Heaven's Gate (Director's Cut)

Director Michael Cimino’s ambitious take on the Johnson County War of the 1890s is a definitive masterpiece of the Western genre. Utilizing an extensive scale to match the landscape it portrays through its Oscar-nominated art direction, Heaven’s Gate chronicles the violent conflicts that arise from erupting tensions over disputed claims of land ownership between Wyoming land barons and poor, incoming European immigrants. Seen through the eyes of Marshall Jim Averill (Kris Kristofferson), Cimino’s cinematic journey into the west confronts foundational myths of America itself.

DIRECTED/WRITTEN BY: Michael Cimino. WITH: Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, John Hurt, Sam Waterston. 1980. 216 min. USA. Color. Scope. English. Rated R. DCP.