Genius? Maniac? Woman? Over-praised? Under-appreciated? Unfulfilled? One hit wonder?
That's the great thing about Cimino - he offers something for everyone. Lovers of auteurs, haters of auteurs, a fabulous cautionary tale, a depressing example of Icarus...
He was odd. There can be no doubt about it. His appearance did weirdly change - though this has happened with other directors (the Wachowskis, Orson Welles, George Cukor). In his interviews he sounds very... unique.
He was bold. He was individual. He was a fantastist.
No one seems to like his movies after Year of the Dragon. The cults for The Sicilian, The Desperate Hours and The Sunchaser seem small. Cimino can talk all he wants about director's cuts but the chances are those films are simply bad.
Unfulfilled potential? Maybe. Hollywood the villain? I can't agree with that - not with all the chances he got and money he spent.
It is a shame he never got to make Man's Fate or The Fountainhead, stories which seem made for him. But he had a decent bunch of credits at the end of the day: Silent Running,Magnum Force, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, Deer Hunter, Year of the Dragon and yes Heaven's Gate. Not a bad run.
He will be missed.
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