The Deer Hunter (1978)

Truly Dreadful Film

Touches You

Sorry, this movie sucks

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Its running length may annoy some, and it's criticized for being self-indulgent, and for having a problematic message. And while I can see that it could have been more shorter, I think that it has this great emotional impact because Cimino took his time in a very long first act that made us dive into the characters, and most importantly, their relationship. This first act with all its very very long scenes that feel as they were unedited is what made us care deeply about his characters when they were thrown inside a terrifically tense, gut-wrenching second act. That's how Cimino made us thoroughly disturbed, and have mixed, and vague feelings that result in creating a great catharsis at the third act. Every actor gave a very realistic performance, needless to say that both De Niro and Meryl Streep shine, but Christopher Walken's Oscar-winning performance is the standout here. All the characters are fully-developed, and fleshed out, but they are incredibly realistic and three-dimensional that can be analyzed as they are Shakespearean or Tolstoyan characters.I can't believe or describe how emotionally sweeping and overwhelming this epic is.(9/10)

I suspect many of the people who have a high regard for this movie are of the generation who were old enough to appreciate it when it came out, not only in the effect the Vietnam War had on the people who fought in it and the U.S as a whole, but also in the nature of 1970s art.I had a mixed reaction to the movie. Some people have commented that the first hour dragged on too long, I'm a patient person, but I thought pretty much every scene in the entire movie dragged on too long.In that sense, the best comparison I think with the 1970s isn't even other films but rock music: the songs that had long guitar solos. Like those guitar solos, all of the scenes in this film were ultimately indulgent, but some of them were interesting, some of them were entertaining and some of them were boring.

Just got finished watching this movie for the first time ever. For years, I had heard nothing but great things about "The Deer Hunter", such as it's a masterpiece, a classic, etc. Because of this, I went into this film with high expectations and was sorely disappointed with what I had seen."The Deer Hunter" is one of those films that has one (maybe two) fantastic scenes and the rest of the picture is complete rubbish. A similar film is Inglorious Basterds (another war epic) with the opening scene at the farm being terrific but the rest of the film is just awful. In this sense, The Deer Hunter reminded me a lot of Inglorious Basterds. The Russian Roulette sequence in the Vietcong hut is absolutely breathtaking- the acting is high caliber, the tension is through the roof, the cinematography perfect. This scene is one of the best in film history. However, this one scene cannot cover the other, various issues that plague the film such as meandering plot, useless and overlong (way overlong) wedding scene, annoying characters, unsatisfying ending, choppy editing (Oscar for Best Film Editing, seriously?), and unwarranted three hour run-time. The entire first hour is a poor and overlong build up to the fantastic Russian Roulette scene in Vietcong hut. After this scene, movie goes nowhere for another 2 hours.I understand this was the first Vietnam movie to come out in the wake of the Vietnam war. As such, it struck a chord and was a big deal in 1978. However, outside of one scene I cannot say that I really found this to be an enjoyable or even a thought-provoking war movie like Platoon (1986) or Full Metal Jacket (1987). Ironically enough, the first Vietnam movie to be made is the one that had the least impact, at least for me. 5/10 stars for the Russian Roulette scene only.

The Deer Hunter (1978) This is an epic war drama film about a trio of steelworkers whose lives are changed forever after they fight in the Vietnam War. The cast includes Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Savage, John Cazale, Meryl Streep, and George Dzundza. The story takes place in a little working class town south of Pittsburgh, and in Vietnam. The film won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor for Christopher Walken. It also marked Meryl Streep's very first Academy Award nomination. She is now the most nominated actor in history. It was named the 53rd greatest American film of all time by the American Film Institute (AFI). The film's initial reviews were mostly positive. It was hailed by many critics as the best American epic since The Godfather. The late Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four stars and called it "one of the most emotionally shattering films ever made." This film is an American classic. It is my favorite drama, and perhaps my favorite film of all time. It even holds up nearly 40 years later. My willingness to try older films, any films, was because of this picture. Movies are like these are why film lovers should really give older movies a shot. I suggest the AFI's top 100 films as a starting point. The Deer Hunter is a masterful piece of cinema that explores the human condition in a way few films do today.