Customer Reviews

The Deer Hunter

5 star:		(184)
4 star:		(55)
3 star:		(27)
2 star:		(20)
1 star:		(34)

 

 

If you really want to get the most out of viewing this picture, don't make the mistake many of these Amazon reviewers do, by either assuming the politics of Cimino et al or using your own pro- or anti-America agenda as a critical yardstick. Because really this film isn't proselytizing a particular viewpoint, unlike Cimino's disastrous followup HEAVEN'S GATE. And don't think of it solely as a war movie. Actually, it's a lot like GONE WITH THE WIND: an epic-scale look at life and society in a specific place and time in the past (in this case, 1968, ten years before the film was made), and how folks send off their high-spirited young men to a war that no one pays a great deal of mind to - and how that war shatters not only the young men but the world they left behind, forever. The wedding scene IS long and in lesser hands on either side of the camera would be a dead weight but Cimino and lensman (sorry) Vilmos Zsigmond frame it in reverent widescreen grandeur, and a once-in-a-lifetime cast nails every character nuance and conversational tic, so that the scene flows on and on, vibrant with life and perfectly evoking not only a rust-belt town but the fast-fading rust-belt values of the nation. Besides, with a cast like this movie's, working at the height of their powers with inspired material, you really don't want scenes to end. When the movie segues to Vietnam, the tone shifts to horror and finally surrealism. Many consider this portion of the movie horribly racist, but that's a safe, kneejerk-liberal reaction. These aren't Harvard freshmen, they're barely-educated steeltown kids being sent to a faroff jungle to kill VC, who get captured & tortured by the men they are trying to kill. For enlightened liberal pieties to inform the dialogue or the tone of these scenes would be criminally false. That's probably what makes this a great flick, however, that right-wingers can despise it for its obvious liberalism and the bleeding hearts can hate it for its reactionary jingoism. Ain't consensus wonderful? Check your own politics at the door before watching this (widescreen version only!) and savor four transcendent performances by DeNiro, Savage, Walken & Streep, plus the late John Cazale doing his patented sweaty-weasel turn as an added bonus.

We've seen alot of Veitnam war movies since Deer Hunter. Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket, Oliver Stone's trilogy & various others. All have great moments,especially Kubrick's version,but Cimino's "Deer Hunter" is the Grand Daddy,in my opinion. De Niro's incredible acting is only equalled by Walken,Streep,Cazale & Savage. It's Streep's first film appearance & Cazale's last~(They were a couple at the time, Cazale died of cancer before the film's release)~. I have never taken the Academy Awards seriously since they awarded Jon Voigt & Jane Fonda oscars for "Coming Home"~(another Vietnam film)~ instead of De Niro & Streep for "Deer Hunter". Walken walked away with best supporting actor,& deservedly so. It is an incredibly powerful movie. The DVD,although a little dark looking,is great to watch. To be able to access any scene...I still marvel. This is a film you HAVE to see if you have any kind of love for the movies.

Cimino's THE DEER HUNTER is difficult to describe. The film opens with a long and complex sequence depicting events surrounding an elaborate wedding in a steel mill town--and then vaults several of that community's young men into a hellish vision of the Vietnam war, from which the survivors return so completely changed that they no longer fit into the community from which they originally came.

There are several critical issues with THE DEER HUNTER. When it was first released, audiences were very positive about the film--but they complained about the opening "home town" sequence, which they described as slow and over-long. The studio accordingly edited the sequence to half its original length--but when the edited version was shown, audiences were considerably less enthusiastic about the film in general and complained that it lacked impact, and the edited portion was restored. Audiences still complain about the opening sequence, seldom realizing that it provides the point of comparison that makes the remainder of the film so powerful--and in any case, this fact is something that can only be recognized by viewers in hindsight, a circumstance that does not help them weather the first portion of the movie when they actually see it. Many also complain that the plot is improbable. Once the three leads (Robert De Niro, John Savage, and Christopher Walken) reach Vietnam, they are unexpectedly reunited just in time to be captured and tortured together. In the film's most famous scene, the three are forced to play Russian roulette against each other--and although they escape, one is maimed (Savage) and the other (Walken) so emotionally traumatized that he vanishes into Vietnamese underworld, where he re-enacts the horror of his torture by playing Russian roulette as a gambling game.

But for all its glitchiness, THE DEER HUNTER is a remarkably intense, remarkably disturbing film--particularly when the discharged De Niro returns home only to find himself surrounded by old friends whose 'broads and beer' lives seem incredibly trivial in comparison to his own experience. He has changed; they have not; what has been lost cannot be recovered. But there can be a sort of redemption through an acceptance of the change that has been forced upon him--and by trying to bring others who have suffered to that same acceptance. Cimino's direction and overall vision is loose, to say the least, but he draws extraordinary performances from an extraordinary cast. De Niro gives what may be the most subtle performance of his entire career in this film. Christopher Walken's performance (he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar) is justly famous, and although often overlooked, John Savage is every bit his equal; Meryl Streep is also memorable in one of her earliest big-screen roles. And bitter as the film is, it still speaks of honor, integrity, hope, and bonds of friendship and community that can never be broken. Deeply flawed--but a masterpiece nonetheless.

The film is great. Most of you know that so I'm not going to give you a redundant synopsis of the film. However, I was very disappointed with the DVD considering I've been waiting for years for a new special edition. That wait was for nothing.

Yes, the film looks and sounds great on the Legacy Series DVD. But let's be honest, many of us buy DVDs for the special features, and since this is part of the "Legacy Series," this should please, right? Wrong.

First, don't be fooled that this thing is 2 discs. I have no idea why it should be because the second disc only has 14 minutes of deleted scenes, the original theatrical trailer (2 minutes), and 8 screens of production notes. THAT'S IT. Why couldn't they place this on the first disc? To make it seem like there was more? Probably. No documentaries, interviews, making of featurettes, nothing. There is a decent commentary on the first disc, but on the whole the DVD package is disappointing considering the original non Legacy Series version of the Deer Hunter didn't offer much either in terms of special features.

Regardless, it's hard not to own this for your film collection. It is definitely the better of the two versions out there, but don't go in expecting a lot other than the film. Disappointing package on the whole for a film that deserves so much more.

The Deer Hunter is definitely among the top three Vietnam films of all time, in my opinion... However, what makes all three great is that, in reality, none of them are about war...The Deer Hunter takes place mostly outside of Vietnam and doesn't dwell there for more than a third of the film. Rather, it is merely the focal point of the film. The movie is about friendship, courage, loyalty, and pathos. The movie features a wonderful ensemble of actors, including Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Savage, John Cazale, Meryl Streep, and George Dzundza, just to name a few. The story is set in a small steel town in Pennsylvania, and De Niro and company are Russian-Americans and close friends. De Niro's character, Michael, is the leader. He is spontaneous and fun-loving, but also strict and methodical. When screw-up Stan (Cazale) forgets his boots, De Niro doesn't want to give him his extra pair. Walken portrays Nick as an intensely loyal friend, willing to risk death at Russian Roulette to escape on a plan conceived by Michael. Savage plays Steve, the married man who ends up losing his legs due to an injury in the war. The film investigates the lives of these three men, forever changed by Vietnam: one emotionally scarred, one physically scarred, one lost in a foreign land. I got choked up when Michael went to Vietnam to save Nick, but ends up playing one final game of Russian Roulette. That particular scene is the most affecting. See it and you'll understand.
In short, this film is a monumental examination of friendship, loyalty, and courage. It won the Best Picture Oscar in 1978, and will forever be a potent look at grief and sadness and joy and love. A must.

A grim look into the after-effects of the Vietnam war on three buddies from a small Pennsylvania steel town. The cast is stocked with first class actors such as Christopher Walken, John Cazale, John Savage, Meryl Streep, and of course Robert De Niro. De Niro's character Michael gets the most screen time in the film but the true star of The Deer Hunter is Christopher Walken. This is his coming out party and he does a fantastic job as Nicky, a smart, funny, well-adjusted small town guy. The movie centers around the boys being sent off to 'nam and the ensuing horror that all of them endure. After being captured by the enemy it becomes apparent who the strongest of the group is...Michael (De Niro). It is his strength and perservence that ultimately bring the three through this trauma, but the effects are long lasting. Savage's character (the weakest) becomes paralyzed and looses both legs, he suffers both the physical and mental scars of the war. De Niro come out virtually without a scratch but the signs of mental anguish and social maladjustment are clear. Nicky goes AWOL and decides to stay in Hanoi and play big stakes Russian Roulette as now the mental beating he took in the war seems too much for him to bear. He is truly the living dead. Meryl Streep plays a woman torn between her love for a missing Nicky and a consoling Michael. As always, her work is nothing less than stellar. The last scene in Hanoi is truly chilling especially when Nicky finally remembers his hunting days with the boys and then utters his final words "one shot." A true cinematic masterpiece that wrenches at the soul. The most anti-war war film I've ever seen. Highly Recommended.

I'm not going to review the film itself because most have already seen it (or if not you have missed the best film about the U.S. involvement in Vietnam ever made). Oscar-winner for Best Picture.

I have the HD-DVD Universal release of this film and it's a good transfer, however it pales in comparison to this blu-ray release.

First and foremost, this is from Studio Canal, who seems to do the very best in hi-def transfers (the "Manhunter" Studio Canal version that played on one of the hi-def channels on DirecTV was vastly superior to the newly released MGM/Fox Blu-ray release).

The picture and audio quality is the best I have ever seen and heard of this film. The detail is incredible, as are the colors. The print itself is almost flawless with very little dirt and just the normal amount of grain for a picture made 30 years ago. There is no edge enhancement or digital noise reduction. In short the transfer is simply gorgeous.

If you are a fan of this film, I urge you to get this version of the blu-ray.

I also ordered "The Elephant Man" (another Studio Canal release) and that should arrive tomorrow and I will submit a short review of the transfer once I have watched it. I have little doubt there will be any problem with this transfer because of my experience with Studio Canal releases.

I've watched over 100 movies in HD-DVD. Some movies are marginally enhanced by HD but this isn't one of them. HD takes DH up to another level. It is easy to be consumed by this drama because it's moving story and arguably has the best ensemble cast ever put together for a movie. In HD presentation the visuals almost steal the show. This is an incredibly beautiful looking movie. I was mesmerized from the get go. The opening scenes of wide shots of the steel town and then going into the steel mill with sparks flying, gargantuan machines in motion, and molten lava frothing and flowing creates an immediate intimacy with the movie before any dialogue is spoken or actors seen. This movie is about intimacy, the struggle to find it and the struggle when you lose it. It's about the importance of intimacy in small towns life. These steel town men, all they have in life is their way of life. When that is taken away and disrupted there is a chain reaction that is felt throughout the community and it underscores the old saying, "you can't go home again". In HD all the details you didn't notice before bring you in that much closer to the characters, you become one of the group as a viewer, sharing in their joys and miseries. The wedding scenes are phenomenal. The priests vestments and the gothic interior of the russian orthodox church, the bar where they drink, the mill where they work, the little trailer house where they meet, the white caddy they pile into for their bonding rituals, hunting in the Adirondacks, HD allows you to see all the marvelous detail that exists in these scenes. The Vietnam scenes are effective but don't quite live up to the visual splendor of the steel town. This is where the actors carry the film. Walken's transformation from a happy go lucky newly wedded working class guy to damaged and disturbed veteran of war outcast is superb and the heart of the movie. DeNiro's enigmatic character is who we identify with but it's Walken who takes us on the journey. Meryl Streep is a sight to behold and carries her own in the scenes with the men. Savage and Cazale and the other supporting actors round out a great cast. None of these are throw away characters, they all contribute to the high level of intimacy that is created between the film and the viewer. Bravo!

I have lived a war. I wasn't in the front, no, and I never played the russian roulette. But the feelings are the same. When you struggle to keep your mind clear when all what is around you has fallen down, when you try to keep all those you love together, and when you face the loss of a friend's sanity or life, all because of war, a movie like The Deer Hunter makes an impact on you.

It is also the way this movie shows you how simple people, who just want to enjoy life and live it carelessly, enter a war. How people who have followed traditions, and have lived in a closed community, all of a sudden see themselves thrown in the middle of a chaotic world, where values and traditions make no sense.

It is also the way war affects us. It makes us grow faster, makes us treasure life...and that scene where robert de niro finds himself facing the deer in the end and thinks twice before shooting him is so moving.

I loved this movie. I have watched it several times. It is, without any doubts, for me, the best movie I can relate to.

What is there to say about The Deer Hunter? I think for starters I can start by saying WOW! This movie deeply touched me! And being 21 years old I did not think it would. I have read numerous negative comments regarding The Deer Hunter, most of them being: 1.) The film is too slow. 2.) The russian roulette scene were not accurate and never happened in vietnam. 3.) There are not enough war scenes etc. I will try my best to justify the inaccuracy of the negative comments that I just listed. First off, if you can't handle sitting through a slow moving movie then this is probably not your cup of tea. The movie is slow for a reason and that reason is called "character development". Michael Cimino wanted you to really beleive that these characters existed before dramatically turning the film in a 180 direction. And what is slow to one person may not be slow to another. The russian roulette scenes were used to show the horrors of war metaphorically. Maybe it happened, maybe it didn't, but Michael Cimino intended on it being used as a metaphor. Basically this film is not about war but about friendship, and what can happen to friendship under the hardships of war. If you're expecting Platoon, then forget about it. This film is nothing like Platoon or any other war movie I have ever seen. That's because it's not a war movie. This is a great film! But the DVD on the otherhand is not so great. I will admit that. The picture quality and sound are pretty horrible. But the movie makes up for it. I have owned both DVD versions of this movie and they are both pretty bad. I guess that i'm going to be stuck waiting for an updated edition to come out which is inevitable. Thank you for reading and I hope that I shined a little bit of light on this beautiful film.