text: It is unsettling seeing so many people giving outrageously high ratings to this film. Some of the praise uses such twisted reasoning (and transparent agendas that betray a simple love of anything that is in any way critical of the U.S.) that it approaches hysteria.<br /><br />Heaven's Gate is a bad movie, it is fundamentally awful. Endless scenes using elaborate shots that serve no purpose, muddy dialogue, murky narative, no sense of any theme aside from excess...<br /><br />The high rating of this disaster is a product of revisionist history and temporary shifts in perception.<br /><br />For some perspective watch Lawrence of Arabia before watching Heaven's Gate. You will see just how aimless and lost this film truly is. The "issues" it may have been trying to deal with are lost in a miasma.<br /><br />I have no problem with films that are critical of the U.S. per se, but when a terrible film gets such undeserved praise purely because of that element... that's worth challenging.<br /><br />The film is worth seeing for two reasons; curiosity, and as a cautionary tale for young filmmakers.<br /><br />I saw this at home for free, imagine the torture of being in a theater and sitting through it... for 4 meandering hours!