As we noted in our feature, Critical Reassessment: 11 Films That Have Been Reconsidered Over Time, Michael Cimino‘s “Heaven’s Gate” has gone from cautionary tale of budgetary excess and directorial hubris to something closing in on masterpiece status in the eyes of some critics. Indeed, a restoration, festival screenings and a Criterion Collection edition have restored the status of Cimino’s film, but before all of that happened, Steven Soderbergh put his own imprint on the infamous film.
Over at this Extension 365 site, the director has posted what he calls the “Butcher’s Cut” of the movie that runs less than 2 hours, severely shearing away the 216 minute runtime of the movie. But we’ll let the filmmaker explain his approach:
As a dedicated cinema fan, I was obsessed with HEAVEN’S GATE from the moment it was announced in early 1979, and unfortunately history has shown that on occasion a fan can become so obsessed they turn violent toward the object of their obsession, which is what happened to me during the holiday break of 2006. This is the result.
Soderbergh does not believe in embeds, so you’ll have to jump over here to watch it in full. This should hopefully keep you busy until “The Knick” arrives this summer.