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The Deer Hunter on DVD (1978)

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Average rating: 76%
1111281220612
3.5
from 7,478 members
 
Starring: Robert De Niro, John Cazale, John Savage, Meryl Streep, Christopher Walken
Director: Michael Cimino
Studio: WARNER HOME VIDEO
Run time: 182 mins
Certificate: 18
Collections: 100 Top Thrillers
User collections: Most Surprising Films, My Top Ten, Tip Top Movies For A Good Night In!, a few personal favourites, Films For The Lads, 50 Films I Recommened You See Before You Die, Superb Films of the 1970's, No less than 4 and a half stars, my personel faves, Overrated films
Genres: Drama
Languages: English
Released: 25/03/2002
Also Available on: Also Available on: HD-DVD

Brief synopsis of The Deer Hunter

This epic look at the Vietnam War and its effects told through the lives of a tight knit group of friends from a Pennsylvania town was Michael Cimino's second film and established him in the pantheon of American directors. Complex and emotionally raw performances from Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep earned each an Academy Award nomination, and Christopher Walken's portrayal of Nick, who survives capture but is unable to escape its trauma, is a tour de force that earned him the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. With a keen eye for nuance and a carefully structured script, Cimino interweaves the rituals great and small that make up the lives of his characters, creating a poignant sense of what remained constant and what was forever changed by their experience of the war.

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Critics Reviews

Rating of 5 stars out of 5 Radio Times

This multi-Oscar winner from Michael Cimino was the first major movie about the Vietnam War and it remains one of the finest and most controversial, notably for the harrowing sequence in which American PoWs are forced by their Vietcong captors to play Russian roulette, a compelling if historically dubious metaphor for the war. Running for three hours, it begins, Godfather-style, with a long wedding party at which a group of Russian emigrant steelworkers get drunk and then hunt deer before boarding their plane for the heart of darkness. Starring Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Savage and John Cazale, this is a modern version of the Second World War drama The Best Years of Our Lives, showing how men and America itself cope with the horrors of war and its aftermath. It is a story of reconciliation and national renewal, by turns shocking and moving, which won the best picture Oscar as well as statuettes for Walken and director Cimino. There were also nominations for De Niro and Meryl Streep, in her first major role. With its mournful guitar theme, this intense drama lingers long in the memory and elevated Cimino to the front rank of American directors. But his next film was the notorious flop Heaven's Gate, and he has only worked occasionally since.

Rating of 1 stars out of 4 Halliwell's Film Guide

The three-hour running time is taken up with crosscutting of a wedding, a deer hunt and a game of Russian roulette. Presumably the audience has to guess the point, if any; meanwhile it may be repelled by this long and savage if frequently engrossing film.

Variety

"...The film remains intense, powerful and fascinating for more than three hours....The acting, throughout, is outstanding. Walken's performance is a marvel..."

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Members Reviews

Reviews Voted Most Helpful

Rated - 5 starsLong and brilliant!

Antony Leigh from Manchester, England , 08/01/2007

Yes it maybe nearly 3 hours long but this is a brilliant film. The acting is dynamite. De Niro and Walken are fantastic, especially in the POW camp!

Almost every single aspect of this film is stunning. The direction, acting and photography all brilliant. The only problem is that it does tend to meander a little bit. Not enough to ruin the film but you know what I mean.

Very powerful and sad but extremely compelling. Great Vietnam flick! Almost as good as Apocalypse Now and better than Full Metal Jacket.

  13 out of 18 people found this review helpful
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Rated - 5 starsExcellent, except for that awful classical guitar

McClennan from St Helens , 07/06/2005

One of De Niro's finest acting performances cements a riveting drama around friends who become involved in the Vietnam War. At three hours in length it would normally be a challenge sitting through it but unlike Casino this film did not drag one bit. Consideration is given to drawing out the characters in the opening 70 minutes of film and although this could slow things up I found it to set the film up nicely. Great cinematography elevates the film into the classic status but unlike many war films where the message is central it was more acting and characters that drove the film and it's all the better for it.

  10 out of 10 people found this review helpful
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Rated - 5 starsEpic & Classic

Womble from Wales , 26/05/2004

When this film came out I wasn't even born! I've always been dubious about watching old films, its odd to see some of my favourite actors when they were younger. But this film shows how good the cast was, and you can tell why they've come so far.

The film itself is quite slow to start, but a harsh cut brings you into the middle of the Vietnam war. From this point on the film takes a different route. Showing some rather brutal realities of the war and how they affect those who were there.

Even if you don't enjoy this film is worth watching for the ending, which is comparable to Apocalypse Now.

  9 out of 10 people found this review helpful
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Rated - 2 starsI think I'm gonna have to watch this again

Isaac from London , 22/11/2004

Maybe I was in the wrong mood but this film really didn't affect me as much as I thought it should. The opening is very very long and pretty dull, I guess to drill into the viewer the relative normality of the characters, particularly Walken's. There's then a harsh cut to the vietnam war, the horror of combat and the infamous russian roulette game. Afterwards, Walken loses it and exists by gambling with his life in the seedy underworld of post-war saigon, DeNiro returns home only to come back later to try and bring Walken back to his home town and a normal life.

The film is obviously anti-war and is conveying its effects on people and communities directly and indirectly involved. I guess it's a film that had to be made I just didn't like it. It didn't really show me anything I didn't already know and I thought it was slow and cumbersome and heavy handed. THere are some fine performances from a young Walken and DeNiro and the famous roulette scene rightfully sticks in the mind as a gruesome and sickeningly suspensful piece of cinema but the reputation of that scene and the way the rest of the film is made makes it all seems to revolve around it. Take it away and there's not much left.

  6 out of 7 people found this review helpful
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Most Recent Reviews

Rated - 5 stars

A customer from DAVENHAM , 05/10/2004

One of the greatest films of all time in my opinion. More than just a Vietnam war story but a tale of working class America and the interactions of a group of friends. Robert de Niro and Meryl Streep are on top form.

  2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
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Rated - 5 starsVery shocking and absorbing

A customer from Surrey , 26/09/2006

I hadn't heard much about this film other than it was very good. It is very long but it all fits in and puts you in the right place in getting to know the characters. It has some gruesome and shocking scenes and I was very surprised and shocked - it must have been very original in the late 70s when it was released. Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken were spectacular. This film has left me thinking and for me that is the sign of a great film.

  2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
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