Michael Cimino (1939 - 2016)

[Novecento]

I'm sure I remember reading somewhere that Morricone was asked to score Heaven's Gate, but fell asleep in the screening room. Shame. Wonder what the maestro would've come up with?

  Although, seriously, all the bashing Cimino suffered in his life was ridiculous. Slowly over time he will get the respect he deserves. In fact it's already happening and happily happened a little bit during his life time so he could witness it.

Fortunately Cimino's longtime collaborator David Mansfield did a fantastic job with the music.

[drinkanddestroy]

Although, seriously, all the bashing Cimino suffered in his life was ridiculous. Slowly over time he will get the respect he deserves. In fact it's already happening and happily happened a little bit during his life time so he could witness it.

Fortunately Cimino's longtime collaborator David Mansfield did a fantastic job with the music.

Cimino deserves every bit of the bashing he took - even if you think Heavens Gate is a masterpiece.

The stories of how he ran this movie, the insanely insane, that's not simply an artist meticulous with his craft; that's a mental case, an egotist. Tearing down an entire town set so that the street could be made one foot wider. Going over budget by untold millons, not having any regard for anything other than his own self - again, don't tell me it's about the art. It's about ego. Well, this dude got his ego handed right back to him.filmmakers have gone over-budget and over-schedule before, and yes, I'd call it dedication to artistic vision, but Heavens Gate is a whole other story. Whether you think the movie is great or awful, Cimino deserves to be bashed.

[Novecento]

Well maybe so, but...

1. Expecting creative people to care about budgets is a tall order. Making movies is all about the people watching the money keeping the people creating it in check.
2. I don't pay much attention to people's personalities or activities outside of the product they create in which I have an interest. Whether Cimino was a great guy or a jerk, or a combination of both, doesn't really matter to me. Having said that, I do find biographies interesting when they give a real insight into how someone's background/personality/upbringing etc shaped their craft.

[noodles_leone]

Michael Cimino: Wide Shot / https://vimeo.com/177463099

[PowerRR]

Michael Cimino: Wide Shot / https://vimeo.com/177463099

came across this earlier this week, beautiful work

[Novecento]

The man had a great visual eye. He was clearly overstating his influence on cinematographers in the interview N_L linked to earlier, but there is little doubt that he must have maintained a very active dialogue with them throughout shooting. Certainly far more than many other directors.

[noodles_leone]

Yes. He constantly created very strong visuals, even in his weaker films.

[cigar joe]

I just watched Year Of The Dragon for the first time, I like it better than Heaven's Gate.

[dave jenkins]

http://www.bam.org/film/2016/desperate-hours-the-films-of-michael-cimino

[Novecento]

Technically "Revolution" is the superior film and, much like "Heaven's Gate", released at the wrong time to find an audience in the United States. Ironically one of the most technically brilliant scenes is not found in the director's cut because it involves a horribly corny Hollywood ending that was apparently forced on Hudson who then went and shot it like it was one of the most important scenes.

However, the "Chariots of Fire" story is incredibly powerful...

I just watched "Finding Altamira". The film did not reach the lyricism of "Revolution", but there was some nice very cinematography by Alcaine on location.

The film cites Picasso's famous remark that "After Altamira, all is decadence". Interestingly, Alcaine himself has a theory that the 1932 film adapation of "A Farewell to Arms" inspired Picasso's "Guernica":

http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/dias-de-cine/dias-cine-jose-luis-alcaine-cree-picasso-se-inspiro-adios-armas-para-guernica/1268475/

[Novecento]

If I ignore Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, which is a Clint Eastwood film anyway, every film of Cimino is less good than the previous one, and The Sicilian is the watermark between good and bad. But I haven't watched Sunchaser yet, and it could be enthralling to see if this one can be worse than The Desperate Hours.

I watched the supplemental feature on the French BD of "Desperate Hours" last night - some comments on the film by Jean-Baptiste Thoret. Thoret is of course the author of the book-long interview / travel-log "Michael Cimino - Les voix perdues de l'Amérique". As in the book, he did once again note the tension Cimino had with Rourke on-set (in spite of this being their third film together) along with the deleted 3-minute scene between the FBI director and Rourke's lover/lawyer that Cimino desperately fought to keep in but to no avail. Unless I misheard what Thoret said, I distinctly remember him saying that the scene was now lost (I'll have to go back and check), but certainly in the book Cimino says that he has a copy of the scene at home. Perhaps one day we will get to see it... perhaps it might also go someway to remedy Ebert's comment in his unnecessarily harsh review that the FBI agent "insists on masterminding a complex 'containment' scheme, which I believe she alone, of all the people in the film or in the audience, is capable of understanding."

As for the film itself, it is incredibly beautiful and stylishly shot. As Thoret points out, the juxtaposition of the confines of the house against the big Colorado outdoors is incredibly effective. Quoting from Ebert's review again that the film "shows Cimino with more style than substance" is probably true and certainly it's not a highly complex while remaining watertight plot, but that's not really the point of cinema is it? Go read a good novel is all I can say to that.

One more thing...

Noodles_leone, is it just me or is the French title "La Maison des otages" (The House of Hostages) a really bad title?

[stanton]

As for the film itself, it is incredibly beautiful and stylishly shot. As Thoret points out, the juxtaposition of the confines of the house against the big Colorado outdoors is incredibly effective. Quoting from Ebert's review again that the film "shows Cimino with more style than substance" is probably true

I think it has neither style nor substance. It's a disaster on many levels.

[Novecento]

I think it has neither style nor substance. It's a disaster on many levels.

I'd recommend a re-watch then.

A criticism based on substance I can understand even if I don't particularly care, but not in terms of style. Even Ebert gave Cimino credit for the film's style! Whatever people may say about Cimino, he undoubtedly had a great eye for what made something visually incredibly effective even if he perhaps struggled in other areas.

[noodles_leone]

La Maison des Otages is indeed an absolutely terrible title. It always makes me cringe when I stumble into the DVD.

[stanton]

I'd recommend a re-watch then.

I rewatched it a few years ago. It was worse than remembered. The hopeless nadir of a director who after The Deer Hunter (a 10er) made his way down with bold steps.