Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story

Taraparain Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Derrick Gibbons An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Red-Barracuda This lo-fi documentary has the unusual subject of pet cemeteries. More specifically, it focuses on the cemeteries at Foothill Memorial Gardens in San Francisco and Bubbling Well Memorial Park in Napa. It's probably as famous for being the film that led German director Werner Herzog to eat his shoe at its premiere than anything else (as encouragement Herzog had stated he would eat his shoe if Errol Morris ever completed his film, he did and Herzog duly obliged). Gates of Heaven takes a slightly unusual approach to its subject in that it deals with it in a determinedly straight-faced manner despite its potential for absurdity and lets the material speak for itself. Morris does not interject, nor does he use editing techniques for cheap laughs, taking people out of context. In this way, a film such as this requires more work on the viewer's part than, for example, a documentary by Michael Moore which has a clear agenda and makes it obvious to the viewer what it demands they should be thinking. Gates of Heaven, on the other hand, just presents interview footage and allows us to form our own opinions on what we see.The subjects are the pet owners and the cemetery people. It's made up mostly of static shots of people talking. In all honesty, despite the commendable intentions, this minimalist approach to the material is a problem in that quite a lot of the interview footage is rambling and tedious. It isn't often either very enlightening, or particularly funny. The idea I think must be to take a strange scenario but to use this as a means of looking at the people involved more than anything else. The result is quite mixed, as the characters involved aren't in all honesty always especially interesting and the pet cemetery subject probably requires a more inquisitive approach in order to extract more interesting material. So, while I respect, the philosophy of Morris in this endeavour, I can't say I especially get much out of this film.

Camoo After watching this film last night for the umpteenth time I decided to finally write a piece up about Gates of Heaven, which has to be one of the greatest documentaries ever made, a film so full of joy and serendipity it appears to be creating itself as it goes along. On the surface we are watching the goings on behind a pet cemetery, the story of a family, the rivalry between prior and current owners of the cemetery and clients who wish to have their pets buried there. It should be noted that these people really really loved their pets, and we see interviews with pet owners who treat their animals like they are a part of their families. This love is what gives the film its real meaning; the more they speak about the love of their animals, the more they reveal about themselves: what it means to bury a pet and afford it an afterlife is a symbol for what we all hope for. Astonishing first work from Errol Morris, a master observer.

Michael_Elliott Gates of Heaven (1978) *** (out of 4) Errol Morris broke onto the scene with this strange but touching documentary about the pet cemetery business. Morris starts off talking to a few people who decided to form a business and then we hear the stories about how they got the property and what issues came up. From here we get to hear from many pet owners who decided to bury their loved ones with dignity. GATES OF HEAVEN is one of the most highly rated documentaries to come out with many, including Roger Ebert, considering it one of the greatest films ever made. I certainly wouldn't go that far on either account but I think there's no question that the film has a unique charm that draws you in no matter what your feelings are in regards to people treating pets better than humans. I thought some of the most interesting aspects were early on when we hear from the owner of the cemetery as he discusses what made him decide to do this. It certainly wasn't for the money but instead for just needing a beautiful place to put pets to rest. It's also interesting hearing from the people who actually pay a lot of money to have their pets put into a coffin and given a place to where they can visit them. I thought some of the stories were rather sad as it's clear these pets were the only thing in these people's lives and now they're gone. Some of the stuff with the elderly people were extremely sad. While I found the subject matter to be interesting, I can't say I was completely won over by it. I think at times the people really go off topic on things and just seem to ramble on. I think a few of the interviews could have been edited down and I think it would have made for a better movie. With that said, this is a highly regarded movie so what do I know?

semi-buff As an animal lover I found many poignant moments here. The woman who would sometimes forget her dog was dead--I went through that myself in my teens with my beloved childhood dog, so I know how painful it is. And the cemetery owner's theory that pets are more important now because of the pill makes a lot of sense. Nevertheless, I feel certain Christopher Guest MUST have had this film in mind when he made "Best in Show"! Oh my god there is some unintended hilarity here. On the part of the interviewees, that is; I'm sure Morris knew what he had. The cemetery family, the rendering plant manager...hoo boy! The overall feeling, though, is that we love our animals and they are indeed very special and precious. The elderly woman talking about her ungrateful bum of a son was very sad...I'm going to go call my mother right now.