Gates of Heaven (1978)

Director:

Errol Morris

Release Date:

1978 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Napa Valley | Dog | Los Altos California | Mother Son Relationship | Coffin

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 'Duke' 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 'Duke' 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:

Pet cemetery investor: Death is for the living and not for the dead.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

can't stop watching it

I saw this film for the first time about 2 years ago on IFC and thankfully I videotaped it. Since then, I've watched it 10 or 11 times and it always fascinates me. I especially like the last third of the film in which we meet the harberts family who own the Bubbling Well Pet Cemetary in Nappa Valley. They all seem so sincere and at the same time they crack me up. Errol Morris just has a way of letting real life people go on and on about a subject without it ever becoming boring...