Good news, Everyone! Well, for some of us, that is…
Finally, The Criterion Collection, one of the greatest boutique labels ever, are releasing a newly restored version of Michael Cimino’s much maligned film Heaven’s Gate. I had heard that there were rumors of such a thing for a while now, but the announcement was made official today (or yesterday, rather). We will be seeing a Bluray and DVD in November of this year.
Now, is Heaven’s Gate a misunderstood masterpiece? I wouldn’t go so far as to call it that, but I will say that I really dig the film quite a bit. And I realized this again recently as I watched it on Netflix streaming. The cinematography is gorgeous and the production design is impeccable. Add to that a fantastic cast and a really bizarre screenplay and you have one of the most fascinating westerns ever made. Sure, it sank United Artists studios when it famously flopped in 1980, but there was a shit ton of negative press surrounding the film and I think a lot of the critics were bandwagon jumping without giving the film a fair shot.
But it is a reallybizarre epic. All the better, I say…
hwicfilm 