{"id":43331,"date":"2016-07-03T11:47:17","date_gmt":"2016-07-03T02:17:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/?p=43331"},"modified":"2016-07-03T11:48:59","modified_gmt":"2016-07-03T02:18:59","slug":"vale-michael-cimino","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fernbyfilms.com\/2016\/07\/03\/vale-michael-cimino\/","title":{"rendered":"Vale – Michael Cimino"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Michael-Cimino-Obit-Logo\"<\/p>\n

Academy Award-winning film director Michael Cimino, best known for helming Robert DeNiro’s The Deer Hunter<\/em>, has passed away.<\/p>\n

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Michael Cimino directing Robert DeNiro on the set of “The Deer Hunter”…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cimino was born, raised, and worked in New York City, getting his break directing television commercials before making the transition to feature films in Los Angeles as a screenwriter. His first produced script, Thunderbolt & Lightfoot<\/em>, was purchased by Clint Eastwood’s company and Eastwood gave Cimino the chance to direct. The film was a financial success, and netted co-star Jeff Bridges an Oscar nomination. Following the success of Thunderbolt & Lightfoot<\/em>, Cimino’s next project, The Deer Hunter<\/em>, was picked up by EMI Studios, and would star Robert DeNiro, John Savage and Christopher Walken. The film, which portrayed life for returned Vietnam Veterans and their disillusionment and post-traumatic stress disorders, was a massive hit critically and commercially, and would snag five Academy Awards including Best Actor for DeNiro, and Best Picture\u00a0for Cimino.<\/p>\n

Cimino’s follow-up to Deer Hunter<\/em> would arguably become his greatest legacy, if for entirely the wrong reasons. United Artists effectively gave Cimino an open chequebook to direct Heaven’s Gate<\/em>, a period\u00a0drama about land owners and European immigrants that would go well over budget, and arrive late into cinemas. The film was a critical failure in almost every respect, matched only by its dire box-office take, \u00a0which nearly bankrupted UA and caused a seismic shift in studio control over their projects. Although the harsh critique of Heaven’s Gate<\/em> has softened considerably in the years since, the reverberations of the film’s theatrical collapse saw the 70’s director-driven business model shelved in favour of studio-controlled productions.<\/p>\n

Cimino would make a further four films following the disaster of Heaven’s Gate<\/em>. Year Of The Dragon<\/em> (1985), The Sicilian<\/em> (1987), Desperate Hours<\/em> (1990) and Sunchaser,<\/em> in 1996, met with lacklustre returns and mild critical appraisal.<\/p>\n

A divisive figure within Hollywood, known for his abrasive and aloof nature, Michael Cimino was the very personification of an auteur. He passed away on July 2nd, aged 77.<\/p>\n

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