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." | Robert De Niro | Michael |
| John Cazale | Stan |
| John Savage | Steven |
| Meryl Streep | Linda |
| Christopher Walken | Nick |
| George Dzundza | John |
| Chuck Aspergren | Axel |
| Shirley Stoler | Steven's Mother |
| Rutanya Alda | Angela |
| Pierre Segui | Julien |
| Mady Kaplan | Axel's Girl |
| Joseph Strand | Bingo Caller |
| Michael Wollet | Stock Boy |
| Amy Wright | Bridemaid |
| Paul D'Amato | Sergeant |
| Christopher Colombi, Jr. | Wedding Man |
| Richard Kuss | Linda's Father |
| Joe Grifasi | Bandleader |
| Mary Ann Haenel | Stan's Girl |
Genre/Type - Drama, Anti-War Film, Ensemble Film, Reunion Films, War Drama,
POW Drama
Produced by - EMI Films Production / Universal
Running time - 183 min.
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Platoon (1986, Oliver Stone)
Tracks (1976, Henry Jaglom)
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