MovieChat Forums > Heaven's Gate (1981) Discussion > Textured incoherence

Textured incoherence

posted 12 years ago by asktheages
2 replies | jump to latest

Narratively, this seems to me often extremely clunky, and some sequences just go on and on and on with no purpose. And yet it's fascinating in spite of this. Such a strange film: I love it one minute, find it tedious and irritating the next. Above all, it's a great atmospheric piece: put it on and get lost in the old trains and plumes of smoke and authentic clothing and stifling heat and beautiful wallpaper. An empty demonstration of aesthetics without real pathos? (I feel perhaps only the intimate waltz scene approaches this). Still, in its immersive textures and its sheer overwhelming sense of lived-in experience, it's a film that's unlike any other and should not be ignored, flaws and all.

[–] famousmortimer-2 12 years ago

I think this movie can get overwhelming for viewers due to its "texture" and thus come across as incoherent... But each of the main characters and even most of the supporting ones have quite finely drawn arcs straight out of a novel -- they give the story its throughline if you're willing to look. They're all biding time before the last judgment comes in the form of hired killers and a supportive national guard.

Cimino built it to be big and dense -- first 2/3rds all tick-of-the-clock set up, final 3rd all disorienting climax.

[–] myturn21 12 years ago

"I love it one minute, find it tedious and irritating the next"

I feel the same way. And I feel the same way about Gone w/the Wind!

There's just something that fascinates me about Heaven's Gate. In fact, I like it even more than The Deer Hunter, which I find to be even more tedious than this one!

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"ARRÊT! C'est l'empire de la mort!"