During the Johnson County War in 1890 Wyoming, a sheriff born into wealth does his best to protect immigrant farmers from rich cattle interests.During the Johnson County War in 1890 Wyoming, a sheriff born into wealth does his best to protect immigrant farmers from rich cattle interests.During the Johnson County War in 1890 Wyoming, a sheriff born into wealth does his best to protect immigrant farmers from rich cattle interests.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 2 wins & 9 nominations total
- Champion
- (as Chris Walken)
- Beautiful Girl
- (as Roseanne Vela)
- Nell
- (as Mary C. Wright)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis movie is notorious for the amount of animal abuse that took place during production, including real cockfights and decapitated chickens. Horses were tortured, and at least four died. The outcry prompted the Screen Actors Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers to contractually authorize the American Humane Society to monitor the use of all animals in all filmed media.
- GoofsDespite music and a yard full of waltzing couples, several 360-degree panning shots at the Harvard commencement ball show that there is no orchestra.
- Quotes
Frank Canton: Mr. Champion, my grandfather was the Secretary of War to Harrison. His brother was the governor of the state of New York. My brother-in-law is Secretary of State. And to you, I represent the full authority of the government of the United States and the President.
Nathan D. Champion: Fuck him too.
Billy Irvine: Bravo, sir!
- Alternate versionsAfter 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.
- ConnectionsEdited into Gli ultimi giorni dell'umanità (2022)
- SoundtracksMamou Two-Step
Written by Doug Kershaw
In 1984 I rented "Heaven's Gate" in order to show a friend of mine who had wanted to know if the film was as bad as he had heard. About 50 or so minutes into the film, Averill walks into Casper, Wyoming, which at the time this scene takes place is 1890. The town is filled with many meticulously dressed pedestrians, and the streets are filled with horses and buggies. My friend starts laughing uncontrollably. I asked, "Did I miss something?" He pulls himself together and says, "You gotta be kidding. There ain't even that many people in Casper, Wyoming NOW."
That in a nutshell can easily describe what went wrong. The film reeks of a director desperately trying to convince us that this movie is very important and cries for us to think he's an absolute genius. Actors take long breaths between sentences as though they were going to choke on what they are saying (man, just wait till you get to the scene where the deathlist is read out - you truly believe he'll read all 125 names), while every shot is filled with either smoke or dust in order to give us the feeling that this is ART. Camino's intentions were honorable as I truly believed that he believed he was making a masterpiece. This is what happens when you go out to make a masterpiece. I had only wished he tried to go out and make a good western. Then this film might have worked.
- How long is Heaven's Gate?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate
- Filming locations
- Kalispell, Montana, USA(rollerskating rink)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $44,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $3,484,331
- Gross worldwide
- $3,484,523
- Runtime3 hours 39 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1