Gates of Heaven (1978)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Errol Morris

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

A documentary about a pet cemetery in California, and the people who have pets buried there.

Plot Keywords:

Pet | Pet Cemetery | California | Napa Valley | Death

Cast

Lucille Billingsley	...	Herself
Zella Graham	...	Herself
Cal Harberts	...	Himself
Dan Harberts	...	Himself
Phil Harberts	...	Himself
Scottie Harberts	...	Himself
Mike Koewler	...	Himself
Floyd McClure	...	Himself
Ed Quye	...	Himself
Florence Rasmussen	...	Herself

Directed by
Errol Morris

Produced by
Errol Morris	....	producer

Original Music by
Dan Harberts

Cinematography by
Ned Burgess

Film Editing by
Errol Morris

Production Management
George Paul Csicsery	....	production manager (as George Csicsery)

Sound Department
Lucy Bruell	....	additional sound
Tom Fleischman	....	sound re-recording mixer
John Knoop	....	additional sound
Jay Miracle	....	sound
Walter Saxer	....	additional sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Francis Frith	....	still photographer: Egyptian photograph
John Giannini	....	still photographer
Dyanna Taylor	....	additional photographer

Editorial Department
George Berndt	....	post-production consultant
George Paul Csicsery	....	assistant editor
Suzanne Fenn	....	contributing editor
Brad Fuller	....	associate editor
Jack Harrell	....	color timer
Charles Silver	....	supervising editor (as Charles Laurence Silver)

Thanks
William Edmundson	....	special thanks
Benjamin Esterman	....	special thanks
Cinnabelle Morris	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Gates of Heaven

Distributors

• New Yorker Films (1980) (USA) (theatrical)
• Sony Video (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Paragon Video Productions (????) (USA) (VHS)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (1988) (USA) (VHS)

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Bubbling Well Pet Memorial Park, Petaluma, California, USA

Company:

Gates of Heaven

Trivia:

German film director Werner Herzog had made a bet with fledgling director (and current film student) Errol Morris that if Morris made a film about pet cemeteries, Herzog would eat his shoe. Morris went on to make this film, so Herzog kept his promise. The meal is documented in the film Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe (1980).

Quotes:

Mrs. Harberts: Surely at the gates of heaven an all-compassionate God is not going to say, "Well, you're walking in on two legs, you can go in. You're walking in four legs, we can't take you."

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

One of the best films ever made!

GATES OF HEAVEN is one of those fascinating films that no matter how many times you see, the mysteries contained in it only get deeper. The film is a documentary about pet cemeteries, but what may have turned into a freak show- a movie about people who value pets so much they pay thousands of dollars to bury them- becomes an inspection of the human soul. The film is a deep, dark chasm of human emotion. Errol Morris starts his famous documentary style of just letting people talk. Unlike Michael Moore or Nick Broomfield, who are as much the subject of their own documentaries as their directors, we never see or even hear Morris' voice. He just lets the people tell their story their way. The film is haunting and will stay with the viewer long after it's over. It truly is a landmark film in movie history. Roger Ebert was not overstating this movies genius when he named it one of the ten best films of all time. My Grade: 10/10