The initial critical reception to the film was almost universally negative. "The New York Times" critic Vincent Canby panned the film, calling it "something quite rare in movies these days - an unqualified disaster," comparing it to "a forced four-hour walking tour of one's own living room." Canby went even further by stating that "t fails so completely that you might suspect Mr. Cimino sold his soul to the devil to obtain the success of "The Deer Hunter" and the Devil has just come around to collect."