The Deer Hunter (1978)
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92% of critics liked it
(48 reviews) -
91% of users liked it
(92,711 ratings)
One of several 1978 films dealing with the Vietnam War (including Hal Ashby's Oscar-winning Coming Home), Michael Cimino's epic second feature The Deer Hunter was both renowned for its tough portrayal of the war's effect on American working class steel workers and notorious for its… More One of several 1978 films dealing with the Vietnam War (including Hal Ashby's Oscar-winning Coming Home), Michael Cimino's epic second feature The Deer Hunter was both renowned for its tough portrayal of the war's effect on American working class steel workers and notorious for its ahistorical use of Russian roulette in the Vietnam sequences. Structured in five sections contrasting home and war, the film opens in Clairton, PA, as Mike (Robert De Niro), Nick (Christopher Walken), and Stan (John Cazale, in his last film) celebrate the wedding of their friend Steve (John Savage) and go on a final deer hunt before the men leave for Vietnam. Mike treats hunting as a test of skill, lecturing Stan about the value of "one shot" deer slaying and brushing off Nick's urgings to appreciate nature's beauty. As Mike ruminates post-hunt, the film cuts to the horror of Vietnam, where the men are captured by Vietcong soldiers who force Mike and Nick to play Russian roulette for the V.C.'s amusement. Mike turns the game to his advantage so they can escape captivity, but the men are permanently scarred by the episode. Steve loses his legs; Nick vanishes in the Saigon Russian roulette parlors. Mike returns alone to Clairton a changed man, as he rejects the killing of the deer hunt and finds solace with Nick's old girlfriend Linda (Meryl Streep). Disgusted by the antics of his male cohorts at home, Mike decides to bring Steve back from a veterans' hospital, and he returns to Saigon to find Nick. As Saigon falls, Mike discovers how far gone Nick is; the survivors gather in Clairton for a funeral breakfast, singing an impromptu rendition of "God Bless America." ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
- Directed By
- Michael Cimino
- Written By
- Deric Washburn
- Genres
- Drama, Cult Movies
- In Theaters
- Dec 8, 1978 Wide
- Studio
- Universal Pictures
Critic Reviews
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Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune
Is it as good as its advance word and nine Academy Award nominations suggest? Yes.
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, TIME Magazine
This excruciatingly violent, three-hour Viet Nam saga demolishes the moral and ideological cliches of an era: it shoves the audience into hell and leaves it stranded without a map.
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Charles Schreger, Variety
The film is ambitious and it succeeds on a number of levels and it proves that Cimino is an important director who deserves to be watched carefully.
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Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
A disgusting account of what the evil Vietnamese did to poor, innocent Americans stands at the center of this Oscar-laden weepie about macho buddies from a small industrial town.
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, Time Out
This is probably one of the few great films of the decade.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Robert De Niro
as Michael
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John Cazale
as Stan
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John Savage
as Steven
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Meryl Streep
as Linda
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Christopher Walken
as Nick
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George Dzundza
as John
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Chuck Aspergren
as Axel
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Shirley Stoler
as Steven's Mother
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Rutanya Alda
as Angela
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Pierre Segui
as Julien
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Mady Kaplan
as Axel's Girl
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Christopher Colombi Jr.
as Wedding Man
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Paul D'Amato
as Sergeant
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Joe Grifasi
as Bandleader
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Mary Ann Haenel
as Stan's Girl
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Richard Kuss
as Linda's Father
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Amy Wright
as Bridesmaid
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Michael Wollet
as Stock Boy
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Joseph Strand
as Bingo Caller


