Michael Cimino
A filmmaker who burned with a fierce, costly vision, creating one of the defining war films of his era and one of Hollywood's most infamous disasters.
1939–2016 (age 77)·American filmmaker·Birthday: February 3·The Silent Generation
Biography
Michael Cimino's career is a study in extremes. He arrived with a bang, co-writing the gritty Clint Eastwood vehicle 'Thunderbolt and Lightfoot.' Then, with 'The Deer Hunter,' he delivered a sweeping, devastating epic about the Vietnam War's impact on a working-class community. The film won five Oscars, including Best Picture and Director, and announced Cimino as a major, ambitious artist. That ambition curdled into notoriety with his next film, 'Heaven's Gate.' Plagued by runaway costs, directorial excess, and brutal reviews, it became a symbol of directorial indulgence and nearly bankrupted United Artists. The disaster defined the rest of his career, which dwindled into sporadic, overlooked projects. Cimino remains a cautionary tale about the perils of uncompromising vision, and an artist whose best work captured the soul of a wounded America.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Michael was born in 1939, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Michael Was Born
The biggest hits of 1939
#1 Movie
Gone with the Wind
Best Picture
Gone with the Wind
Michael's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1939Born
World War II begins; The Wizard of Oz premieres
Gas: $0.19/galMin wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Over the Rainbow" — Judy GarlandBest Picture: Gone with the Wind
1944Started school
D-Day: Allied forces land at Normandy
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,400Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Swinging on a Star" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Going My Way
1952Became a teenager
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1955Could drive
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1957Could vote
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1960Turned 21
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1969Turned 30
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1979Turned 40
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1989Turned 50
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1999Turned 60
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2009Turned 70
Michael Jackson dies; Bitcoin created
Gas: $2.35/galHome: $148,500Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Boom Boom Pow" — The Black Eyed PeasBest Picture: The Hurt Locker
2016Died at 77
Donald Trump elected president; Brexit vote
Gas: $2.14/galHome: $181,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Love Yourself" — Justin BieberBest Picture: Moonlight
Key Achievements
- Won the Academy Award for Best Director and Best Picture for 'The Deer Hunter' (1978).
- His film 'The Deer Hunter' is preserved in the United States National Film Registry.
- Won the prestigious Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for 'The Deer Hunter.'
- Directed the controversial and historically significant western 'Heaven's Gate' (1980).
Did You Know?
He claimed to have served in the U.S. Army Special Forces, but this and other biographical details have been disputed.
Before film, he directed television commercials and worked in documentary filmmaking.
He wrote an unproduced screenplay about the 19th-century naval hero John Paul Jones.
He was a trained painter and studied architecture at Michigan State University and Yale.
“I don’t think you can make a good movie without being a little bit insane.”
