There are 5 different versions of the most megalomaniacal western of all time – this is the best

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There are 5 different versions of the most megalomaniacal western

Some films fail so badly that they tear a hole in film history. Heaven’s Gate – The gate to heaven is one of the most famous examples. The epic western flop changed Hollywood forever and ruined its production studio. 43 years later, it is considered by many to be a masterpiece. But which of the five different versions of the film should you watch?

Epic Western megalomania: These are the 5 versions of Heaven’s Gate

Heaven’s Gate tells the story of the so-called Johnson County War at the end of the 19th century, in which wealthy ranchers wanted to have settlers murdered by a private army. In the story of Michael Cimino’s Western (Through Hell), five different versions existed, three of which are available on VOD or Blu-ray:

  • The workprint version (1980): An early version that Cimino showed to the studio bosses. It had an incredible running time of five hours and 25 minutes. It was destroyed by later versions.
  • The premiere version (1980): The 219 minute version that Cimino showed at the film’s premiere in 1980. The theatrical release was stopped after a week of catastrophic box office results. Today it is often referred to as “Director’s Cut” distributed on Blu-ray and DVD.
    • Cimino’s second cinema version (1981): After the premiere disaster, the director cut the film into a 149-minute version that had a radically different sequence of scenes. It was widely shown in cinemas beginning in 1981 and is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video*.
  • The Radical Cut (2005), for which the MGM studio had the premiere version reassembled using original negatives. It was shown in select theaters in 2005 but was never released for home viewing.
  • The digitally restored Director’s Cut (2012): The latest version of the film was supervised by Cimino himself during the restoration and editing. According to Cimino, this version is the only one that matches his vision for the film (via Financial Times). It is available in this country, among other things, as a UK import:
  • Buy Michael Cimino’s version of Heaven’s Gate on Amazon *

    • Western disaster Heaven’s Gate: Which is the best version?

    After Michael Cimino’s alleged megalomania during the filming of the Western became public, many critics were already waiting for the cinema release in 1980 with knives drawn. Quite a few have since then laments the bias of the audience at the time. So the versions that failed in the cinema can’t be described as simply “bad versions” of the film can be evaluated.

    However, there is only one version that Cimino has wholeheartedly approved of, and that is the restored 2012 version. Many now describe the film in this version as a masterpiece (via AV Club).

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