The Barrymore Film Center and Museum in Fort Lee, New Jersey, will present a rare big screen showing of director Michael Cimino's epic 1980 Western, "Heaven's Gate". The film was drenched in controversy when it first opened and reviews were so bad that United Artists withdrew the movie from the few prestigious theaters it had opened in. The studio ordered Cimino to re-cut the film and a new, slimmed-down edition was released months later to disastrous financial results. Not helping matters was the fact that Cimino had crafted his over-schedule and over-budgeted film in a manner that was highly critical of the American government. The film is loosely based on The Johnson County War, a dispute between struggling farmers and cattle barons who wanted their land. The U.S. government did not stop the cattlemen from hiring paid assassins to terrorize and kill settlers who would not cede their land, based on the accusation that they were rustlers. In fact, President Benjamin Harrison authorized U.S. troops to intervene on behalf of the cattle barons when a wide range of conflicts broke out between them and the men they had targeted. America was in no mood for such a message, having just been through turbulent times relating to the Vietnam War, assassinations of high profile leaders and the the resignation of a once-popular president amidst the seemingly endless crimes revealed by the Watergate investigations. The nation wanted to feel good about itself once more and a few weeks after"Heaven's Gate" premiered, Ronald Reagan was elected President in a landslide. Reagan's "Morning in America" agenda sought to shake off the country's missteps and concentrate on the positive aspects. There wasn't much enthusiasm for Cimino's downbeat reminder of another American scandal, even if it was in the distant past. In the ensuing years, however, the film has gained acclaim in some circles and Cimino's full-length version has occasionally been presented in theaters to appreciative audiences. If you attend the screening, leave time to explore the Barrymore's displays of vintage movie memorabilia and rare original posters dating back to the silent era. (Lee Pfeiffer)