Michael Cimino
Michael Cimino (b. 3 February 1939 New York City) is an Academy Award winning film writer and director who achieved his greatest success with The Deer Hunter (1978) but whose Hollywood career was subsequently curtailed after the critically panned and financially disastrous Heaven’s Gate (1980), which hastened the demise of the film studio that released it, United Artists. His films are distinguished by intricately designed widescreen photography and detailed art direction. In recent years a critical reappraisal of Heaven’s Gate has taken place, especially in France, where Cimino was awarded the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in 2001.
Early Years in Hollywood
A graduate of Yale University, Cimino broke into the entertainment business by directing commericals and writing screenplays. His first Hollywood job was co-writer of Silent Running, a science fiction film directed by Douglas Trumbull. Cimino then co-wrote, with John Milius, Magnum Force, the sequel to the successful Dirty Harry. Clint Eastwood was so impressed by Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, a script that Cimino had written on spec, that Eastwood allowed Cimino to direct the film himself, which Eastwood’s Malpaso film company produced. The success of Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, which gave co-star Jeff Bridges an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, led to a British film company, EMI Films, to finance The Deer Hunter, which was released by Universal Studios. In the Director’s Commentary to the Year of the Dragon DVD, Cimino states emphatically more than once, “I owe everything to Clint.”
Filmography
as screenwriter
Silent Running (1972) (co-writer)
Magnum Force (1973) (co-writer)
as director
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) (also writer)
The Deer Hunter (1978) (also co-writer)
Heaven’s Gate (1980) (also writer)
Year of the Dragon (1985) (also co-writer)
The Sicilian (1987)
Desperate Hours (1990)
Sunchaser (1996)