What was the 1980 box office bomb "Heaven's Gate" about?

Michael Cimino’s 1980 film Heaven’s Gate was about the Johnson County War, a violent 1892 conflict in Wyoming between wealthy cattle interests and immigrant homesteaders. The film dramatizes that historical struggle through the experiences of federal marshal James Averill and other fictionalized or heavily adapted characters.

The conflict grew from tensions over land, cattle ownership, immigration, and competing ideas about who had the right to settle and control Wyoming. In the film, cattle barons organize an armed campaign against European immigrants whom they accuse of theft and lawlessness. Although the historical conflict inspired the story, Heaven’s Gate takes major liberties with the people and events.

The movie became notorious for its enormous budget, lengthy production, and disastrous initial reception. Its failure damaged United Artists and helped make “Heaven’s Gate” a famous example of a box-office bomb. Later restorations and re-edits encouraged a more appreciative view of its cinematography and ambition, even though its historical accuracy remains limited.