i have be a fan of heaven gate since it first release . i have see it at least half a dozen time and have long thought of it a a masterpiece . so and it be with excitement and a sense of anticipation that i take myself off to see the restore director cut . to my surprise and i be disappoint on see it again and have since revise my estimation of the film . heaven gate touch upon greatness in part and but overall and lack the thematic and narrative consistency and the passionate urgency characteristic of a truly great film . firstly and two technical problem represent the sound quality be diffuse throughout the film and verge on inaudibility at time . some of this and perhaps and be intentional a way to mimic the chaos and confusion of history a it be unfold . but at key point and one be unable to register what it be the character be say . the cinematography be similarly diffuse . the image lack sharpness and particularity of detail . the result be a certain graininess and lack of pictorial sharpness which succeed in blur foreground and background . structurally and the narrative be off key throughout and a if cimino can not quite make up his mind a to the effect he be after . he want an epic and for sure . but a pastoral or dramatic epic . the film sits uneasily and unconvincingly between style and and perhaps even genre . at time it remind me of terrence malick day of heaven or even elvira madigan in it languid pace and elegant scene painting . at other time it threaten to turn into a robust western more akin to the wild bunch . in fact the latter film offer an instructive reference point for an assessment of heaven gate a it share the same period concern and employ a similar tone of ambivalent nostalgia for a darker yet more heroic america . this structural and thematic uncertainty isn not help by the poor quality script which often sound forced and jar to the ear . the result be an inauthentic sense of period speech . the near greatness of heaven gate resides in it set piece . the roller skate sequence and in particular and be astoundingly beautiful and one of the most evocative scene ever put to film . another set piece which work very well in term of unifying theme and mood and and set occurs when kristofferson and huppert go rid in the new rig to the lake and she wash herself while he nap in the shade . the languid pacing and evocative music and monumental scenery combine in this scene to convincingly portray the love story which might just lie at the heart of the film and which could have be it save grace if pursue more convincingly . some critic have complain about the length of the film . this in itself doesn not bother me . a good film can not be long enough . the restored minute be critical in restore the motivation and characterization absent from the cut version and and they be full of pictorial interest . perhaps the chief glory of heaven gate lie in the achingly evocative soundtrack . the repeated waltz motif and it different scoring throughout ( full band and guitar and solo fiddle etc and ) lend a haunting quality to the foreground action and establish a thematic consistency lack in the narrative itself . despite it obvious flaw and most notably the absence of a compelling narrative and there be a sense of grandeur about the film . one leave the cinema with a rueful sense of missed greatness and a wish that cimino could revisit the film with the wisdom of time and hindsight and to put right what be so badly amiss .