Heaven's Gate (Criterion Collection)

A visionary critique of American expansionism, Heavens Gate, directed by Oscar winner Michael Cimino (The Deer Hunter), is among Hollywoods most ambitious and unorthodox epics. Kris Kristofferson (Lone Star) brings his weathered sensuality to the role of a Harvard graduate who has relocated all the way to Wyoming as a federal marshal; there, he learns of a government-sanctioned plot by rich cattle barons to kill the areas European settlers for their land. The resulting skirmish is based on the real-life bloody Johnson County War of 1892. Also starring Isabelle Huppert (White Material) and Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter), Heavens Gate is a savage and ravishingly shot demystification of western movie lore. This is the full directors cut, letting viewers today see Ciminos potent original vision.