The Deer Hunter (1978):

Starring:

Robert De Niro - Michael Vronsky

Christopher Walken - Nikanor Chevotarevich

John Savage - Steven Pushkov

Meryl Streep - Linda

John Cazale - Stanley

George Dzundza - John Welsh

Chuck Aspegren - Peter "Axel" Axelrod

Shirley Stoler - Steven's Mother

Rutanya Alda - Angela Ludhjduravic-Pushkov

Director:

Michael Cimino (Heaven's Gate; Year Of The Dragon)

Synopsis:

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 historical 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.

Review:

A near perfect movie. My only knocks on it are, it runs way too long because lets be honest did we need to see an entire full length wedding & reception? Incredible acting obviously because it's fucking De Niro. Finally got to see the infamous Russian roulette scene that I have only seen spoofs of in the past. The joke about me is that I haven't seen too many movies made before the 1980's. Well I'm attempting to change that & so far everyone that I have seen was well worth it. (Taxi Driver; Raging Bull). Next Up all 4 hours of Lawrence Of Arabia. Oh man also how about the fact that Meryl Streep use to be such an incredibly super sexy babe back in the day.

Budget: $15,000,000

Box Office: $50,000,000

Profit: $35,000,000

Rotten Tomatoes: 91%

Flixster: 91%

89%

Lead Acting: 15/15

Supporting Cast: 10/15

Plot: 10/10

Compared To The Genre: 8/10

Cinematography: 18/20

Intrigue: 18/20

                                                                     Extra: 10/10