Cimino. Cimino is probably as well known for killing the fertile artistic period of American cinema of the 1970’s with expensive economic (but certainly not artistic) failure of Heaven’s Gate as he is for his 1978’s best picture winning Deer Hunter. Cimino only has three archiveable films and although I think Thunderbolt and Lightfoot is a fine film—it doesn’t sniff the top 10 of 1974 so his case really rests on The Deer Hunter and Heaven’s Gate. That is a remarkable 1-2 though— and they are certainly clear companions (long films, immaculate visuals, sagas/opuses/portraits) and look at the compositions below, breathtaking wide-angle arrangements, some of the most beautiful shots of this or any era in cinema’s 100+ long history. It makes me to sad that Heaven’s Gate was basically the end for Cimino — if he could have put together a long string of films on the level of The Deer Hunter and Heaven’s Gate– he goes down as one of the best of all-time.
Best film: The Deer Hunter. Come for the unbelievably tense Russian-roulette scenes and stay for the painstakingly detailed and authentic wedding, hunting sequences, and peak (or very near) work from De Niro, Streep and Walken. It is a portrait of a Pennsylvanian town and an innocence lost—tragic and powerful.
total archiveable films: 3
top 100 films: 0
top 500 films: 1 (The Deer Hunter)
top 100 films of the decade: 2 (The Deer Hunter, Heaven’s Gate)
most overrated: Nothing here really—not enough to get worked up about. Cimino has two films in the TSPDT consensus top 1000 – Deer Hunter is at #162 and Heaven’s Gate is at #421. I’m about 50 slots behind the consensus with The Deer Hunter at #227 and I’ve got Heaven’s Gate near my top 500— one of the first films left off the list.
most underrated: Nothing here either. The only other film in the archives is Thunderbolt and Lightfoot and it’s good- but it shouldn’t be in the TSPDT top 1000 so they have this correct.
gem I want to spotlight: It’s Heaven’s Gate. Time has been kind to Heaven’s Gate. If you’re watching it on a crappy VHS copy (which we were all forced to for years) it isn’t a top 1000 film. DVD and the Bluray has put this film in the right light/perspective. It has sequences and shots that are as stunning as anything put on film. Still, it is uneven, and there are stretches that falter—but there is real ambition and genius here. Vilmos Zsigmond’s photography, the use of natural lighting. The wide angle shots. It’s all on display.
stylistic innovations/traits: I mentioned much of it here with Heaven’s Gate but the wide shot compositions are breathtaking. The work Cimino and Zsigmond has just gotten better over the last 40 years. Cimino’s films take their time, but they’re draped in authentic and ambitious epic visuals. I think of The Conformist or 1900 from Bertolucci as well. There may only be 3 films here for Cimino in the archives but I had a large time keeping the visuals taken for this page under 10—there was an abundance to choose from.
top 10
- The Deer Hunter
- Heaven’s Gate
- Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
By year and grades
| 1974- Thunderbolt and Lightfoot | R |
| 1978- The Deer Hunter | MP |
| 1980- Heaven’s Gate | MS |
*MP is Masterpiece- top 1-3 quality of the year film
MS is Must-see- top 5-6 quality of the year film
HR is Highly Recommend- top 10 quality of the year film
R is Recommend- outside the top 10 of the year quality film but still in the archives
Hi. I think « Year of the Dragon » deserves a mention.
@KidCharlemagne — Good add- thank you. I haven’t seen it. I’ll put it on the list.
Heaven’s Gate is Top 100 of the 1980s. Have an independent review of it??
@AP– I think you’re right actually. It is a film that stayed with me but I want to see it again to confirm. I don’t have an independent review of it. Thinking of pulling the trigger on the bluray.
I always wanted to know, why do you think it is that Heaven’s Gate got such a bad response when it was first released? The contrast here noted between your view of the film and critics’ is very striking: you have it as a Must-See and it only gets a 58% approval rate on Rotten Tomatoes. Why do you think is that? Is it maybe that it came out right after the Deer Hunter, which just took the world by storm, and Heaven’s Gate couldn’t really live up to everyone’s expectations?
@Georg Yes- I think following up Deer Hunter is though. Expectations were high and the buzz around this film– expensive, long shoot. It’s also challenging film, long in running time. I think many on RT put far too much emphasis on that and the narrative and turn a blind eye (how else could you explain it?) to the breathtaking visuals. If you track over time though when a big masterpiece comes out (especially from a young director)- the follow-up is usually better than the reputation. I think of Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette following up Lost in Translation every time but there are many others (including this).
@Drake – yes I think you’re right. The expectations must have been impossible and if I’m honest Heaven’s Gate, even though a respectable film, is no Deer Hunter, so it all makes sense. I think you’re right about Marie Antoinette as well. I think you’ve mentioned a similar case (and I 100% agree here) with Woody’s Interiors, right after Annie Hall.
Is Scorsese in 1976-77 a good example?
Scorsese made New York New York(a film solidly in the top 1000 but not as good as Taxi Driver) after Taxi Driver. This was met with so much criticism, that Scorsese actually went on a alcohol overdose and almost retired/killed himself!
This is quite surprising, i’m a fan of Scorsese and didn’t know this.
But I do not think it is comparable. New York New York is quite disappointing, after making a top 50 movie of all time, there is less quality decline with Cimino
Heaven’s Gate is the greatest example I can think 0f h0w critical 0verreacti0n and studi0 c0wardice killed a great film and a direct0r’s career ! Thank G0dCimin0 lived l0ng en0ugh t0 see the wheel turn r0und
@Aldo you’re right. Scorsese’s movies (from 1976-77)have similarities in critical reception to Cimino’s DH and HG but overall it isnt really comparable.
Did you know, Scorsese thought about ending it all. He was in the hospital from Drugs/alcohol. At that time, De Niro had read Jake La Motta’s autobiography Raging Bull. He asked Scorsese to direct Raging Bull but Marty had no interest in sports. Eventually De Niro convinced Scorsese to direct Raging Bull. The movie saved Marty’s career and maybe even his life!
@Aldo Scorsese went from being celebrated as one of the greatest (after making Taxi Driver) to being heavily criticized after making a decent/mediocre (top 1000)movie. This proves how hard being a director is.
Yes, I just read it as soon as you mention that he wanted to commit suicide, although I honestly don’t know how De Niro thought it was a good idea, there aren’t many good sports movies
Drake, I think you were wrong here “I think of The Conformist from Antonioni or 1900 from Bertoluccci as well”
I don’t know if you tried to mention an Antonioni movie and you forgot, or you accidentally entered his name, since 1900 and the conformist are by Bertolucci, also Bertolucci wears two “C” not three
@Aldo- much appreciated. Thanks for the help
I think you are kinda underating the deer hunter. Its a top 150 for me. Atleast should be in top 200.
Should say 2 top 100 of decade films as Heaven’s Gate landed at #82 here: http://thecinemaarchives.com/2019/03/13/the-best-films-of-the-decade-the-1980s/
@Harry- you are right- thank you for the help.
Am I wrong in seeing a link between The Deer Hunter and John Ford?
– Both Cimino’s movie and many of Ford’s movies share a strong sense of community, focusing on a tight-knit town or group of people
– Many of Ford’s movies focus on one main protagonist, but the supporting characters’ roles are often equally as important, with their subplots receiving substantial screen time and narrative focus. This is similar to a few of The Deer Hunter’s secondary characters, who seem like leads despite supporting De Niro’s Mike in the main story.
– Both Cimino and Ford share a love of inspiring scenery, and this manifests in a cinematically awesome yet unrealistic way. It is improbable that so many major lives and events could occur within the barren terrain of Monument Valley, and the Cascade mountain deer hunting setting looks nothing like the topography near Clairton Pennsylvania, but I don’t disagree with the directors’ choices one bit.
– The Deer Hunter’s wedding sequence is reminiscent of Ford’s love of celebrations and festivals, such as those in The Grapes of Wrath and My Darling Clementine.
– The end of The Deer Hunter matches Ford. Mike goes on a journey to rescue his Nick from danger in a foreign community, only to find that Nick has no desire to return home. Substitute the names “Ethan” and “Debbie” to the past sentence and you’re left with a valid synopsis of The Searchers.
– Unfortunately, both Cimino and Ford have been criticized for neglecting the viewpoints of other races in their films.
– Although both The Deer Hunter and most Ford’s movies contain good camera movement and great editing, there are not long, complex tracking shots or showy, quick-cut montages. These films are worthy of higher directorial praise for other aspects, such as set and landscape choices, powerfully rendered narratives, and subtle advancements in form.
@Graham- I had not thought of this before but you make a compelling argument. Thanks for sharing.
In both of the big Cimino’s the characters start off in their hometowns before heading off to some uncharted new world, you have the Pennsylvania steel town transforming into Vietnam in The Deer Hunter and Harvard transforming into the West in Heaven’s Gate.
Gave The Deer Hunter a second spin today with how well my rewatch of Heaven’s Gate went a few months ago.
The Deer Hunter (1978):
A real monster of a film. Three distinct in-tone acts divide this epic up.
We have the pre-war section kicking off the first hour. Like Days of Heaven also in 1978 we open with some hellish manual labor in a steel mill, the characters we follow working with harsh molten material. So much fun watching those guys in the bar. Cimino wants to build and flesh out a community, we have the extended wedding sequence which could be a twist on Visconti and the gorgeous steely blue exteriors as De Niro runs through the town like a mad man. The film really ascends in the hunting trip, maybe the last moment of joy here. A stunner long-take of Dzundza chasing after the car with the lake and forest in the background, Cimino showing off the epic landscape. Then we have their lil picnic with a momentous glacier as a backdrop, a hilarious conversation with Cazelle always forgetting his boots. Cimino will return to the deer hunt later in the film and some how to make it ever more miraculously beautiful. Then we have that final scene back in the bar, Cimino showing off with some great split diopters capturing the now more solemn mood.
Then we cut to the war. Beginning with raw spectacle, bombings and De Niro flaming down the Viet Cong. Another jump cut flipping the situation and revealing a grisly set piece; the riverside shack and its watery prison divided by a trap-door. The Russian roulette is what people remember most about this film for good reason, even on a rewatch it’s still nerve-wracking. This doesn’t work nearly as well without Cimino’s choice of POW camp, this setup even allows the blood to fall into the water making things worse.
Back home, Cimino’s thesis is showing the devastation on the community he took his time building up earlier. The second deer hunting trip is just a godly sequence. De Niro walking along the ridge, backed by clouds and fronted by his reflection in grey water has to be one of my favourite shots in cinema. Zsigmond just shoots the hell out of this sequence, De Niro tracking through the hills is awesome.
De Niro returns to Saigon which Savage said is going to hell and you feel that. The film’s most tragic sequence is all shot at night and a total onslaught of perfect lighting. The streets and rivers at night at stunning, the gambling den is another great moment with how packed it is with men eager to see bloodshed. Walken’s zombie-like appearance here is devastating, then when the film ends in twenty minutes there’s the genius move with the credits that remind you how good things were before the war.
De Niro, Walken and Streep with some of their best work to date.
So much connective tissue between this and Heaven’s Gate (I have as a much stronger effort though that is no insult to this film), like Zane pointed out the travel to a new region aspect, but also the wedding here is something Cimino evolved into the grand dances in Heaven’s Gate, (there’s also the intense violence and tragedy, these two films have some of the saddest endings out there).
A masterpiece.
@Harry- Excellent work Harry – enjoyed reading this