10 Movies Too Big To Fail (That Did It Anyway)

4. Heaven's Gate

Why It Was "Too Big"

Heaven's Gate was always going to be lumbered with major expectations because of its director. Michael Cimino had just made The Deer Hunter to a shower of critical acclaim and awards accolades and such was the studio's confidence in him (and in the pulling power of his first post-Oscars project) that they gave him $11m and carte blanche to make the movie.

He took full advantage, ballooning the budget to around $44m with lots of talk of Cimino's obsessive approach to getting it perfect. How could that not result in something truly magical? For the studio, on the back of those costs, it HAD to.

Why It Failed Anyway

Earlier critical reactions panned it to such an extent that United Artists pulled it from worldwide release to get another cut. The next version of it fared similarly with audiences baffled at its audacity and lack of sense. All-in-all, it was very much a case of a director not being kept on a leash tightly enough and believing in the enduring power of his artistic vision, no matter what the cost.

Studios don't work like that now, because of this film.

The Damage

The film effectively killed United Artists as a major studio and led to its enforced purchase by MGM and Cimino's career went to hell after it with four more failures in a row.

More importantly, Cimino's failure led studios to change how they controlled their budgets, imposing far tighter restrictions on directors than ever before. In short, nobody wanted another Heaven's Gate.