The Gates

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The Gates

2005

1h 38m

Documentary

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

86%

Tomatometer

7 Reviews

65%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

In February 2005, New York City's Central Park was adorned with 7,503 gates made from steel frames and a saffron-colored nylon fabric. This documentary chronicles the work that went into the controversial, once-in-a-lifetime installation by world-renowned artist Christo and his wife, Jeanne-Claude. The pair must overcome various municipal and political hurdles. Once completed, the installation elicits a full range of reactions from the city's celebrities and non-famous residents.

Kenneth Baker

San Francisco Chronicle

11/02/2007

3.5/4

People say the $20 million cost of 'The Gates' would have been better spent feeding people, he notes, 'but this feeds the soul.' To a lesser extent, so does the documentary about it.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

11/02/2007

3/4

The documentary is pretty much what you'd expect: Two decades of ignorant contempt, followed by the city finding it was really surprisingly fond of 'The Gates.'

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Alan G. Artner

Chicago Tribune

11/01/2007

2.5/4

Anyone with an interest in contemporary art on a heroic scale should find Christo's practice fascinating.

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Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

09/08/2020

3.5/4.0

One couldn't help but be grateful for the trusting, inspired vision of Albert Maysles.

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Ian Buckwalter

DCist

06/09/2010

8/10

The film's editing is transparent in its objective: to show how opposition and rancor turn to smiles and tranquility in the face of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's artistic vision.

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C & Y Robinson

8h

The Gates is an excellent thriller. It delivers strong suspense and keeps you on the edge of your seat. The movie augurs well for some of the issues we still face as a society, such as driving into a neighborhood that is ethnically homogenous which may result in an unpleasant circumstance. While I am fully satisfied with the movie, I believe that the house party scene was a little bit stretched hence slows down the pace. Overall, it's an engaging thriller that is a must see.

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Emerald

Mar 15

The plot and acting was really good. Something different which is great!

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09/30/2011

Not to judge the art but the film itself is tedious. The last 35 minutes are nothing but gratuitous scenery shots of the artwork over and over and over. I'm a documentary lover but this one fails to retain my interest.

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11/30/2010

Art has only been born from humans progressing enough to have leisure time and not continually living at a subsistent/survival level. By no means does that take away from the appreciated of it... In the case of the gates, I'm in two minds... part of me appreciates it BUT... 23 miles of the bloody things at a price tag of $20million+ for only 2 weeks... and the faff it took to get them there with all the trip hazard cones... really was a waste. The Docu. however was interesting in that it used footage from concept to execution

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10/13/2010

Art feeds the soul. An amazing and gorgeous documentary 25 years in the making.

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09/05/2009

A mazin' Maysles. A brilliant document of how art communicates instinctively.

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Antonio Ferrera

Director

Albert Maysles

Director

Antonio Ferrera

Producer

Maureen A. Ryan

Producer

Vladimir Yavachev

Producer

Christo

Executive Producer

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Synopsis

In February 2005, New York City's Central Park was adorned with 7,503 gates made from steel frames and a saffron-colored nylon fabric. This documentary chronicles the work that went into the controversial, once-in-a-lifetime installation by world-renowned artist Christo and his wife, Jeanne-Claude. The pair must overcome various municipal and political hurdles. Once completed, the installation elicits a full range of reactions from the city's celebrities and non-famous residents.

Director: Antonio Ferrera, Albert Maysles
Producer: Antonio Ferrera, Maureen A. Ryan, Vladimir Yavachev
Production Co: Maysles Films
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 26, 2020
Runtime: 1h 38m