MY DVD Collection - 09 Feb 2007

The Deer Hunter

(Die durch die Hölle gehen [de])

USA 1978
d: Michael Cimino
Warner Home Video (Region 2 uk)

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Heaven's Gate

(Heaven's Gate - Das Tor zum Himmel [de])

USA 1980
d: Michael Cimino
MGM/UA Home Entertainment (Region 1 us)

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For all the abuse heaped on it, this is - in its complete version, at least - a majestic and lovingly detailed Western which simultaneously celebrates and undermines the myth of the American frontier. The keynote is touched in the wonderfully choreographed opening evocation of a Harvard graduation in 1870: answering the Dean's ritual address urging graduates to spread culture through contact with the uncultivated, the class valedictorian (Hurt) mockingly replies that they see no need for change in a world 'on the whole well arranged'. Twenty years later, as Hurt and fellow-graduate Kristofferson become involved in the Johnson County Wars, their troubled consciences suggest that some change in the 'arrangements' might well have been in order. Watching uneasily as the rich cattle barons legally exterminate the poor immigrant farmers who have taken to illegal rustling to feed their starving families, they can only attempt to enforce the law that has become a mockery (Kristofferson) or lapse into soothing alcoholism (Hurt). Moral compromise on a national scale is in question here, a theme subtly echoed by the strange romantic triangle that lies at the heart of the film: a three-way struggle between the man who has everything (Kristofferson), the man who has nothing (Walken), and the girl (Huppert) who would settle for either provided no fraudulent compromise is asked of her. The ending, strange and dreamlike, blandly turns a blind eye to shut out the atrocities and casuistries we have witnessed, and on which the American dream was founded; not much wonder the American press went on a mass witch-hunt against the film's un-American activities.
— TM, Time Out Film Guide
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Michael Cimino wanted to make a Masterpiece. United Artists wanted the same, and they were captivated by the force and box-office impact of The Deer Hunter. So they made a deal, which Cimino steadily ignored. Was he mad, vainglorious, an outlaw, or a great artist? He knew that once a film is begun, it is very tough for its owners to back out. They may let the budget quadruple, hanging on, like desperate gamblers. Heaven's Gate broke United Artists when it came out—and made for the superb autopsy, Final Cut, by Steven Bach, one of the UA executives who signed off on the picture. So it is regarded now as a monster, a maverick, a rogue picture. Why not take another look? In which case, is this the last great Western, and maybe the first that actually wrestles with the politics of America?
—David Thomson
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After its disastrous premiere engagement, the film was heavily edited to 149 minutes for wide release in 1981. Full-length version (228 minutes) later restored for home video and syndicated television.
There are slight differences between the 'uncut' version on DVD and video and the original 70mm prints, most notably the ending. While the 70mm prints end with a freeze frame of an indecisive Averill in the doorway of his cabin, the DVD and video version ends with him standing on the deck of his yacht.
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Releases:
19 November 1980
23 April 1981 (Los Angeles, California) (edited version) (premiere)
24 February 2005 (Adelaide Film Festival) (director's cut)