Heaven's Gate (1980)

Kris Kristofferson plays Jim Averill, a Harvard graduate who following a stirring speech at the graduation ceremony from his alcoholic friend about not changing the world too much because it's basically OK, goes out west to Johnson County, Wyoming with the intention of protecting poor immigrants from the local ruthless cattle-barons. Jim's exact legal role was never entirely clear to me (although it's possible I missed something) but wikipedia believes he's a marshal. Much of the film focuses on the love triangle between Jim, brothel owner Ella (Isabelle Huppert) and enforcer for the cattlemen Nate Champion (Christopher Walken). The love triangle is possibly one of the weaker aspects of the film, since Ella really just comes across as "indecisive-driven-by-plot-requirements" rather than having much convincing motivation. There's some interesting—although slightly forced—commentary on social class: it's clear that Jim's elevated status means that he can just walk away (and wants to) whereas the immigrants can't; Nate is seen as having betrayed his class by joining the cattlemen; and Jim's friend who speaks at the graduation at the start stays with the cattle-barons despite his reservations due to a mixture of class loyalty and alcoholic indecision.

Really, I don't think Heaven’s Gate is good enough to justify its length (3 and 1/2 hours). Part of the problem is that it isn't particularly focused: while "Once Upon A Time In The West" is very long and very slow, it mostly remains relevant to the plot – the vast majority of what's there does need to be there. "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" is probably a better point of reference since much of that is mostly mood-setting and could almost appear at any order in the film. A good example of a completely superfluous scene in Heaven's Gate is one, about half way through, that seems to depict a 19th century roller-disco. Ultimately, the second half of the scene is supposed to illustrate the relationship between Jim and Ella, but the scene as a whole is probably a full 10 minutes for very little gain.

Once the film gets going—in the last hour and a half (roughly)---it's actually really enjoyable, with dramatic and exciting action scenes, and genuine emotional involvement as characters get killed or otherwise. It's really a bit of a shame that it took so long to get there. Although never the most versatile actor, Kris Kristofferson is generally decent, and seems to have improved his acting since "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" (although I don't have huge problems with his performance there).

[Slight aside: there's some interesting inversions of classic western clichés here – while most heroes sleep in a perpetual state of cat-like readiness, Jim takes serious shaking and disturbance to wake up. Also the cavalry riding to the rescue of the baddies at the end.]

The version I saw was the long 2013 cinema re-release. I imagine it looked basically the same as the blu-ray (i.e. generally pretty good).

In summary, I came out having quite enjoyed it, because then end was good, but I do remember having been a little bored in the middle.