The Deer Hunter
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Movie Reviews of The Deer Hunter
Movie Review: Cimino makes us feel the pain, the duress and the terror of war...
Summary: 4 Stars
The story opens in Clairton, a steel town on the morning that Steven (John Savage) is going to get married... Just a few days later, he and his best friends Michael (Robert De Niro) and Nick (Christopher Walken) will join the Army and go to Vietnam...
Nick is dating Linda (Meryl Streep), though they are not too serious, and she and Michael are also attracted to each other... The terrible experiences, that the guys are subjected to in Vietnam, change everything...
In the first hour and in a long scene in a bar, Cimino shows us how close the three male characters and their other friends are... Then it's on to the combination wedding-farewell party, with more singing and dancing and drinking... Finally, the ritual deer hunt in the mountains is conducted, and that involves still an escape to nature, with the threatening task of shooting a noble-looking creature...
Only then, more than an hour after the opening credits, does the scene shift to Vietnam... From that moment on, war is hell as Cimino, obviously, shows us...
Michael Cimino takes his hints from Ray Kellogg and John Wayne's "The Green Berets." His North Vietnamese are sadistic beasts who toss grenades into shelters filled with helpless women and children, and force American captives to play Russian roulette for their amusement, while the prison guards bet on the outcome...
Obviously, those outrageous and impressive scenes are staged with power, but later the appearance of Julien (Pierre Segui), a decadent cosmopolitan Frenchman, at a Russian roulette gambling den, implies that the suicidal game is meant to be a metaphor for America's seduction into Euro-Asian corruption... Whatever his intention, Cimino goes courageously forth, staging his big end during the fall of Saigon, depicting the trauma of war and the effort of one friend to rescue the other...
The high-intensity scenes of Cimino's motion picture stir our emotions, and make us feel the pain, the duress and the terror of war...
Movie Review: One of the most emotionally shattering films ever made.
Summary: 5 Stars
First of all, whether the actual portrayal of Vietnam is correct in all of it details or not, this film is a masterpiece. It is one of the most emotionally devastating films ever made, and beware -- it is also one of the most depressing films ever made. Depressing because it makes you realize how futile the Vietnam war was and how it was conducted. And also depressing because no other film shows the lifelong emotional scars that Vietnam would leave on the men who served there. Whether you agreed or disagreed (as I did) with our country's purpose in being there, this film most definitely makes one honor and respect the brave men and women who served there...especially because, as the movie makes clear, most of them had no idea what they were getting themselves into.
Many reviews on this board have said that the first hour or so of the film is slow and boring, but they are missing the point. Director Micheal Cimino has directed the movie like a three-act play and the structure deepens the emotional impact. He spends the first hour-and-a-quarter of the film showing us the day-to-day life and friendship of a group of close-knit blue collar guys. They are from a Ukrainian community in Pittsburgh and work in the steel mills. One of them - Steven (John Savage) - is getting married, and this section of the movie spends a good deal of time on the wedding ceremony and lively reception to show how relatively carefree their lives were at the time and how innocent they were. The simple purpose of three of these friends in going to Vietnam was to proudly serve our country in a time of war. No political stance is taken, just a sense of duty. They go on a final deer hunting trip together with their other friends before leaving. Director Cimino uses various symbolism during this section of the film -- notice during the wedding scene when Steven and Angela are told to gulp down the wedding cup by the priest and, if no drops are spilled, they will have good luck for the rest of their lives...then you seen several subtle drops fall on Angela's wedding dress. And the deer hunting trip, where Michael (Robert DeNiro) stresses the importance of taking "just one shot" to kill a deer.
The film then abruptly shifts to the second act...being in the horrific battle settings of Vietnam. The three friends who are serving are captured by the Vietnamese and are forced to participate in a game of russian roulette. As continuously mentioned, these scenes are incredibly intense and disturbing. They do escape but become separated in doing so, and are destined to different fates. Michael, the most emotionally solid of the three, returns home but feels isolated and alone. Nick (Christopher Walken in an Oscar-winning performance) remains behind, both in a VA hospital and then in the city of Saigon itself...lured into an unimaginable situation. Steven returns home broken both emotionally and physically and, for a long time, refuses to go back home to his wife because of feelings of guilt, shame, and mistunderstanding.
The third act shows the emotional consequences that Vietnam has taken on these men and how they play out. The final scene between Michael and Nick is powerful and unforgettable, as is the scene between all of the close friends back home singing "God Bless America". By the time the film concludes, our emotions have been fully drawn out in the same way a powerful piece of theatre would do.
The performances are uniformly superb. Robert DeNiro as Michael is his third best-ever acting job, just behind 'Raging Bull' and 'Taxi Driver'. While remaining a great actor, he would never again be as great as he was in those two films and 'The Deer Hunter'. Same goes for Christopher Walken - this is, by far, his most memorable performance. He should have shared the best supporting actor Oscar trophy with John Savage, who, as Steven, is every bit as great as Walken in the movie. Meryl Streep is sparkling and beautiful as the girlfriend of Nick and object of desire for Michael. The editing, cinematography, and memorable score are all excellent.
While perhaps not as accurate as 'Platoon' or as compelling as 'Apocalypse Now', 'The Deer Hunter', out of these three great film masterpieces about the Vietnam war, is by far the most hard-hitting on an emotional level. It remains one of those movies that, once seen, you will never forget it. 'The Deer Hunter''s excellence fully deserved the Best Picture honors for 1978. It remains an American masterpiece, and by far director Michael Cimino's greatest achievement.
Movie Review: Too drawn out..
Summary: 2 Stars
I'm a big Robert De Niro fan, as well as of Christopher Walken and John Cazale, but how this movie won 5 academy awards is amazing to me. This film is way too drawn out. The wedding scenes in the beginning seem to be endless. I kept waiting for something to happen. Nothing. Not even any interesting dialogue occured. To me, the main characters didn't seem to mesh very well. They didn't convince me that they were all best friends. Now I must admit, the Russian roulette scenes, both in the POW camp and at the end of the movie, were good. Probably the best scenes in the movie. But a lot of the movie was just boring, pointless filler that served no purpose, no plot or character development. Nothing. It's movies like these that surprise me that so many people like them and they are considered "classics". I didn't seen anything that special in this film to cause it to win 5 Academy Awards. Maybe it's just me. Maybe there's some bigger picture that I'm just not getting when I watch this film. but in any case, I just don't see what all the fuss is all about.Movie Review: How Cleveland survived the War
Summary: 5 Stars
The Deerhunter opens in a dreary mill town (It was shot in Cleveland). According to the production notes, Robert de Niro spent some time hanging in bars, family dining rooms and places to catch the atmosphere of the place. Producer Michael Cimmino allegedly pitched the film without a script and purportedly wrote it as it was shot. The project was a success as its numerous awards testify. While the film makes a powerful statement about the power of friendship and the warmth of close knit societies, it also says some haunting mysterious truth about war. This isn't the easiest thing to pin down. The society of the Deerhunter, like societies immemorial, sent their warriors into battle to defend turf, protect the homeland, promote democracy.
For many, when it comes to the American War in Vietnam, grasping any of these reasons can be very elusive. Be that as it may, something important happens in this film.
In a critical scene in the movie, De Niro, Walken and Savage, taken prisoner, are forced into a game of Russian roulette. Incredibly, with machine guns pointed at them point blank, they escape. Freed, during the fall of Saigon, Walken opts to stay behind to, of all things, play Russian roulette in a gambling den. Has his brush with death and miraculous escape made the ordinary life appear too pedestrian? I can only wonder. He doesn't play for money, as he sends his winnings back home to Savage. De Niro returns to rescue Walken, and even engage in the deadly game himself in an effort to reach Walken. Power of friendship indeed. The closing scene shows the community gathered together, singing "God Bless America. It recalled to me another occasion when a man in dire straits called on the Creator. He said 'Forgive them, God, for they know not what they do.' When it comes to international relations and nation-building, governments don't always get it right, but somehow, in the society of The Deerhunter, there is hope that if people stick together, somehow everyone will muddle through. Maybe friendship is more crucial in such times than wisdom. Is there any room for both?
Movie Review: Pure human emotion on display
Summary: 5 Stars
Human emotion is brought to the fore in this intelligent drama involving three best friends and the women in their lives. Michael (De Niro), Nick (Walken) & Steven (Savage) are three hunting buddies living in Clairton, Penn. When the three of them get enlisted in the air-force and ushered off to Vietnam their lives are changed forever. After they are captured and tortured at the hands of the enemy they are forced to reevaluate their lives, look at who they are and what they've become.
After escaping all three make different decisions, Nick staying in Vietnam, Steven being sent home injured and Michael returning home to comfort Nick's girlfriend Linda (Streep) who begins to take a liking to Michael. The real heart or soul of this film is the effect each action has on the one's involved, watching the war and their capture rip each of these men, and Linda as well, apart at the seems. The brilliance is in the acting, each emotion captured perfectly never once appearing as forced or faux, every feeling melting off of these men and women without any effort...especially in regards to De Niro and Streep who, in my opinion, should have walked away with Oscars.
As we watch relationships build and break between friends and lovers we are drawn into these people's lives and giving a reason to watch, a reason to listen and a reason to care. Brilliantly crafted and wonderfully executed, `The Deer Hunter' is worth every bit of the praise and acclaim it has received and is yet to receive.