Unwatchables welcomes Scout Tafoya— critic, video essayist, and author of But God Made Him a Poet: Watching John Ford in the 21st Century— to discuss the film branded for decades as the quintessential big-budget disaster. Michael Cimino’s HEAVEN’S GATE gets blamed for a lot of things: for bankrupting its studio, for animal cruelty, and for singlehandedly ending the auteur-driver New Hollywood era. Scout helps us separate the myths from the facts, and figure out whether the film is in fact four hours of bloated self-indulgence or a neglected masterpiece.

You can find Scout's latest book on John Ford, But God Made Him a Poet: Watching John Ford in the 21st Century, at https://www.withanxbooks.com/store/p/but-god-made-him-a-poet-watching-john-ford-in-the-21st-century.

You can follow Scout on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/honorszombie.

Unwatchables is hosted by Marc Dottavio and Seth Troyer, produced by Tony Scarpitti, featuring artwork by Micah Kraus.

You can support us on Patreon at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/unwatchables⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to get access to exclusive bonus content and weigh in on what we watch next. Find us online at www.unwatchablespod.com or shoot us an email at [email protected]. We're on Instagram and Twitter under @unwatchablespod.