Movie #106 - The Deer Hunter

"Best Picture 1978."

I love this tagline - I wasn't around in 1978, but I am hoping that they didn't use this as the actual tagline back then... if they did, it was definitely presumptuous, however, was quite accurate.

From a personal opinion, this is one of my favourite movies out there... it obviously doesn't outrank some of my top 5 movies, however, it is in my top 10 for sure. Over the years, I have tried to get people in my circle of friends and family to watch this film and give it an unbiased chance. Unfortunately, for many, the movie comes off the same way - the consensus feedback I get is that the movie tends to move too slowly and its almost like two separate movies.

If you watched this film in the 80's or 90's, you would enjoy this movie as a two-pack VHS box set. In fact, the movie itself is written in a way that it tells two different stories. What life was like before the Vietnam war and what life is like after the Vietnam war. For those that enjoy strong character development and background story, this movie is definitely for you. However, if you are the "action movie" type, then you will easily enjoy the Russian roulette dramatic sequences.

However, as a fan of this entire film, you really cannot gauge the movie on specific scenes alone as everything ties in together. You follow the characters of Michael (Robert De Niro), Steven (John Savage), Nick (Christopher Walken), and Linda (Merryl Streep) as they experience life in a small steel town before and after the ill effects of the Vietnam War.

Its great to see a collaboration of stellar acting in this film, deserving of the Best Picture award and awards for Best Supporting Actor (Christopher Walken) and Best Director (Michael Cimino). I recently watched an interview with Cimino on TVO's Saturday Night at the Movies and he stated that the concept of the Russian roulette scenes were never in fact confirmed by the Vietnam government as being based on true events, however, they were never denied either. Also, although many have tried to interpret the storyline of this film, Cimino does tie everything into the "one shot" theme - a sort of masculine way of expressing camaraderie, toughness, and the bond that Michael and Nick have for each other.

If you have about 3 hours or so to kill, please find the time to watch this movie. There are no special effects and there is some stock footage intertwined from historical references of the war and scenes filmed in the Philippines. This movie is truly about friendship and the effect war has on it - as it shows the demise of the lives of the friends at home and the lives of the people coming back.

Its a treat to watch 3 Academy Award winners on the same screen (Streep, De Niro, and Walken), something that nowadays would be the only thing used for promotional purposes. Back in 1978, producers just wanted to entertain and tell a compelling story... they really hit the mark with this one.

Also, for those who have watched this film in its entirety, please watch the trailer... its pretty much a cut and paste job of the entire movie from beginning to end - with The Deer Hunter title screen every 5 seconds... I love trailers from the 70's!