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The Deer Hunter
The Deer Hunter
Actors: Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Cazale, John Savage, Meryl Streep
Director: Michael Cimino
Genres: Drama, Military & War
R     1998     3hr 2min

THIS RIVETING FILM FOLLOWS A GROUP OF FRIENDS FROM APENNSYLVANIA STEEL PLANT TO THE LETHAL CAULDRON OF VIETNAM.
     
     

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Movie Details

Actors: Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Cazale, John Savage, Meryl Streep
Director: Michael Cimino
Creators: Michael Cimino, Barry Spikings, Joann Carelli, John Peverall, Deric Washburn, Louis Garfinkle, Quinn K. Redeker
Genres: Drama, Military & War
Sub-Genres: Drama, Military & War
Studio: MCA/Universal Home Video
Format: DVD - Color,Widescreen,Letterboxed - Closed-captioned,Subtitled
DVD Release Date: 03/31/1998
Original Release Date: 02/23/1979
Theatrical Release Date: 02/23/1979
Release Year: 1998
Run Time: 3hr 2min
Screens: Color,Widescreen,Letterboxed
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Total Copies: 1
Members Wishing: 0
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Languages: English
Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
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Member Movie Reviews

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 5/20/2020...
Have an older friend that said this movie described his life with working at a steel mill and then being drafted to the vietnam war. I tried to enjoy this movie but never got there. It is a classic but just not my style.
Robert M. from DURAND, IL
Reviewed on 11/6/2014...
its a real classic movie. was a pleasure to watch.
1 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.
William W. (wdavidw) from TYLER, TX
Reviewed on 10/8/2010...
A good movie, though not always easy movie to watch on Vietnam. I think the movie takes its time to set up the relationships between the friends well, so you care about the characters. This set up reminds me a bit of the Godfather, not in story, but how it takes the time to get involved with the setting, characters, and draw you into the story. They come from a small town, without much to offer, however, the friends stick together through thick and thin. The young men go Vietnam, and their lives are changed forever. Some of the violence in the film is a bit hard to watch, but then war is brutal. The movie does offer a lot to think about long after its over. It's a powerful film.
3 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.
Len S. (lens) from ARMUCHEE, GA
Reviewed on 12/20/2007...
Without a doubt, one of the five best movies I've ever seen. This superbly crafted drama sticks with you for days after viewing. It's chock full of vicarious "Wonder what I would've done?" situations that tend to make the viewer reflect on, and possibly even change, long-held beliefs about subjects as varied as patriotism, love, heroes, and yes, deer hunting.

The movie is just over three hours long, and upon first review you'll probably notice scenes that would normally be cut. But the more I thought about it, I realized that those seemingly mundane scenes served purposes like establishing the sameness of industrial life and the removal of all that is normal when fighting in a foreign country.

So set aside an entire evening for this extravaganza of great actors. From John Savage in the window to Meryl Streep in the stockroom to Robert DeNiro sitting across the table from a "lost" friend played by Christopher Walken, you're going to witness acting at its best. Prepare to be moved. Prepare to trade in your deer rifle for a good camera and a new appreciation of all living things.
6 of 6 member(s) found this review helpful.

Movie Reviews

Watch It Without A Scorecard
El Kabong | 10/17/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you really want to get the most out of viewing this picture, don't make the mistake many of these Amazon reviewers do, by either assuming the politics of Cimino et al or using your own pro- or anti-America agenda as a critical yardstick. Because really this film isn't proselytizing a particular viewpoint, unlike Cimino's disastrous followup HEAVEN'S GATE. And don't think of it solely as a war movie. Actually, it's a lot like GONE WITH THE WIND: an epic-scale look at life and society in a specific place and time in the past (in this case, 1968, ten years before the film was made), and how folks send off their high-spirited young men to a war that no one pays a great deal of mind to - and how that war shatters not only the young men but the world they left behind, forever. The wedding scene IS long and in lesser hands on either side of the camera would be a dead weight but Cimino and lensman (sorry) Vilmos Zsigmond frame it in reverent widescreen grandeur, and a once-in-a-lifetime cast nails every character nuance and conversational tic, so that the scene flows on and on, vibrant with life and perfectly evoking not only a rust-belt town but the fast-fading rust-belt values of the nation. Besides, with a cast like this movie's, working at the height of their powers with inspired material, you really don't want scenes to end. When the movie segues to Vietnam, the tone shifts to horror and finally surrealism. Many consider this portion of the movie horribly racist, but that's a safe, kneejerk-liberal reaction. These aren't Harvard freshmen, they're barely-educated steeltown kids being sent to a faroff jungle to kill VC, who get captured & tortured by the men they are trying to kill. For enlightened liberal pieties to inform the dialogue or the tone of these scenes would be criminally false. That's probably what makes this a great flick, however, that right-wingers can despise it for its obvious liberalism and the bleeding hearts can hate it for its reactionary jingoism. Ain't consensus wonderful? Check your own politics at the door before watching this (widescreen version only!) and savor four transcendent performances by DeNiro, Savage, Walken & Streep, plus the late John Cazale doing his patented sweaty-weasel turn as an added bonus."
A Flawed Masterpiece
Gary F. Taylor | Biloxi, MS USA | 10/26/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)

"Cimino's THE DEER HUNTER is difficult to describe. The film opens with a long and complex sequence depicting events surrounding an elaborate wedding in a steel mill town--and then vaults several of that community's young men into a hellish vision of the Vietnam war, from which the survivors return so completely changed that they no longer fit into the community from which they originally came.

There are several critical issues with THE DEER HUNTER. When it was first released, audiences were very positive about the film--but they complained about the opening "home town" sequence, which they described as slow and over-long. The studio accordingly edited the sequence to half its original length--but when the edited version was shown, audiences were considerably less enthusiastic about the film in general and complained that it lacked impact, and the edited portion was restored. Audiences still complain about the opening sequence, seldom realizing that it provides the point of comparison that makes the remainder of the film so powerful--and in any case, this fact is something that can only be recognized by viewers in hindsight, a circumstance that does not help them weather the first portion of the movie when they actually see it. Many also complain that the plot is improbable. Once the three leads (Robert De Niro, John Savage, and Christopher Walken) reach Vietnam, they are unexpectedly reunited just in time to be captured and tortured together. In the film's most famous scene, the three are forced to play Russian roulette against each other--and although they escape, one is maimed (Savage) and the other (Walken) so emotionally traumatized that he vanishes into Vietnamese underworld, where he re-enacts the horror of his torture by playing Russian roulette as a gambling game.

But for all its glitchiness, THE DEER HUNTER is a remarkably intense, remarkably disturbing film--particularly when the discharged De Niro returns home only to find himself surrounded by old friends whose 'broads and beer' lives seem incredibly trivial in comparison to his own experience. He has changed; they have not; what has been lost cannot be recovered. But there can be a sort of redemption through an acceptance of the change that has been forced upon him--and by trying to bring others who have suffered to that same acceptance. Cimino's direction and overall vision is loose, to say the least, but he draws extraordinary performances from an extraordinary cast. De Niro gives what may be the most subtle performance of his entire career in this film. Christopher Walken's performance (he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar) is justly famous, and although often overlooked, John Savage is every bit his equal; Meryl Streep is also memorable in one of her earliest big-screen roles. And bitter as the film is, it still speaks of honor, integrity, hope, and bonds of friendship and community that can never be broken. Deeply flawed--but a masterpiece nonetheless."
One Shot
Neville Blender | Down Under | 07/28/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)

"We've seen alot of Veitnam war movies since Deer Hunter. Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket, Oliver Stone's trilogy & various others. All have great moments,especially Kubrick's version,but Cimino's "Deer Hunter" is the Grand Daddy,in my opinion. De Niro's incredible acting is only equalled by Walken,Streep,Cazale & Savage. It's Streep's first film appearance & Cazale's last~(They were a couple at the time, Cazale died of cancer before the film's release)~. I have never taken the Academy Awards seriously since they awarded Jon Voigt & Jane Fonda oscars for "Coming Home"~(another Vietnam film)~ instead of De Niro & Streep for "Deer Hunter". Walken walked away with best supporting actor,& deservedly so. It is an incredibly powerful movie. The DVD,although a little dark looking,is great to watch. To be able to access any scene...I still marvel. This is a film you HAVE to see if you have any kind of love for the movies."