The Deer Hunter (1978)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

Michael Cimino

Writers:

Michael Cimino (story) &
Deric Washburn (story) ...

Release Date:

23 February 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

Best Picture 1978

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Vietnam | Escape | Russian Roulette | Bar | Party

Awards:

Won 5 Oscars. Another 16 wins & 19 nominations

Cast

Robert De Niro	...	Michael
John Cazale	...	Stan
John Savage	...	Steven
Christopher Walken	...	Nick
Meryl Streep	...	Linda
George Dzundza	...	John
Chuck Aspegren	...	Axel
Shirley Stoler	...	Steven's Mother
Rutanya Alda	...	Angela
Pierre Segui	...	Julien
Mady Kaplan	...	Axel's Girl
Amy Wright	...	Bridesmaid
Mary Ann Haenel	...	Stan's Girl
Richard Kuss	...	Linda's Father
Joe Grifasi	...	Bandleader

Also Known As:

The Man Who Came to Play (USA) (original script title)

Runtime:

182 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | Russian | Vietnamese | French

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Canada:16+ (Quebec) (re-rating) (2003) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) (original rating) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/18 | Finland:K-15 (2001) | Finland:K-16 (1989) | Finland:K-18 (1979) | Brazil:18 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:18 | Australia:MA (cable rating) | Australia:R (original rating) | Chile:18 | France:-12 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 (video rating) | New Zealand:R18 (DVD rating) | Norway:18 | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (video rating) (1987) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

993 N. 7th Street, Steubenville, Ohio, USA

Company:

EMI Films

Trivia:

Various critics objected to the Russian roulette sequences, suggesting that such activity never took place in the Vietnam War. Director Michael Cimino was planning on the scenes to cause controversy and simply stated that no one could be certain of the accuracy. Robert De Niro and Cimino reportedly argued as to the realism of the scenes.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the first hunting scene as they're changing their clothes, Michael and Stan are arguing about Mike's boots. Nicky is seen putting on a sweater and had both arms in when it cuts back to Mike who delivers his "This is this" lines. When it cuts back to Stan and Nicky, Nicky is once again putting the sweater on as if it was never on in the first place.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Michael: Hey, watch out, Axel. We'll be calling him old fireballs after tonight.
Axel: Fuckin' A.
Michael: Not bad.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Funny People (2009)

Soundtrack:

CAN'T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU

Cimino's film is undeniably powerful in its depiction of Pennsylvania steel worker's initiation into warfare and its after-effects…

Opening in Pennsylvania steel town that morning, Steven (John Savage) is going to get married… Just a few days later, he and his best friends Michael (Robert De Niro) and Nick (Christopher Walken) will join the Army and go to Vietnam…

All three are made prisoners of war who finally escape their ordeal, although with several complications… The terrible experiences that they are subjected to change their whole life…

Over the course of more than three-hours of screen time, "The Deer Hunter" presents outrageous and impressive scenes of sadistic Vietcong force tossing grenades into shelters filled with helpless women and children, and later forcing American captives to play Russian roulette for their amusement, while the prison guards bet on the result…

Whatever his intention, Cimino goes courageously forth, staging with power his big end during the fall of Saigon, depicting the trauma of war and the effort of one friend to rescue the other…

The extreme effects of the conflict provide indelible images, and make us feel the pain, the compulsion, the threat, and the terror of war…