636 Heaven's Gate

Discuss releases by Criterion and the films on them. Threads may contain spoilers!
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soundchaser
Leave Her to Beaver
Joined: Sun Aug 28, 2016 12:32 am

Re: 636 Heaven's Gate

#251 Post by soundchaser » Thu Aug 16, 2018 6:09 pm

Magic Hate Ball wrote:
Thu Aug 16, 2018 5:46 pm
If I'm going to spend three plus hours in the company of a small set of characters, I'd rather they not be kept at arm's length unless there's a compelling thematic reason.
She's an immigrant - the whole community is made up of immigrants. They're kept at a distance probably to emphasize both their outsider status within the country and Kristofferson's position as an outsider within their tightly-knit group. "How should Americans - and by extension America - react to these people?" seems, to me, to be the fundamental question the film is asking. It may not be entirely successful, but the thematic justification is there.

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knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: 636 Heaven's Gate

#252 Post by knives » Thu Aug 16, 2018 6:27 pm

I don't think we are at arm's length, or at least Cimino isn't. Whether or not it works for you he clearly is emotionally invested in Walken's character and intellectually curious concerning Bridges and Kristofferson. This is rather different from gaining more meaningful information about the characters. Perhaps the best way I have to expressing this is that Cimino gives us the full character instantly and then shows the story to explain why we should care. It's a bit like if you met someone without knowing about them, but got a very strong impression of them only to find out later they were the president or something else notable.

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Magic Hate Ball
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2007 6:15 pm
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: 636 Heaven's Gate

#253 Post by Magic Hate Ball » Thu Aug 16, 2018 6:41 pm

I disagree - Cimino gives us a rough, hazy outline of his characters, and struggles to fill them out via their actions or dialogue. It's more like seeing someone across the room at a party, and then hearing a jumbled anecdote about them from someone else. If I wanted to be uncharitable, I would say that we do get to know them well from the beginning, because there's not much to know about them in the first place.

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Cronenfly
Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2007 12:04 pm

Re: 636 Heaven's Gate

#254 Post by Cronenfly » Tue Jan 22, 2019 10:17 pm

Apologies if this has been covered elsewhere, but is the transfer on the Second Sight release the same as the Criterion?

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filmyfan
Joined: Fri Feb 02, 2007 9:50 am

Re: 636 Heaven's Gate

#255 Post by filmyfan » Wed Jan 30, 2019 4:29 pm

Watched this the other day on a day off from work...a real treat...saw in the cinema when it was released 3 or 4 years ago..and was my first revisit..and loved it even more.

Anyone read the Bach book? (just ordered on line!)

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