Mickey Rourke , a collaborator and friend of Cimino 's , believes the director “ snapped ” sometime during the making of '' The Sunchaser '' . “ Michael is the sort of person that if you take away his money he short-circuits , ” Rourke says . “ He is a man of honor . ” Rourke did not say how or why Cimino “ snapped . ” Joe D’Augustine , the film 's editor , recalls his first meeting with Cimino : “ It was kind of eerie , freaky . I was led into this dark editing room with black velvet curtains and there was this guy hunched over . They bring me into , like , his chamber , as if he was the Pope . Everyone was speaking in hushed tones . He had something covering his face , a handkerchief . He kept his face covered . And nobody was allowed to take his picture ... Welcome to Ciminoville . ” A theatrical release was intended , but the film fared poorly enough with test audiences to go straight to video in the United States . The film was entered into competition at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival where it was nominated for the Palme D'Or
1996 Cannes Film Festival
1996 Cannes Film Festival
Sunchaser