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WHAT’S INSIDE? 2 — TODAY’S PICKS We hacked Allan Hunter’s
voicemail to find out what’s worth watching today
2 — RÉGIS ROINSARD Apparently Populaire is French
for popular
3 — REVIEWS Compliance Our Children Pablo’s Winter
4 — WHAT’S NEW ONLINE? Currently, many people arguing
4 — ENTRE CHIEN ET LOUP
HEAVENS GATE
BETTER GATE THAN NEVER Heaven’s Gate
GFF guest James Cagney
4 — WHAT DO YOU THINK?
WORDS: PHILIP CONCANNON
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Between a dog and a wolf there is a huskie?
4 — PICS OF THE DAY We managed to get a snap of
The long maligned has seen a critical resurgence in recent years, now aided by a stunning restoration from PARK CIRCUS THE KNIVES were out for Michael Cimino when Heaven’s Gate finally limped into American cinemas in late 1980. In The New York Times, Vincent Canby described it as “an unqualified disaster,” arguing that “nothing in the movie works properly. For all of the time and money that went into it, it’s jerry-built, a ship that slides straight to the bottom at its christening.” Roger Ebert said “The ridiculous scenes are endless,” and suggested that the film was “the most scandalous cinematic waste” he had ever seen. Having already been roundly mocked during its long and troubled production, Heaven’s Gate was now saddled with a toxic reputation that instantly sank it at the box office, taking down United Artists and its director’s career with it. Over thirty years later, it’s high time Heaven’s Gate was pulled out from under the wreckage of its reputation and regarded with fresh eyes. It’s hard to deny that the film is an uneven, lumbering beast, and that Cimino struggles to reconcile his characters and their relationships with the scope of his story, but this picture has considerable greatness within it. The sheer scale of the thing is something to behold. Irrepressible ambition was a
with the editor’s review of Songs for Amy
double-edged sword for Michael Cimino. Having won the Best Picture and Best Director Oscars for his second film, 1978’s The Deer Hunter, the young auteur regarded himself as a true artist and would allow nothing to stand in the way of his vision. The tales of his multiple retakes, absurdly detailed production design, and tantrums when beleaguered producers tried to clip his wings are legendary (and captured brilliantly in Steven Bach’s essential book Final Cut), but what has been lost in all of this is the fact that Cimino’s arrogance was at least partially justified by his talent. Heaven’s Gate cost a lot of money, but that money is right up there on the screen. Heaven’s Gate is an incredible spectacle. Shot in dreamy, misty tones by Vilmos Zsigmond (McCabe & Mrs Miller, The Deer Hunter), the film establishes a rich and authentic atmosphere that will completely draw you into its time and place if you allow it to. Cimino gives us something to look at in every scene, from the spectacular art direction to a series of brilliantly staged set-pieces. The introduction of Christopher Walken’s character (Nate Champion), silhouetted through a white sheet; the ambush that opens
the film’s second half; Champion’s last stand as his cabin burns around him; the thrilling climactic battle. These scenes and many others deserve to be rediscovered on the big screen, and the film deserves to be admired for its virtues instead of damned for its excesses. Along with such costly flops as Scorsese’s New York, New York, Spielberg’s 1941, Altman’s Popeye and Coppola’s One From the Heart, Heaven’s Gate helped to kill off the director-led creative resurgence of 70s American cinema, but also serves as a reminder of a period during which filmmakers regularly reached beyond their grasp and almost touched glory. At a time when too many studio films are happy to play it safe for fear of failure, it’s exhilarating to watch a film driven by such determination, ambition and artistry, even if those qualities are the very things that almost destroy it. Maybe Heaven’s Gate is a failure, but by God it’s a glorious one. 18 FEB - CINEWORLD 18 @ 17.30 GLASGOWFILM.ORG/FESTIVAL/ WHATS_ON/4737_HEAVENS_GATE
Far too many jokes about people being stoked to see Stoker
Produced by The Skinny magazine in association with the Glasgow Film Festival Editors Designer Digital Deputy Editor
Lewis Porteous Jamie Dunn Marianne Wilson Nathanael Smith Josh Slater-Williams
GFF BOX OFFICE Order tickets from the box office at www.glasgowfilm.org/festival or call 0141 332 6535 or visit Glasgow Film Theatre 12 Rose Street, Glasgow, G3 6RB boxoffice@glasgowfilm.org
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