Michael Cimino (1939–2016) – United States

Michael Cimino was one of Hollywood’s most brilliant and tragic figures. Born in New York City in 1939, he exploded onto the scene with The Deer Hunter (1978), a harrowing and poetic portrait of working-class America and the trauma of the Vietnam War.

The film won five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, and immediately established Cimino as a major voice in American cinema.

But with Heaven’s Gate (1980), his ambition turned into legend — and disaster. Given an unprecedented budget and creative control, Cimino created a visually stunning epic about immigrant labor and injustice in the American West.

The film’s initial release was a commercial and critical failure, destroying United Artists studio and turning Cimino into a cautionary tale of director hubris. Yet decades later, Heaven’s Gate has been re-evaluated and is now celebrated as a misunderstood masterpiece.

Cimino’s films are about obsession, moral ambiguity, and America’s broken promises. His work is visually rich, deeply emotional, and often tragic. In an age of corporate filmmaking, his story reminds us of a time when art could still challenge commerce — and sometimes fail spectacularly in the attempt.

Watching Cimino in 2025 is an invitation to revisit a forgotten dream: that cinema can be both grand and intimate, political and poetic. He believed in cinema with religious devotion. We owe it to him to believe a little too.

5 essential films by Michael Cimino:

• The Deer Hunter (1978)

• Heaven’s Gate (1980)

• Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974)

• Year of the Dragon (1985)

• The Sicilian (1987)