Heaven's Gate (Blu-ray)

A visionary critique of American expansionism, Heaven’s Gate, directed by Oscar winner Michael Cimino (The Deer Hunter), is among Hollywood’s 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 area’s 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), Heaven’s Gate is a savage and ravishingly shot demystification of western movie lore. This is the full director’s cut, letting viewers today see Cimino’s potent original vision.

• New, restored transfer of director Michael Cimino’s cut of the film, supervised by Cimino
• New restoration of the 5.1 surround soundtrack, supervised by Cimino and presented in DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray edition
• New illustrated audio interview with Cimino and producer Joann Carelli
• New interviews with actor Kris Kristofferson, soundtrack arranger and performer David Mansfield, and second assistant director Michael Stevenson
• Trailer and TV spot
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• PLUS: A new essay by critic and programmer Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan and a 1980 interview with Cimino