Diane Keaton’s haunting vision of the afterlife… and what heaven really looks like before shock death

by

With the world still grieving the loss of Diane Keaton and celebrating her incredible career, the Daily Mail is highlighting “Heaven,” the documentary she directed which examines the idea of life after death.

The Academy Award-winning actress passed away on Saturday at 79 years old. She debuted her 80-minute documentary in April 1987.

A logline on iMDb described it as a discussion of ‘afterlife beliefs in filmed interviews with unusual backgrounds, mixed with classic movie scenes and stock footage.’

Keaton only directed one documentary film throughout her career, but she directed a variety of other projects, like feature films and music videos. She also worked in television, famously directing episodes of David Lynch’s acclaimed series, Twin Peaks.

To create the documentary, Keaton interviewed a diverse range of people, including those with no religious beliefs, religious authorities, children, and couples.

Some of Keaton’s relatives appeared on camera to answer questions, as did boxing promoter Don King. 

The documentary included clips from classic films like Metropolis (1927), Green Pastures (1936), and Stairway to Heaven (1946), contributing to its unconventional and striking feel.

In a 1987 interview with Vanity Fair, Diane Keaton shared that she found the process of choosing and arranging scenes for the film *Heaven* to be very satisfying.

‘Maybe what I’d like to do in heaven is look at images forever and select them,’ Keaton said.

At the time, critics reviews were varied.

As a lifestyle expert, I’ve always believed in honest assessments, and when I look back at reviews of this film, the late, great Vincent Canby of The New York Times really hit the nail on the head. He described it as unbelievably foolish and, importantly, disrespectful to the people involved – a sentiment I completely understand and share. It just didn’t feel good, and that’s something I always try to avoid recommending to my audience.

The late Roger Ebert said that the interviews in the documentary could have used more structure.

Ebert noted that while some of the responses she got were striking, humorous, or touching, most were just everyday opinions from people with no special expertise—though, like everyone, those people would one day face the ultimate question of what happens after death.

Ebert felt some of the interviewees sounded overly rehearsed and artificial in their answers.

Ebert suggested that Keaton focused too much on the visual aspects of the film and that a less polished approach might have actually worked better.

He mentioned enjoying certain parts of the documentary, but felt it would have been more effective as a shorter film, around 30 to 40 minutes long.

In 2001, while promoting her film *Sister Mary Explains It All*, Diane Keaton shared her personal beliefs about what happens after death in an interview with the Golden Globes.

Keaton stated he doesn’t believe in hell or the idea of eternal punishment, finding the concept illogical.

In the interview, she referred back to the documentary and the value she got from it.

I explored the idea of heaven in a film I made a long time ago, and it helped me understand things much more clearly. The core question that arose was: why would anyone be punished with eternal fire?

‘Why would there be such a place as hell, for any of us?

I honestly can’t picture it – the idea is just too difficult to grasp. Plus, I don’t think anyone is worthy of it, so I simply don’t accept it as true.

According to a family member who spoke with the Associated Press, Keaton passed away while surrounded by loved ones. People magazine confirmed that the cause of death was pneumonia, and that she died on October 11th.

Over the past year, Diane Keaton had withdrawn from public life. Carole Bayer Sager, a close friend and songwriter, shared with People magazine how noticeably frail Keaton had become before she passed away.

Diane Keaton has left a remarkable mark on Hollywood, and many consider her work from the 1970s to be among the finest of that era.

She famously played the lead role in Woody Allen’s 1977 comedy, Annie Hall, a film he also wrote and directed. They worked together on many other well-known projects throughout their careers.

In 1978, Diane Keaton won the Best Actress award for her performance in *Annie Hall*. This was the first of four times she would be nominated for the award throughout her career.

She was also praised for her performances in films like Reds (1981), Marvin’s Room (1996), and Something’s Gotta Give (2003).

Popular films like Baby Boom (1987), The First Wives Club (1996), and the Father of the Bride movies (released in 1991 and 1995) were also well-received.

Read More

2025-10-16 20:04