Throughout the course of history, genres rise and fall, tastes change and the effect is gradual enough that there’s rarely one defining moment that pushes it. There is no single trigger point. Unless, of course, an expensive flop explodes publicly. In 1980, an ambitious epic may have halted a career, bankrupted a studio, and brought down a genre in telling the story of what happened at Heaven’s Gate.

We watch the graduating class of 1870, as they are about to embark on their future. 20 years on, James is a Marshall trying to keep order in the declining days of the Wild West. Racist sentiment is increasing amongst the frontier, and a rich cabal of landowners is looking to commit out-and-out murder to further their profits. As blood is spilled on the ever-growing border, this conflict is represented in the struggle between James and Nathan, who are fighting not just for their ideals, but for the affection of the same woman too. The lives of the community of Heaven’s Gate will be caught in the balance, as they will turn to any means to keep their way of life.

Your mileage may depend on what cut of the film you see. The film tries to live up to the moniker of epic by clocking in at around 5 and a half hours. Concerned financiers edited a large chunk of the film out to make it more approachable to the average cinema-goer in the early 80s, and modern home releases attempt a compromise somewhere in the middle. What is left is an interesting tale, you feel the in the air, even during the lighthearted moments, where the cast engages in an extended roller skating sequence. If you’re committed to seeking this out, you won’t find much that suggests that this project and the talent behind it were doomed to failure.

Directed by Michael Cimino, who is following on after the success of The Deer Hunter, got given a blank check to make this film. Auteur vision-making in films is not exactly rare; their success and failures have been well-documented, as are the stories of them living and dying by the sword. Heaven’s Gate does amass some talent in front of the camera, not only to see them in an extended rollerskating sequence, or the late great John Hurt, and Kris Kristofferson too. He is pitted against Christopher Walken in an ever-encroaching showdown on many fronts. Considering this was the last gasp of the Western for some time, it is fitting that they managed to gather some great players for it.

Through a careful retelling of history, Heaven’s Gate will go down in infamy, much like Xanadu and Ishtar, and not because of the similarly named group. The Western took a step back after the film’s spectacular failure only to be reworked a decade later into 90s introspection, a studio and a promising career were left in its wake. But also a sweeping epic about a fascinating time in the life of America, a tale of romance and conflict that is indicative of the soul of the nation. If you get the opportunity, roll don’t walk to give Heaven’s Gate another chance.

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