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Heaven's Gate
Sign in to save1980 American Western film directed by Michael Cimino
Film · TMDB
6.7Harvard graduate James Averill serves as the sheriff of prosperous Jackson County, Wyoming, standing at the center of a conflict between impoverished immigrants and affluent cattle farmers. Politically connected ranchers enlist mercenary Nathan Champion—who is also vying for the affections of local madam Ella Watson—to combat the immigrant uprising. As tensions escalate, both Averill and Champion start to question their decisions.
Cast
- Kris Kristofferson as James Averill
- Christopher Walken as Nathan D. Champion
- John Hurt as Billy Irvine
- Sam Waterston as Frank Canton
- Brad Dourif as Mr. Eggleston
- Isabelle Huppert as Ella Watson
Themes
- immigrant
- showdown
- wyoming, usa
- love triangle
- montana
- brothel
- marshal
- idealist
- cock fighting
- cockfight
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Key facts
- Directed by
- Michael Cimino
- Written by
- Michael Cimino
- Produced by
- Joann Carelli
- Starring
- Kris Kristofferson Christopher Walken John Hurt Sam Waterston Brad Dourif Isabelle Huppert Jeff Bridges Joseph Cotten
- Cinematography
- Vilmos Zsigmond
- Edited by
- Lisa Fruchtman Gerald Greenberg William Reynolds Tom Rolf
- Music by
- David Mansfield
- Production company
- Partisan Productions
- Distributed by
- United Artists
- Release dates
- November 19, 1980 ( 1980-11-19 ) (New York City) April 24, 1981 ( 1981-04-24 ) (United States)
- Running time
- See Alternative versions
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Budget
- $32—44 million
- Box office
- $3.5 million
via Wikipedia infobox
~37 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Heaven's Gate is a 1980 American epic Western film written and directed by Michael Cimino, starring Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, John Hurt, Sam Waterston, Brad Dourif, Isabelle Huppert, Jeff Bridges, and Joseph Cotten, and loosely based on the Johnson County War. It revolves around a dispute between land barons and European immigrants of modest means in Wyoming in the 1890s.
The film's production faced numerous setbacks, including cost overruns, significant retakes, bad press (including allegations of animal abuse on set), and rumors about Cimino's allegedly authoritarian directorial style. Cimino had an expensive and ambitious vision for the film, pushing it nearly four times over its planned budget.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Heaven's Gate” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.