The Deer Hunter
The Deer Hunter
R | 08 December 1978 (USA)
The Deer Hunter Trailers

A group of working-class friends decide to enlist in the Army during the Vietnam War and finds it to be hellish chaos -- not the noble venture they imagined. Before they left, Steven married his pregnant girlfriend -- and Michael and Nick were in love with the same woman. But all three are different men upon their return.

Reviews
VividSimon

Simply Perfect

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Beanbioca

As Good As It Gets

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Chirphymium

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

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Invaderbank

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

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whitecaps

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.

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jmsg-40295

I recently saw The Deer Hunter for the first time not to long ago and I thought it was great. I heard it was a good film before I went into it but I was surprised by how the story went into the issues of post-war life and PTSD.The performances of Robert De Niro was well done and I'd probably say that this is his second best role (my favourite is Raging Bull) in my opinion. I also liked Meryl Streep in the film and I'm not a fan of Meryl Streep. She plays her character really well and it really shines through during the second half of the movie. However the role that steals the show for me is Christopher Walken. He really knocked it out of the park with this role. The emotions he played were strong and his death by the end of the movie really hits hard. Not enough to drive me to tears but still hit quite hard. He totally deserved the Oscar win.The scenes in Vietnam have to be some of the most intense scenes I've seen to date. The Russian Roulette scene was really intense and it left me quite on the edge of my seat (or bed since I was watching this at night). (I'm also aware that some scenes aren't historically accurate, specifically with the Russian Roulette scene where there were no documented cases of Russian Roulette being played during the Vietnam War but honestly that doesn't change my opinion). I also really like the scenes with Mike trying to reconnect to society were also really well done. You can tell he wants to reconnect with the world again but the horrors of the war haunt him. However my favourite scene is the ending when Nick dies and everyone is at the table ready to honour him. The silence that surrounds the scene is almost too real. As if you were there with them. A perfect way to end the film.However I do have some issues with the film. One problem I have is that the other side characters aren't that interesting. They didn't really add a lot and didn't leave that much of an impression. I'm not saying they were bad characters it's just that they weren't that interesting. Some scenes drag on for a little bit, specifically when Nick returns to his home. I felt they could've been cut shorter but honestly that could be considered a nitpick. But my main issue with the film is with the beginning. More specifically with the wedding. The wedding scene lasted for way to long and it honestly brought me out of the experience a little bit. I know they're having this huge celebration before they get sent off to war but it really did drag. Also the run-time can also be considered an issue as it's way over 2 hours long and I did feel it's length. Overall I thought the film was great and I'm glad I watched it. I liked how the film dealt with the topics of post-war life rather than romanticising the what happens after a soldier's done with war. The characters struggles and emotions feel real and really brings to life the tragedies that war can bring not onto a country but into citizens outside the war. But while I did like the film it's probably going to be one of those films that I won't see for a very long time. I really liked it a lot but there isn't much re-watch value for multiple revisits. It's definitely a one-and-done type of film for me. Also the run-time and the wedding scenes can be enough of a turn off for me to not want to watch it again. But I still think the film is really amazing and definitely worth at least one viewing.

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rockymonet-56177

#2 The three main characters in "The Deer Hunter" have very different personalities which leads to different effects of their time in the war. Mike is a very linear, organized character which serves him well while he is in Vietnam. He manages to stay alive, unharmed physically, and protect the other characters to the best of his ability. When he returns from the war he is changed mentally. Mike had failed to bring Nick back with him as he had promised not to do. Between this broken promise, and the horrors he had to endure himself, Mike goes through minor mental changes when he returns. He holds a gun loaded with one bullet to his friend's head after he had been messing around with the loaded gun. Mike seems to have a minor case of PTSD involving guns. This is also seen when he purposefully misses shooting a deer. Nick was an emotional character from the beginning of the film. This trait served him well at home, but not in the war. Nick lost it when he was forced to play Russian Roulette for his life while he was a prisoner of war. This event had a severe impact on his life because it was his best friend, Mike, who forced him to do it so they could survive. Because he was such an emotional character, Nick was affected by the cruel game more than the others. Nick, unfortunately, did not make it home from the war. He spent his last few months at a Russian Roulette den in Saigon. He experimented with drugs and played the game because he was so far gone. in the end, it was the game that killed him. Steve was the third friend who went to Vietnam. Steve was a childish character before the war. He wasn't extremely mature or even aware of the world around him. This effected him terribly in the war. While playing Russian Roulette, Steve was crying and freaking out because it was so horrific to him. He was corrupted by the war and was forced to see and experience things he wasn't ready to experience. Steve was physically effected as well as mentally. He lost his legs and part of his arm during the war. All of these things that happened to the men because of the war could have been predicted to an extent. Mike is strong emotionally and physically, so he wouldn't be as effected by the war as most. Nick was emotional and therefore would be effected mentally. And Steve was the childish friend, so he would come out of the war different in some way. I don't think it could have happened another way. I wish Nick didn't have to die, but that was critical to the plot and outcome of the war on the men.

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Daniel H

I was looking forward to this film with all my heart but the results were frustrating. The plot is weak, relying on the sock scenes. There are problems with the pace of the film, making some moments feel unearned. And the representation of the Vietnam war is ludicrous, not an ounce of truth to be found. I suppose that it is not the film intention to be a war film but the thing is that it fails miserably at its true objective. There are films like Born on the 4th of July that have made a perfect role in translating the scars and social rupture of the war in the USA landscape.

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