Director: Michael Cimino
Writer: Deric Washburn (Screenplay) Michael Cimino, Deric Washburn, Louis Garfinkle, Quinn K Redeker (Story)
Starring: Robert De Niro, John Cazale, John Savage, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep, George Dzundza
Plot: An in-depth examination of the ways in which the U.S. Vietnam War impacts and disrupts the lives of people in a small industrial town in Pennsylvania.
Runtime: 3 Hours 3 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Deer Hunter starts as we meet the three best friends Michael (De Niro), Nick (Walken) and Steven (Savage) as they look to have one last party, for Steven’s marriage before they head of to Vietnam to fight for their country, but not before one of their traditions, a deer hunting trip.
Once the friends make it to Vietnam, they find themselves enduring a horrific game of Russian Roulette, as they look to escape the capture they find themselves in.
Thoughts on The Deer Hunter
Thoughts – The Deer Hunter is one of the classic movies for the era of the late 1970s, it will show us the horrors of war on the people who went there, showing how they will never be the same after returning, even if they can stay together with their friends. This is a very long movie, being 3 hours long holds back too much of this film, which could have easily been cut down to make a more engaging story. This does end up putting too much focus on certain factors, when it doesn’t need to, despite having brilliant performances throughout. it is more baffling that this is considered an all time classic.
Final Thoughts – The Deer Hunter is a long drawn out movie that needed to be cut down on runtime to get the bigger impact.