Heaven's Gate. The diary of an extra.

[One of 500 copies printed.] 8vo. 24 cm. Pp. 128. Numerous illusts in colour and black and white. Paperback. New. 'Shortly after retiring from Oxford University Press - where he had been Printer to the University, 1958-78 - my father, Vivian Ridler, signed on as an extra for the opening scenes of the Hollywood movie Heaven's Gate that were being shot in Oxford. The amusing and well-informed diary he kept is printed here in Part I.Part II has been added by the Editor to fill out the background to the entire movie and how its director Michael Cimino came to make such a vastly expensive blockbuster. Its catastrophic reception in 1980 helped bring about the end of an era of directorial autonomy, giving the story a wider significance. Cimino's career never recovered: Part II ends with discussion of all his later films. Part III then briefly describes Vivian's own accomplished 8mm films.' From the Editor's Note.