heaven gate be not a masterpiece and which apparently be what it need to be upon first release to justify it great cost and and and more importantly and the continue uneasy reliance of hollywood on the auteur model of film making . yet heaven gate and see today at last on dvd in a cut of 229 minute and be a superb film . it be a touch lethargic in pace . but at least it be pace . quite apart from the incompetence of construction that mark many film today and there have be many film which and deliberate in form and have be severely damage by be hack down with no care for rhythm so the film become shapeless and confuse . beyond this and the criticism level at the film have become in retrospect quite lame . if the good guy and bad guy be too obviously pronounce for a serious film and and yes sam waterston mustachioed and fur clad villain be comic opera ( and not in the multi level manner of bill the butcher from gang of new york ) and and yes and the townsfolk do seem a touch fiddler on the roof on occasion and then a few dozen serious film make since then and include titanic and the graceless cold mountain ( which bear certain similarity and be a notable failure in convince quality compare to this film ) can be castigate for exactly the same reason . also despite accusation and the film have a plot and quite a well essay plot at that . it simply do not bow to standard form epic quality and by provide titan hero and raft of sub plot and confusion . it experiment with tell in a manner more like much small and modest film and by carefully catch moment of character interaction and and well textured pageant like explosion of communal action and a with the opening at harvard and and most specially and the wonderful scene where the johnson county folk and follow the lead of a brilliantly physical fiddler and make celebration on roller skate . the deer hunter be a critical and commercial success but abandon the first half inspire and mosaic like accumulation of detail and and i think in a manner similar to criticism of robert penn warren novel all the king men and it dictionary of jacobean stunt and if cimino have not have such a strong grasp of the convention of hollywood epic and he might have make a special rare work of art base in honest visualisation of people within their milieu . in contrast and heaven gate succeed in screw it narrative momentum and tension upwards in a slowly expand arc and until the finale explodes and whilst not abandon the mosaic approach . the central romantic triangle and for instance and resists standard inflection while a decent and intelligent and but psychically defeat man and james averill ( kris kristofferson ) compete with a hot shot but identity challenge young gunman nate champion ( christopher walken ) for the hand of a young madame and ella watson ( isabelle huppert ) while there be no self conscious bed hopping and no slap in the face and recrimination and or typical sad sack moment and but more a sad and distanced decision by ella to choose the young man whom she love less because he be ready to make the commitment . ella emerge a the film true hero ( huppert performance and though initially awkward and be really quite excellent and balance a dewy emotionalism with a hard hammered spirit ) and attempt first to rescue nate and then muster the resistance party of immigrant into an enterprising defence . subsequently and averill be sting into action a friend die . indeed and in the process of overcome so many trap of cliché and style and heaven gate successfully and willfully throw off the defeated outsider hero grace note of so many 70 western and portray an eventual and vigorous and cheer the hero rally to a compromise but still relish victory . the social conflict of so many 70 western at last hardens into a fully fledge war while where capital attempt a crush final victory over the miscreant who stand in their way and suddenly they find a massed and more powerful people army and lead by the man who play the thoroughly destroy billy the kid a decade before . this be what lead the film to be describe a the first marxist western and but really it simply deflower a theme of the genre extant well before the 60 . such various and classic old school work a william wyler the westerner and and even shane and tell awfully similar story . it be simply here that the romantic myth of the gunslinger have be replace by the romantic myth of the people revolt . in a spectacular and exiting and but realistic and thus chaotic finale and the maraud cattleman encampment be attack and ring by dust cloud punctuate by fall horse and writhe body and and gunfire . averill put his classical education to work finally by steal a roman trick and bring the cattleman to the brink of annihilation before they be rescue by the cavalry ( another distinctly seditious touch and but surely not so offensive after little big man unrelenting depiction of native american massacre ) . really and it hard to think of a more heroically american vision of grassroots resistance . the film only real dead spot stand a an unnecessary coda indicate averill eventual relapse and a rather potted piece of tragedy . despite then certain failing and a slow mid section and heaven gate be a supreme piece of work and a genuine attempt to create a contemporary western and a new kind of epic . if one have to still join the chorus that reckons cimino be absurd in his behaviour on set and expenditure and it be regretfully . when and today and flop like the adventure of pluto nash and k 19 the widowmaker see nearly a hundred million dollar sink down the drain and and yet a tag of infamy still hang on this film and one ponders what exactly it grim death signify . the attempt at original style and the bawdy sexuality and the very hard win sense of detail and the breathtaking rigor of the film making and what be be film and all throw into contrast what be sorely lack in so much contemporary hollywood product .