If there is any film to compare to 1941, it’s Stanley Kramer’s It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, which also had a huge cast (including one of the strangest cameos in Hollywood history, that being the Three Stooges as firemen in the finale) and was generally hated by the critics. Don’t know if it ever recouped its costs but, like 1941, it had some genuinely funny moments.

Also, like 1941, it was unbelievably ambitious – arguably more so than the Spielberg film.

Your review is correct in saying this is a watchable film. It is – albeit annoying at times. Plus, yes, Belushi is a hoot.

However, there is no hope for Heaven’s Gate. Everything that should have been good about the film (Chris Walken’s shoot out death; the big battle between the cattle barrons and the immigrant land owners; the scene where Isabelle Huppert is shot) is clumsy. I could go on about the lack of emotional impact during these moments, but that’s being too subjective. What really annoyed me was the fact there were two sources of key light in the big battle scene – something which suggested the sun rises in both the east and the west. Didn’t Zsigmond win an Oscar(R) for Close Encounters? How was this allowed to happen? (Plus, if my memory serves me correctly, a couple of shots involving exploding carriages were repeated.)

On top of that, the pacing is ridiculous. I don’t mind long movies, but Cimino took it all just a bit too far. Sure, have the university graduation; have the roller skating, but make ‘em just a wee bit briefer. The film deserved what it got – no amount of generous revisionism can help it.