Gates of Heaven

Product Details

Director : Errol Morris
Actor : Cal Harberts, Dan Harberts, Lucille Billingsley, Ed Quye, Florence Rasmussen
Format : Import, NTSC
Binding : VHS Tape
EAN : 9786302801095
Product Group : Video
Release Date : 1994-06-22
UPC : 043396608931

ASIN : 6302801095

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Editorial Reviews

From Amazon.com

Errol Morris launched his fascinating, Oscar-winning career with this instant classic, a documentary about pet cemeteries. The subject is darker and weirder than even Stephen King could dream up, yet the movie is also wildly funny and lingeringly sad. As Morris gets his people to soliloquize for the neutral camera, they confirm that their love for their pets is utterly sincere--and that eccentricity runs deep in the American grain. Although the ostensible topic is animals, the owners and clients reveal much more about the species that walks on two legs; the depth of human feeling on display is bottomless, and the ability of humans to anthropomorphize their pets is astounding. (Surely some of these animals must be utterly bewildered by their keepers.)

The film looks at two California cemeteries, one failed, one flourishing. First-time viewers often have the experience of laughing through the first half of the picture--this is an outrageous group of people who wouldn't be out of place in a Christopher Guest comedy--and then growing emotionally involved. Morris's flat, dead-on style makes the movie a mirror, so that cynics will see a fool's parade of weirdoes, while pet lovers will warmly identify with so much tenderness toward animals. (And Roger Ebert, the film's biggest champion, will see one of the 10 best movies ever made.) It's a strange experience, but likely one you'll never forget. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews

best documentary I have seen (2004-06-16)

What is most impressive about this film is that it manages to get ordinary people talking about extraordinary subjects without the speakers' ever even realizing the depths of their observations.

By asking people to speak of their deceased and beloved pets, Errol Morris has coaxed out of them deeply moving reflections about heavy philosophical issues. There are few films that combine humor, sympathy, and thought in so stirring a fashion.

The film is more about human beings, rather than pets. (2004-05-26)

'Gates of Heaven' is a film by Errol Morris that deals with an ambitious pet cemetery in California. What makes this documentary so facinating has nothing to do with the actual animals, but rather the people who love and care for them. As the film progresses, one will realize it is actually a study of human nature and psychology. With the central focus of giving pets a secure resting place, the film incredibly shows human frailty, ambition, and sadness.For those who have never had pets, this film can be hard to relate to. My family has never owned any pets, but I've had friends who have had pets. They are very attached to the pets, and the pets are like family memebers. One has to watch this movie with an open heart, or they will never understand the feelings of the people in this documentary. To some of these people, a pet is more of a friend than a human being will ever be, and there is some real truth behind that.People might get different interpertations of what Morris is trying to show here. To me, 'Gates of Heaven' uses the pet cemetary business as a backdrop to show a much deeper aspects of human nature.

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