‘‘ONE OF THE CENTRAL conflicts of the movie business,” says Charles Elton, “is that the studio wants a director with a vision and then complains about how costly that vision is.” The director Michael Cimino is known for one movie, which was a phenomenal success despite the odds, The Deer Hunter (1978), and another, Heaven’s Gate (1980), which was a such a monumental turkey that it became the poster child for failure, until it was belatedly recognised as a masterpiece 32 years after its release.
“Of all Hollywood directors”, says Elton, “Cimino is one of the most fascinating, mysterious, and enigmatic figures, both reviled and praised, his controversial behaviour well-documented but often misunderstood.”
Cimino described himself as a child prodigy, though he did not
