Person · Director · Active 1974–2007
Michael Cimino
1939–2016, New York City
American director, born in New York City. Won the Academy Award for Best Picture, the Academy Award for Best Director, the Golden Globe for Best Director and one other major prize. Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Directed nine films on this site, including The Deer Hunter (1978), Heaven's Gate (1980) and Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974). Of the actors and directors on this site, Michael Cimino shares the most films with Mickey Rourke (4 films), Willem Dafoe (2) and Jeff Bridges (2) (70 in all).
Notorious for his obsessive attention to detail and determination for perfection, Cimino achieved widespread fame with The Deer Hunter (1978), which won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Michael Cimino · authors · CC BY-SA 4.0
The accolades received for co-writing, directing, and producing The Deer Hunter led to Cimino receiving creative control of Heaven's Gate (1980).
Michael Cimino · authors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Partners by shared films
Who Michael Cimino made films with
Cast
- 4Mickey Rourke actorHeaven's Gate, The Pope of Greenwich Village, Year of the Dragon and 1 more
- 2Willem Dafoe actorHeaven's Gate, To Each His Own Cinema
- 2Jeff Bridges actorThunderbolt and Lightfoot, Heaven's Gate
- 2Christopher Walken actorThe Deer Hunter, Heaven's Gate
One film together
- Thunderbolt and Lightfoot 1974Clint Eastwood, George Kennedy, Gary Busey
- The Deer Hunter 1978Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, John Cazale, John Savage
- Heaven's Gate 1980Isabelle Huppert, John Hurt, Kris Kristofferson, Brad Dourif, Sam Peckinpah, Joseph Cotten, Terry O'Quinn, Sam Waterston
- The Pope of Greenwich Village 1984Daryl Hannah, Geraldine Page, Eric Roberts, Burt Young, M. Emmet Walsh, Frank Vincent
- The Sicilian 1987Christopher Lambert, John Turturro, Terence Stamp
- Desperate Hours 1990Anthony Hopkins, David Morse, Ralph Waite, Mimi Rogers, Shawnee Smith, Dean Norris, Kelly Lynch
- Sunchaser 1996Anne Bancroft, Woody Harrelson
- To Each His Own Cinema 2007Isabelle Adjani, Jeanne Moreau, Josh Brolin, Anouk Aimée, Kim Novak, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sylvia Kristel, Michel Piccoli
Co-directors
One film together
- To Each His Own Cinema 2007Roman Polanski, David Lynch, Lars von Trier, Wim Wenders, Takeshi Kitano, Abbas Kiarostami, Alejandro González Iñárritu, David Cronenberg, Andrei Konchalovsky, Gus Van Sant, Aki Kaurismäki, Zhang Yimou, Wong Kar-wai, Jane Campion, Claude Lelouch, Ken Loach, Thodoros Angelopoulos, Manoel de Oliveira, Atom Egoyan, Nanni Moretti, Chen Kaige, Youssef Chahine, Walter Salles, Olivier Assayas, Bille August
Other regulars
- 4David Mansfieldscored 4 of 11 films
- 3Vilmos Zsigmondshot 3 of 11 films
Films in this guide
Best known
- The Deer Hunter 1978director, screenwriter, producer
- Magnum Force 1973screenwriter
- Heaven's Gate 1980director, screenwriter
- Thunderbolt and Lightfoot 1974director, screenwriter
- Year of the Dragon 1985director, screenwriter
- The Rose 1979screenwriter
1970s
- Magnum Force (1973)screenwriter
- Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974)director, screenwriter
- The Deer Hunter (1978)director, screenwriter, producer
- The Rose (1979)screenwriter
1980s
- Heaven's Gate (1980)director, screenwriter
- The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984)director
- Year of the Dragon (1985)director, screenwriter
- The Sicilian (1987)director
1990s
- Desperate Hours (1990)director, screenwriter, producer
- Sunchaser (1996)director
2000s
- To Each His Own Cinema (2007)director