There may be one more in the tank for the once, and maybe still, great filmmaker Michael Cimino. In a rare and recent conversation with The New York Times, Cimino stated that he’s got an idea for a new film, which he plans to shoot digitally [The Playlist].
That we had more information, this writer could get even more excited about the prospect of seeing one more flawed piece of ambitious storytelling from an artist who represents everything that was wonderful and unsustainable about the New Hollywood age of the 1970s.
Responsible for one of the most ambitious rises (The Deer Hunter) and most notorious downfalls (Heaven’s Gate) in the history of Hollywood, Cimino began his not-so-slow fade out from cinematic relevance days after his epic about the Johnson County War was released into theaters in 1980.
Operating on a bloated budget of over $40 million (though the filmmaker claims it was all made and promoted for $32 million), the film would gross less $3 million at the domestic box office. A few years later, Cimino would offer up Year of the Dragon, starring a young Mickey Rourke. After that flop, Cimino would give the world The Sicilian, starring Christopher Lambert, a miscalculation so grand it can only be seen to be believed. The 90s saw two more fumbles (The Desperate Hours and The Sunchaser), followed by years of next-to-no contact from the man, leading to rumors of recluse and even of the man being transgendered.
Now, over three decades later, Heaven’s Gate is regarded by many to be an overlooked masterpiece, due for a Criterion release on October 5th following a screening of a newly restored, director’s cut at the Venice Film Festival where Cimino received the Persol award. With a legend as big as the disaster his biggest film once was, let’s hope Cimino’s final film is received with the fanfare it deserves.
Have you seen Heaven’s Gate? Do you know Michael Cimino’s work?