News of his passing was announced by Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Fremaux, who said that Cimino had ‘died, in peace, surrounded by the two women who loved him’.
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Michael Cimino directed eight films in his career, his last being Sunchaser in 1996, although Variety notes that he circled many projects; adaptations of Crime and Punishment, and Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead that never came to fruition, or projects that were eventually directed by someone else such as Footloose and Born on the Fourth of July. He made his directorial debut with 1974’s Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, starring Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges-the latter would be nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film. The film’s commercial failure brought its studio United Artists to its knees, and did significant damage to Cimino’s directing career.
He moved to Los Angeles in 1971 and got gigs as a co-writer of the ecological science fiction film “Silent Running”, starring Bruce Dern, and the 1973 “Magnum Force”, the second “Dirty Harry” film.
But Cimino earned a bit of redemption in 2012 and 2013 when a three-hour-and 39-minute “director’s cut” of “Heaven’s Gate” screened at film festivals to strong reviews.
Double Oscar victor Michael Cimino’s body was found at his Los Angeles home on Saturday, Eric Weissmann said.
“The Deer Hunter” – released in 1978 – was an unqualified triumph, winning best picture honors in addition to best director.
Michael Cimino est mort, en paix, entouré des siens et de ces deux femmes qui l’aimaient.
After learning about Cimino’s death, filmmakers led by Academy Award victor Christopher McQuarrie, William Friedkin, Edgar Wright and Jason Reitman paid tribute on Twitter.
But his career came to a halt with Heaven’s Gate, a Western that was beset by problems long before it reached theaters.
But as much as “The Deer Hunter” was a success, Cimino’s next film was widely panned as a disaster.
The reclusive Cimino with his signature dark glasses worked only sporadically in the years that followed “Heaven’s Gate”, and with little success. He was an important and masterful film maker.
Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro had kind words to say about Cimino after the reports of his death. Yet “Heaven’s Gate”, a frontier epic about the settlement of the West that was shot mainly at a studio-constructed town in Glacier National Park in Montana, outraged executives at UA.
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“The film’s scope, natural backdrops, massive sets, complex choreography and cinematography are seductive, at times stunning, and if you like watching swirling people and cameras, you may love it”, Dargis wrote.
