The Deer Hunter poster & wallpaper

Robert De Niro, John Cazale, Christopher Walken

An in-depth examination of the way that the Vietnam war affects the lives of people in a small industrial town in the USA.

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91% liked it

74,063 ratings

Critics

91% liked it

44 critics

R, 3 hrs. 2 min.

Directed by: Michael Cimino

Release Date: December 8, 1978

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DVD Release Date: September 6, 2005

Stats: 5,545 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (5,545)

  • SirPant
    September 16, 2009
    SirPant
    The Deer Hunter isn't just the greatest war film ever made, it's one of the greatest films ever made. Absolutely everything in this movie is perfect, from the powerful performances to the beautiful music. A masterpiece!
  • sanjurosamurai
    March 7, 2009
    sanjurosamurai
    a powerful film. incredibly unique in the way that the stages of the film unfold. from the wedding, to the hunting, to the war, to the welcome home, and finally to the recovery of a lost friend. a bit overlong at times, but mostly phenomenal with great performances that help t...( read more)he film justify its 5 oscar wins.
  • DragonEyeMorrison
    February 24, 2009
    DragonEyeMorrison
    Melodramatic, corny and dated. Just some scenes stand out, and Walken's performance.
  • her69eyes
    January 18, 2009
    her69eyes
    "The Deer Hunter" is split up into three clearly defined sections, each running about an hour in length. The first is a sort of calm before the storm - we're guests at the wedding of Steven (John Savage) and his bride. Not only is it a celebration of the union of marriage, it's a...( read more) sort of departing ceremony for Steven and two of his best friends, Nick (Christopher Walken) and Michael (Robert De Niro), who will be going to Vietnam shortly. We meet these three, as well as a few more of their friends who work at a steel mill in Pennsylvania, and then follow them on a hunting trip up in the mountains. The wedding scene gets the most generous amount of time devoted to it, and as an anthropological observer we're kept arms distance from the festivities. It's hard to enjoy this party, afterall, as we know the threats of Vietnam linger. This section ends as the three watch their friend play a moving piece on the piano, which suddenly turns to the sight of hell: gunfire, explosions, and the grating sound of helicopter blades.

    Director Michael Cimino thrusts us right into the midst of the Vietnam war, and we see the familiar, yet broken, faces of the people who celebrated just minutes previous. Shortly thereafter, the three are all taken as prisoners and held in barbed wire cages. One by one, people are removed from this cage to be forcefully engaged in games of Russian roulette. The rules are simple: there's one bullet in a gun, and you pull the trigger to your head. One out of six times, of course, you will die. Meanwhile, the captors cheer on and place bets on who lives and who dies. Russian roulette becomes a common image in the film, which is representative of the war itself and the lives it gambles away.

    In the third act, we mostly follow Michael, who was the most composed and grounded in the horrific Vietnam sequences. Only on the outside, however, did he retain his composure. Now a broken shell of himself, he returns home all alone. He'll soon find out that Steven has also returned (not all of Steven, however, as he lost two legs), but Nick is nowhere to be found. Michael, guilty, knows he must return to Vietnam as he suspects Nick has gotten involved with the same horrific game they were forced to play as prisoners.

    "The Deer Hunter" is considered a classic war film, and it's not hard to see why. Not only is it a piece with a number of excellent performances, including Meryl Streep and John Cazale along with the three main protagonists, but it's one of the more disturbing and unconventional war films you'll find. What's so refreshing about "The Deer Hunter" as a war film is that it skips most of the battle. Vietnam, in this film, is largely kept to a small room and a cage. Nevertheless, this is still one of the most horrifying looks at the brutality of war, and the complete abandonment of compassion in the relentless face of oppression. It's not anti or pro U.S., but it's absolutely anti-war. The Russian roulette scene is something that you won't soon forget.

    Despite all of it's upsides, however, there were a few things about the film that I didn't completely buy. First and foremost, I found that the last third of the film was especially weak. The only change that was fascinating was Michael's, and that's because it was the most subtle. A paraplegic and someone driven to insanity just seems to underplay what you think the film would be about - the inability to recover from living through such tragedies. Here, Michael is the only character with the mental burden, as the other two are clearly now mentally unfit.

    Perhaps the most common criticism of the film, the absurdity behind the logic of Nick's survival over time, is justified. The rest of the film is completely engrossing, but I found myself gaining an unnecessary amount of distance from the material in the third act due to some questionable plot developments. Finally, I found the ending of the film to be awful. The singing of "God Bless America" seems to be an ironic symbol of mindless patriotism, and it's by far the least subtle thing of the film. Having watched a horrifying story for three hours, the consequences of war on soldiers didn't need to be hamfisted any further. While the last scene fits, it's so uncharacteristically dumb and obvious for an otherwise very good film.

    I was slightly disappointed with "The Deer Hunter" due to the weak last third of the film, but it's still an endlessly fascinating piece. It's also quite the compliment to mention that it doesn't feel nearly as long as it's three hour runtime. This is a slightly overrated, but still a very worthwhile film.
  • stopitgoaway
    December 29, 2008
    stopitgoaway
    he Deer Hunter is a masterpiece of life among a community before and after three friends get drafted to fight in the Vietnam War. The tragic events that take place in the jungles and the adjustment back into the drinking and hunting life of steel workers in Pittsburgh shook my li...( read more)fe forever. Bobby, Chris, and John all give fine performances with an outstanding supporting cast comprised of George Dzunda(Crimson Tide, The Limbic Region) Meryl Streep(Kramer vs. Kramer, Out of Africa) and of course the late John Cazale(The Conversation, Dog Day Afternoon). The scenes are lavishly created to pull us into the magic and to strike horror into our dreams. The themes of a powerful movie such as this applies across all generations even to now with all that is happening with our soldiers in the Middle East. If you only have "one shot" to see an outstanding movie that will make your heart sing and make your soul weep, make it this movie.
  • ythelastman89
    November 20, 2009
    ythelastman89
    It's a great war movie, but it does have its flaws. The entire first act is incredibly long and drags a bit. However, it has one of the greatest scenes in motion picture history, Russian Roulette. The acting is tremendous from Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken.
  • Yelverton
    November 15, 2009
    Yelverton
    Not nearly as good as people claim it is.
  • jonathanswinter
    November 5, 2009
    jonathanswinter
    Pretty freaky look at post tramatic stress disorder.
  • romeobintangtimur
    October 18, 2009
    romeobintangtimur
    the actors its very powerfull
  • djabonillojr2008
    October 8, 2009
    djabonillojr2008
    this is not an easy to watch movie because it's so intense and dramatic. you will be captivated by all cast's performances especially chris walken.

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Critic Reviews

October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

It is a heartbreakingly effective fictional machine that evokes the agony of the Vietnam time. full review

View more The Deer Hunter reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments

  • terris85017
    March 22, 2009
    terris85017
    (1978 Director: Michael Cimino) At least 5 of my still today favorite actors + actresses starred in this 1978 shocker..Meryl Streep Robert DeNiro... Loved Lisa (Maaico's) review of this movie, "This is one of those films that shakes you up truly--test of courage, conviction, friendship & how far out of hand CAN people let things go?"

    Great performances!! A GREAT "guy" flick in my humble opinion which I was able to enjoy!

    Another film "must see" in this genre (post-Vietnam) might include American Graffiti II (Yes but the SEQUEL!! TRUST ME!)....
  • bluejays86rock
    April 7, 2007
    bluejays86rock
    this and apocalypse now are great vietnam war movies
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The Deer Hunter Trivia

  • Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, and John Cazale in the jungles of Vietnam:  Answer »
  • Name the movie.  Answer »
  • In what film does the character Michael Vronsky appear in?  Answer »
  • In 'the Deer Hunter,' when in captivity, how many bullets did Robert DeNiro ask to play russian roulette with?  Answer »
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