Rating: 
Summary: The film is more about human beings, rather than pets.
Review: 'Gates of Heaven' is a film by Errol Morris that deals with an ambitious pet cemetery in California. What makes this documentary so facinating has nothing to do with the actual animals, but rather the people who love and care for them. As the film progresses, one will realize it is actually a study of human nature and psychology. With the central focus of giving pets a secure resting place, the film incredibly shows human frailty, ambition, and sadness.
For those who have never had pets, this film can be hard to relate to. My family has never owned any pets, but I've had friends who have had pets. They are very attached to the pets, and the pets are like family memebers. One has to watch this movie with an open heart, or they will never understand the feelings of the people in this documentary. To some of these people, a pet is more of a friend than a human being will ever be, and there is some real truth behind that.
People might get different interpertations of what Morris is trying to show here. To me, 'Gates of Heaven' uses the pet cemetary business as a backdrop to show a much deeper aspects of human nature.
Rating:
Summary: The film is more about human beings, rather than pets.
Review: 'Gates of Heaven' is a film by Errol Morris that deals with an ambitious pet cemetery in California. What makes this documentary so facinating has nothing to do with the actual animals, but rather the people who love and care for them. As the film progresses, one will realize it is actually a study of human nature and psychology. With the central focus of giving pets a secure resting place, the film incredibly shows human frailty, ambition, and sadness.
For those who have never had pets, this film can be hard to relate to. My family has never owned any pets, but I've had friends who have had pets. They are very attached to the pets, and the pets are like family memebers. One has to watch this movie with an open heart, or they will never understand the feelings of the people in this documentary. To some of these people, a pet is more of a friend than a human being will ever be, and there is some real truth behind that.
People might get different interpertations of what Morris is trying to show here. To me, 'Gates of Heaven' uses the pet cemetary business as a backdrop to show a much deeper aspects of human nature.
Rating: 
Summary: ALMOST DIDN'T BELIEVE THIS WAS A DOCUMENTARY
Review: Chanced upon this DVD by accident, and thought it was a movie. Turned out to be a documentary about two pet cemeteries, and drab as that may sound, it is a brilliant film that reaches far beyond the scope that its description would have you expect. The cinematic production values are top notch, not a simple tryst with a camcorder (which usually serves the purpose for most documentaries) but colors that pop off the screen. The chats with pet owners are moving and poignant. Don't look for something obvious to blow you away. Just watch it, embrace it, and feel it. And then you will wonder at it. It is immensely thought provoking. Highly recommend watching this marvel if you can get your hands on it.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely brilliant
Review: Errol Morris is a visionary. The film is both heart breaking and hilarious. Should be required viewing in every highschool in America. It's about 2 pet cemeteries: one that fails, one that succeeds. A lesson on love and greed and the weird alchemy needed to strike a balance between the two. And that's just what's on the surface. Lots more underneath.
Rating:
Summary: fascinating
Review: Errol Morris turns in another deceptively simple nonfiction film. On the surface, this one is about a pet cemetery that one of the characters establishes, and some of that pet cemetery's clients. But it also says more universal things about grief, greed, love, and loneliness, in a way that is both amusing and profound.
Rating:
Summary: Gates of Heaven
Review: Gates of Heaven is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. No film I can think of accounts for so much of human experience. Ninety minutes of perfect moments.
Rating:
Summary: human nature on film
Review: Here's what is amazing about Gates of Heaven: Two completely different people could watch it and both enjoy it from different perspectives. For one, this could be a heartwarming, courageous tale about dedicated pet-owners and their struggle to build pet cemeteries. For another, this could be simply a hilarious look at human nature and its peculiar quirks and tendencies. Errol Morris knew he was getting more than information about pet cemeteries when filming Gates of Heaven; he was capturing real, sincere moments by people possessing all kinds of characteristics. Sadness, cynicism, laughter, envy, and the unflinching love for pets is present throughout Gates of Heaven. This film isn't really a documentary about pet cemeteries at all. Rather, it is about human beings, the passions we have, and how we achieve them in this life. Near the end of the film as I watched a young hippie cemetery owner playing his guitar up in the hills, I realized how far this film was reaching for, and how successful it was in reaching it. From the jealousy of a man towards his younger, more successful brother, to the hilarious (and somewhat sad) monologue by a lonely old woman, Gates of Heaven ultimately shows that no matter what people strive to achieve, whether it be pet cemeteries or President of the United States, it's their heart and souls that will remain timeless.
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as I'd hoped
Review: I came to this movie with high expectations. The dust jacket of the movie had a quote from Roger Ebert that says "A Masterpiece...one of the Top Ten Movies of All Time," so that set the bar pretty high right from the start. I'd also seen Morris's other movie. "Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control," which I thought was one of the most entertaining films I'd ever seen. So I had every expectation that Ebert's claim would be true. I also usually find that my and Ebert's taste in movies is pretty close. However, I have to say that, although interesting, and even though I lived for many years only about a half hour up highway 280 in Los Altos from where the original cemetery was located, so it even had a local connection and interest for me, this is hardly one of the ten greatest films of all time. The movie has its moments, and you probably can't find a more engaging and sentimental topic for most people. Maybe it helps to be a pet owner, which I'm not. I like animals, but I don't currently own a pet (although I have had a couple of pets in the past). However, there's no doubt this movie struck an incredibly responsive cord with most people, and if you check out the other reviews here, you'll see almost all the other reviewers give it 5 stars. Although not one of the "top ten Masterpieces" (yes, the "M" was even capitalized in the Ebert quote) I was lead to expect, it's still an interesting, enjoyable film, and worth seeing.
Rating:
Summary: WOW.
Review: I chanced upon this DVD by accident, and thought it was a movie. Turned out to be a documentary about two pet cemeteries, and I was nearly disappointed. But it is a brilliant film, and don't let that descriptor fool you, it reaches far beyond this in its scope. The cinematic production values are top notch, not a simple tryst with a camcorder (which usually serves the purpose for most documentaries). The chats with pet owners are moving and poignant. Don't look for something obvious to blow you away. Just watch it, embrace it, and feel it. And then you will wonder at it. It is immensely thought provoking. Highly recommend watching this marvel if you can get your hands on it.
Rating:
Summary: A sweet portrayal
Review: I don't remember how I first heard about Gates of Heaven, but for some odd reason (there's no explanation for the choices you sometimes make when faced with sadness and grief) I rented it and chose to watch it while waiting for the vet to come to my home that evening and help my very ill cat to go to the rainbow bridge. I wasn't sure what to expect, but this movie was somehow just the perfect thing and I felt comforted. This documentary about a pet cemetary and life that revolved around it is a sweet tribute to those of us that love and cherish our pets and hold them as close to our hearts as we do any human family member. Listening to the founder of the first pet cemetary speak about our little friends was incredibly heartwarming and the montage of the headstones and memorials to pets loved and lost brought me to tears and continues to do so each time I see the movie. There is much more that this movie has to offer in telling the story of the cemetary, the subsequent near disaster that resulted in having to move the graves to a new place, and the lives of the people around it. All in all, it is a moving, funny and fascinating film that will stay in your memory.
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