Michael Cimino's The Deer Hunter follow-up, Heaven's Gate, faced all sorts of obstacles during its making, and is famous in filmmaking circles for plenty of other reasons besides the movie itself, including its low box office take and over 200 minute running time. Filmmaker Steven Soderbergh has apparently been obsessed with the movie since it was announced, and he's actually re-edited the entire film and put it online. Called "Heaven's Gate: The Butcher's Cut," this new version comes in at under 2 hours, cutting out a significant amount of the film. Check it out below.

Here is what Soderbergh posted on his site (it's also signed with the alias he uses while editing, Mary Ann Bernard):

As a dedicated cinema fan, I was obsessed with HEAVEN'S GATE from the moment it was announced in early 1979, and unfortunately history has shown that on occasion a fan can become so obsessed they turn violent toward the object of their obsession, which is what happened to me during the holiday break of 2006. This is the result.

The film is embedded here as well if you have issues (and this is all for educational purposes, though I expect this to be taken down sooner rather than later):

What do you think of Heaven's Gate? How about the re-cut? Have you ever done this with a favorite film or with a film you felt could use some cutting?

Link: Steven Soderbergh -- Heaven's Gate: The Butcher's Cut

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Editing & Post-Production