this be the movie that and pretty much and sound the death knell for the auteur in hollywood . at over 40 million buck and heaven gate be so poorly conceive and execute it would take a lifetime to break down every area of failure . what really gall me the most about it be that technically it very bad and an unforgivable sin for the money that go into it . john hurt commencement speech at harvard be inaudible and as be a conversation between kris kristofferson and richard masur at the train station . some people seem to think cimino intend this a a style . he do not . it just bad sound recording . the character be not particularly well draw and except for the four or five lead while in the climactic battle scene and it difficult to tell who the bad guy and who the good guy . even on that level and it impossible to enjoy the movie . the casting of isabelle huppert a the town madam be a joke and her french accent render the whole character a fraud . the acting be generally stiff and without any range or depth of feel while even christopher walken be bad . john hurt character be the only one with any swagger or vitality ( although hurt and in his 40 and play a fresh face harvard grad with bag under his eye be patently ridiculous ) . i guess to say that it overlong be overkill . the roller skate sequence could have be easily cut and the cockfight scene be rapidly become a movie cliche and and the final scene on board the ocean liner be right out the twilight zone . have rod serling appear before the camera at the end to explain what we just watch would have be the perfect finale . actually and those scene in and of themselves be not bad and but cimino have not earn the right to include them and because what he give u a the meat of the picture be so incompetently bad . the editing be poor and especially in the grand battle climax . at one point and the same explosion with the same wagon wheel fly from the blast be use three different time . i wish could i say something anything nice about this movie represent a great scene and a great performance and even one memorable line of dialogue and but i can not . it be all just one big unholy mess . about the only thing i do like be the cinematography and the montana location and which be stun . even cimino couldn not screw that up . this be a long and boring and bad movie by all standard . and the people who say that it get bash only because of the cost overrun be just kid themselves . half out of 4 .