Revisit: Gates of Heaven

An MGM release 1980
Directed by Errol Morris

A documentary about a pet cemetary in California, and the people who have pets buried there.



Werner Herzog once bet that he would eat his shoe if a young film student named Errol Morris could complete a film about pet cemeteries. In response, Morris crafted one of the most bizarre, beautiful, funny, and pathetic documentaries of all time. Gates of Heaven probes issues of life, death, and the human condition through pet lovers, and in doing so creates a cast of vivid, real characters who are at once compelling and yet utterly strange. Featuring beautiful cinematography by Ned Burgess, the film's washed out, painterly quality ensures that it will only be more beautiful with age. A must see.