Final Cut: The Making and Unmaking of Heaven's Gate

An absorbing chronicle of the fabled history of the landmark film, HEAVEN'S GATE. The documentary is fairly well researched and clever in its technique (particularly the imaginative use of the extensive production stills taken - most never seen before.) The interviews with two of the film's stars (Kristofferson and Bridges) are great in that they are still on good terms with and champion Michael Cimino. Interviews with cinematographer, Vilmos Zsigmond and Penelope Shaw are also wonderful and give you a taste of what it must have been like to work alongside Cimino. Even the interviews with former UA executives, Bach & Field - who hired and later rued the day they engaged Cimino are fascinating and surprisingly balanced. One major disappointment is that of the hundreds of hours of film that was shot - and which is talked about and discussed extensively - no actual rushes or outtakes are shown (The terrible rumor is that they were scrapped at some later point.) Also - it's maddening for a fan of this film to hear Steven Bach speak of the 5+ hour rough cut that Cimino originally showed him - and that this version is unavailable for screening or study (if it even still exists.) Interestingly, the second cut of the film, released in 1981 is not just shorter but markedly different in many places (placement of scenes - different takes, etc.) and is now very hard to see or get access to (a little known DVD of this version is available in Europe and is well worth tracking down -- the transfer has a very different look and a much clearer dialog mix.)