The Deer Hunter

Starring: Robert DeNiro, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep, John Cazale, John Savage,
Directed by: Michael Cimino
Rating: R
Genre: War, Drama
Box Office: $48,979,328
1978

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Three Pennsylvania steelworkers (Robert DeNiro, Christopher Walken, John Savage) go from the mines to the jungles of Vietnam as their friendship is tested under the worst conditions of the war. Their experiences there change them... and their friendship forever.

Review:

Tim: Hands down, the resume of The Deer Hunter is pretty impressive: Winner of 5 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Dest Director, and Best Supporting Actor for Christopher Walken. Not bad at all. The film itself isn't bad at all. Sure, it is extremely long and very often quite slow, but its worth sitting through the film for the experience alone.

The friendship between the males in the film is perhaps the most interesting aspect of the film. DeNiro's characters especially impacts this, as he is quite a complex character. Pay attention to friendship throughout this movies, especially the strange relationship between DeNiro and Walken's characters.

I do have a few comments on the film, although they are impossible to put in any chronological or logical order, so I'm just going to lay them out for you. One of the best scenes in the film is the one when DeNiro refuses to give his friend his boots. Pay attention for this one- "This isn't something else, this is this." (A remarkable line in the film).

Also, and, perhaps this is only because the tape I watched was pretty old, but I thought this was a very noisy film. The background noise was prevalent throughout the film, and several times drowned out the dialogue. That was very interesting to me. It is also one of the downsides to the film

The cast all give good performances. DeNiro is his gritty, excellent self. Meryl Streep is actually very pretty in this film and shines in all her scenes. I was suprised at how much I enjoyed her in this role, because oftentimes I am not a fan of her work. She is worth seeing her, however. The final cast member to mention is Christopher Walken. I was actually a little surprised to discover that Walken won an Academy Award for his performance. I thought he did a decent job, but perhaps not quite Oscar-worthy.

One of the most interesting aspects of the film is the three different settings of the movie- Pennslyvania, hunting in the woods, and Vietnam. The film jumps between each of these places and we get to see how friendships change- often drastically- in each different location.

The film really makes its impact when the Russian roulette scenes appear. These are some of the most powerful of the film. The Deer Hunter is an interesting look at both Vietnam, and the theme of friendship. The cast is quite good, and the film delivers often quite emotionally. Plus, the ending of the film is no less than superb. This film is worth checking out.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Apocalypse Now, Guilty by Suspicion, The Untouchables