Gates of Heaven

Starring:Scottie Harberts, Zella Graham, Lucille Billingsley, Cal Harberts, Dan Harberts, Florence Rasmussen, Phil Harberts, Ed Quye, Floyd McClure, Mike Koewler
Director: Errol Morris
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
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.)

Amazon.com

These are the three films that first made Errol Morris's name as a documentary filmmaker, defining a unique artist with an unsparing eye for the truth--the truth of human behavior or legal authority. His first feature, 1978's Gates of Heaven, is a wildly funny and surprisingly moving look at pet cemeteries, and the people who invest an extraordinary degree of emotion in their little darlings. Already Morris is locked into his straight-on camera style, which allows his subjects to soliloquize at length about their most obsessive notions.

Listen to our interview with Errol Morris.

Vernon, Florida (1981) is very much of a piece with Gates, as Morris travels to a small town in Florida's panhandle and allows the oddball denizens to babble on about anything. It has always been an open question whether Morris's blank stare encourages laughter at the expense of his subjects or simply wide-eyed wonder that folks like this carry on in the world, but Vernon viewers will likely be both amused and astonished.

The Thin Blue Line is like In Cold Blood in the sense that it examines a real-life murder case, but it goes much further than reportage: Morris's investigations actually helped alter the judgments in the Texas case, especially affecting the conviction of a hitchhiker named Randall Adams. And the movie is a work of art: a hypnotic bad dream with surreal images and a lulling rhythmic movement (enhanced by Philip Glass's music). It's the kind of movie that might have taken place in Adams's mind as he sat on Death Row, replaying the events that made his life go wrong. --Robert Horton

Errol Morris and the Art of the Documentary

More Errol Morris DVDs
Documentaries
Documentary Essentials

Description

The Thin Blue Line On November 28, 1976, when drifter Randall Dale Adams was picked up by teenage runaway David Harris, his fate was sealed. That night, a police officer was shot in cold blood. And though all the facts pointed to Harris, a sociopath with a lengthy rap sheet, Adams was convicted of capital murder. Was Adams guilty? And if not, does Morris unlock the secrets of this baffling case?
Vernon, Florida For the inhabitants of this Southern town, there's no place like home... for the rest of us, there's no place like Vernon, Florida! From the passionate turkey-hunter to the peculiar pet collector, each member of this motley crew has a story to tell. And in the masterful hands of Morris, their obsessions and eccentricities reveal the heart and soul of an unabashedly unique slice of the American pie.
Gates Of Heaven When financial hardship forces California's Foothill Pet Cemetery to close its pearly gates, its dearly departed loved ones are relocated to the nearby Bubbling Well Pet Memorial Park. During this tense transition, filmmaker Morris meets a collection of eccentric cemetery operators and anguished animal-lovers and elicits a meditation on love and loneliness that's "strange, chilling [and] appallingly funny" (Newsweek).

Customer Reviews:

Dare to Change Your Views.......2005-12-28

Great documentaries change your views.

In law school, I watched 'The Thin Blue Line' in one of my first classes on capital punishment jurisprudence. It changed my views, as it demonstrates how our justice system can "do it's job" and still get it completely and tragically wrong. Although I am not a fan of Philip Glass, I do have to admit that even the soundtrack urges the viewers contemplation of the material.

I am very much looking forward to the previously unavailable 'Gates of Heaven' (because I am a pet person) and 'Vernon, Florida' (because I escaped from a small Florida town after high school).

One of the great documentary filmmakers.......2005-09-19

Errol Morris has a real knack for getting people to just talk, and talk, and talk for long periods of time. And the things that come out of people's mouths is remarkable. Gates of Heaven is one of my favorite movies of all time. It's funny but also thought provoking in its humor. The Thin Blue Line is quite convincing, and is so convincing that the film helped exonerate a man convicted for murder in Texas. Vernon, FL is interesting, but doesn't quite measure up to the previous two films in my opinion. In any event, this collection is well worth a look.

About freakin' time!.......2005-08-02

I have waited for these films to finally be released on DVD, and was rewarded with three at once. There's not a lot to say about "Gates of Heaven" or "Vernon, Florida" other than they showcase Morris' curiosity and fascination with finding wonder in the mundane. Morris just plants his camera and listens as people go off on tangents that are seemingly unrelated to the subject of the documentary but are mini-films unto themselves (e.g. the elderly woman in "Gates of Heaven" who briefly touches on the pet cemetary being rlocated and then goes into this long monologue about her grandson, his failed relationships and her heartbreak at his never coming to visit).

"Thin Blue Line" is to documentary what "In Cold Blood" was to non-fiction writing. Morris uses re-enactments along with his interviews to tell the story of a murdered policeman and the man arrested for the crime. Morris' investigative work led to the convicted man's release and the conviction of the real killer.

This is some of the best documentary work ever filmed.

Average customer rating:

Strange, Sad, Hilarious & Profound
Doggone
Human Pathos and Vanity Make for a Comedy Cocktail
The Greatest American Film Ever Made
The paradox

Gates of Heaven
Starring: Scottie Harberts , Zella Graham , Floyd McClure , Lucille Billingsley , and Cal Harberts
Director: Errol Morris
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00094AS6I
Release Date: 2005-07-26

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.)

Description

From Academy Award®-winning* director Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line) comes this acclaimed film about success and failure in the grave business of animal interment. "Memorable, moving and poignant" (Channel 4 Film), Gates of Heaven is "so rich and thought-provoking it stays in your mind for tantalizing days" (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times). When financial hardship forces California's Foothill Pet Cemetery to close its pearly gates, its dearly departedloved ones are relocated to the nearby Bubbling Well Pet Memorial Park. During this tense transition, filmmaker Morris meets a collection of eccentric cemetery operators and anguished animal-lovers and elicits a meditation on love and loneliness that's "strange, chilling [and] appallingly funny" (Newsweek). *2003: Documentary Feature, Fog of War (with Michael Williams)

Customer Reviews:

Strange, Sad, Hilarious & Profound.......2006-05-15

This unique film represents not only the beginning of Earl Morris' career, but the finest look at the American obsession with the treatment and care of our pets.

The format is simple; we are introduced to a man whose dream of a pet cemetery has failed. The remains of those animals were sent to another pet cemetery that is flourishing. In between, we meet the owners of both cemeteries and some of the pet owners and hear stories on a variety of subjects. It's hard to categorize this documentary as a comedy or drama since the tone is so straightforward. But that allows "Gates of Heaven" to soar above such conventions and reach a level few films ever have.

Some of the interviews are quite funny and I think all of us can relate to a scene early in the film when an elderly lady is holding her dog near her face and asking him to sing. Another very bizarre image is the sight of a man player his electric guitar at full blast overlooking the pet cemetery.

I was particularly moved by the stories of the two sons of the successful pet cemetery owner. The younger one seems quite lonely living all by himself, yet he seems content while his older brother is in quite a conundrum. Having failed in previous businesses and now behind his sibling at the cemetery, he's still proud of the "positive mental approach" he's been taught over the years.

The most stunning moment happens midway through the film when another elderly lady sits in her doorway and relates the story of her deceased pet. She quickly shifts to describe her no good son and tells that story in a way that is so natural, yet using words and phrases that Mark Twain would probably admire and be in awe of.

The presentation of the movie is full screen, not widescreen. But given how the movie was shot and the type of film used, the viewer is not missing much on the edges. I was somewhat disappointed in the lack of extras, such as no interview with Earl Morris. Or even a text background on the making of "Gates of Heaven" which would give some enlightenment to the journey the filmmaker took in making this masterpiece.

No doubt there will be a expanded or "Ultimate" edition DVD released that will include such extras. But for now we have this version and that will do.

Doggone.......2006-01-21

I love animals. I like documentaries. I respect Mr Ebert. Thus I bought Gates of Heaven when I saw it on his "10 BEST" list. Reading all the glowing reviews here, calling this "one of the best American movies ever", "breaking down and crying afterwards" etc, I suppose I am shallow, as I thought this was a boring, D-A-T-E-D, incoherent, S-L-O-W mishmash dotted here and there with some colourful characters and poignant images. I say "dated" because what seemed "wacky" and "bizarre" to people then, now feels like a bad mockumentry. I'd rather watch "BEST IN SHOW" , thank you very much. Just to put my view into perspective - I was deeply moved by the "UP series" (7-UP, etc), also on Mr Ebert's "10 BEST" list. I absolutely agree with his assessment and thank him for introducing me to those films. THIS one is at times charming, but on the whole very disappointing.

Human Pathos and Vanity Make for a Comedy Cocktail.......2005-08-17

A man with an unsettling resemblance and voice to Elmer Fudd of Loony Tunes fame recounts his trauma of losing his Collie in a car collision. Almost on the verge of tears, this sentimental bovine soul begins his failed quest to create a pet cemetery in Los Altos, California. Legal snafus force the pets to be unearthed and transferred to another cemetery in Napa, which is headed by the real stars of the film, a family of New Age entrepreneurs, including an aged patriarch who wears a straw hat with feminine scarves. He bloviates about the wonders of capitalism and how it fuses with sanctiminious bromides about people and their pets. Then there is his wife who prides the cemetery for being all about "life and purity." Her sons, both lazy, vain types, extol their jobs as if they were rocket scientists saving Planet Earth. In particular, the oldest son, Phillip, is a banal narcissist who massages his ego by describing himself as a "motivational speaker" with an expertise in psychology. His expertise inspires him to say such gems as "If you intake negative thoughts, you'll outake negative thoughts. And if you take in postive thoughts, you'll bring out positive thoughts. . . . If you want to get real complex, there's an inbetween, a mix of positive and negative." Then with a look of self-regard, he adds, "This is what we call the gray area." He then describes his "dangerous mission," memorizing animal hospitals where he, a self-described "transportation engineer," picks up dead pets. Phillip discusses the "fear" of having to know the map routes of these animal hospitals. The self-aggrandizement and exaggerated importance he attaches to his lowly job makes for comedy that makes you cringe.

At times I feel guilty for laughing at these vain exploiters of those who are grieving over their dead dogs and cats, but they bloviate on and on and sort of dig themselves into a hole. You have to wonder if they have gained any wisdom in the last twenty years or so when this film was made, so that they can laugh at themselves.

In many ways, this documentary is even more poignant and outrageous than the film Best in Show.

The Greatest American Film Ever Made.......2005-08-08

Last night I decided to settle down with Gates of Heaven. What a strange, compassionate and unexpectedly moving film! After watching it, I went outside in the sticky Florida air to sit down to reflect on what I had just experienced. All of sudden, I broke down crying. The realization of how real everyone in the film came through ultimately devastated me.

It is utterly amazing how Morris manages to turn those common, middle class folks incredibly extraordinary and sublime. And also how he manages to draw such poetry from nonfiction. Everyone's story is the story of all of us.

An absolute American treasue to be cherished and loved for generations and generations.

The paradox.......2005-07-25

You don't know me. I'm not given to hyberbole. But, Ebert's right about this film: There's not a better American film. And it IS a thoroughly American film. It's about business, money, pets, love, success, failure. It's all here. I'm grabbing this and taking it with me when the spaceships come. (They're due in September.)

Average customer rating:

Heaven With The Gates Open
Starring: Nicholas de Rothschild
Manufacturer: Electronic Publishing Company LTD
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0001EK9VU
Release Date: 2003-12-01

Description

A Unique Personal Guide to One of the World's Great Gardens with Nicholas de Rothschild

Exbury Gardens are situated on the south coast of England and are one of the largest and most colorful gardens in the country. Created by city banker Lionel de Rothschild between the two World Wars they are home to the many varieties of rhododendron and azaleas that are now famous throughout the world. "Heaven With the Gates Open" is a 45-minute film made by his grandson, filmmaker, Nicholas de Rothschild, and tells the story of the creation of one of the horticultural wonders of the World, and it's progress through the 20th Century. This little comer of paradise is still lovingly maintained in all its glory by members of the Rothschild family. "My grandfather, Lionel de Rothschild, spent a vast fortune creating Exbury Gardens. From purchasing a near derelict mansion and grounds in 1919, this garden is now amongst the finest in the world. In springtime, it's one of the most colorful places on earth. In this film, I tell the story of its creation and take you behind the scenes with other members of my family." Nicholas de Rothschild. The title of the film comes from an elderly lady who once fell asleep on a bench in Exbury Gardens and when she awoke she felt quite disoriented and did not know where she was.

"I thought I had died and gone to heaven, there was so much beauty around", she told her daughter. "Exbury is like Heaven with the Gates Open."

United Kingdom, Color, 45 minutes.

DVD FEATURES:
• Interactive Map
• 65 minutes of Additional Garden Tour Footage
• Website Links, Maps and References

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