called the new hot director, don't listen to anyone that gets into your head. Just figure out what to do and in the meantime, keep your fucking ego in check.

Heaven's Gate is not the remarkable disaster that many claim to be but it's still a magnificent failure.  It's a film, despite Vilmos Zsigmond's marvelous cinematography and David Mansfield's haunting score, that reveals how much is too much when the director goes way over his head into creating an epic film.  While cinephiles might have something to gain from this film from a historical perspective.  Fans of westerns will be turned off by its muddled story along with its disregard towards history.  For fans of Cimino, this is probably the one film they need to check out though it is nowhere near the brilliance of The Deer Hunter.  In the end, Heaven's Gate is a failure but a failure that is actually interesting to watch no matter how seriously flawed it is.

Heaven's Gate (2012 Restoration Edition)

(C) thevoid99 2010