James Cameron's Avatar

[cinemabon]

You can polish an apple all you want, but if the core is rotten, there's really nothing you can do about it. "Heaven's Gate" a good film? It is a disaster on so many levels, its unbearable to watch or even discuss. Chimino, who so brilliantly directed "The Deer Hunter" and drove me to hysterical weeping at its premier fell in way over his head on "Heaven's Gate." He made ridiculous demands on the crew; shot, killed and gutted animals for effect (which led to the strictest codes since that film), and disregarded the basic rules of storytelling. The film is a long, drawn-out bore, historically inaccurate, and brought down United Artists, one of the great studios in Hollywood (started by Charlie Chaplin). It ended his career and its easy to see why. He shot two hundred hours of footage, tried to sell a five-plus hour version to the studio (no one but the editor would sit through it) and ended up with a tedious 219 minute version. During the premiere in New York, Chimino noticed people walking out of the theater at intermission and strolling past the huge bar the studio prepared for the event. He questioned, "Why isn't anyone drinking any champagne?" The exec answered, "They hate the movie, Michael. They're leaving!" Of the 40 million 1979 dollars spent on the production, the film made 2 million in domestic release and another 3 million overseas. Six months later, United Artists declared bankrupcy. The studio, who bankrolled the entire project, was broke.