News culture He foundered his studio and was a huge failure in cinema. The most megalomaniacal film in history is available on Amazon
Published on 03/27/2024 at 10:20
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The story of a bitter failure, which has become a cult film.
In 1980, Hollywood was rocked by one of the biggest disasters of its history. Heaven's Gatedirected by Michael Cimino, was a monumental failure at its output.
Battles between director and producers
The story of Heaven's Gate is that of a excessive ambition. Michael Cimino, praised for his previous success with Journey to the end of hell, had carte blanche. Its objective: to achieve an epic film about the Johnson County War, a series of conflicts between rich and small ranchers in Wyoming, a mythical symbol of the Conquest of the West. But as soon as the choice of distribution was made, the problems began. Indeed, director Cimino imposed Isabelle Huppert for the lead role, which triggered a battle with United Artists producersreluctant to the idea of having a French actress still relatively little known in the USA. Despite the resistance, Cimino held on, and Huppert was finally confirmed as Ella Watson.
A chaotic and much too expensive shoot
The shoot itself was a saga in its own right. Cimino, known for its obsessive perfectionismspent we are extravagant to create authentic decors and for shoot scenes over and over again, until you obtain the desired result. The budget exploded, passing from $7 million to $44 million (an astronomical sum at the time), making La Porte du Paradis the most expensive film ever made at this moment. Despite all efforts, the film was a resounding failure at the box officeyes reporting that $3.5 million. The criticism was not blunt either. The film has been called Hollywood's “most scandalous cinematic waste.” It will come out several times, in versions mounted differently, with a new voiceover, with less violence… but nothing will help. Until recently.
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The end of New Hollywood?
The Gate of Heaven was such a failure that it led to the bankruptcy of United Artists. Worse, with decades of hindsight, many believe that the failure of this film led to the end of New Hollywood. Yet, more than forty later, Heaven's Gate found a unexpected redemption. Recent restorations have allowed the public to rediscover the film in all its splendor. Modern critics praise its artistic ambition, narrative complexity and social relevance. While the film was initially dismissed as an example of waste and excess, it is now hailed as a visionary work, whose scope far exceeds the limits of its time. Finally, Heaven's Gate is a significant example of the tumultuous history of ultra-ambitious films in Hollywood : it is not the first to make a big splash upon its release, and to be acclaimed a few generations later.
Heaven's Gate is available on Amazon Prime Video.
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