Heaven's Gate trailer

The definitive final cut. Restored and back on the big screen from 2 August. At BFI Southbank and selected cinemas nationwide.

A touching tale of love, loss, landscape and the hardscrabble existence of America's working poor. Set against the bloody backdrop of the Johnson County War at the end of the 19th Century, this is a fraught love story between rogue Federal Marshal Averill (Kris Kristofferson), local madam Ella (Isabelle Huppert) and association mercenary Nate (Christopher Walken). With Vilmos Zsigmond's spectacular cinematography of dustfilled,
snow-peaked landscapes, Cimino brings together all the ingredients for a Western epic.

One of the most controversial films in Hollywood history, it divided critics and the public alike on its initial release in 1981. Over the last decade Heaven's Gate has been broadly reassessed, with many citing it as one of the key films of its period. This stunning restoration was overseen by the director.