AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

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.

bghilliotti This is a film that looks at a group of close friends in a Pennsylvania rust belt town before getting deployed to Vietnam, briefly depicts their combat experience, and then refocused on their efforts to reintegrate back into society. People looking for a more traditional war movie will find it very boring. Interesting portrayal of the fall of Saigon. Brian Ghilliotti

legocyd As a whole, The Deer Hunter feels less like a war focused film; instead, Vietnam and the war serves as a backdrop and an influence on the three main characters at least. This is important to note up front, because this makes The Deer Hunter an interesting study of the main characters before, during, and after the war.The beginning of the movie is long and slow, but it works to show the details of Mike, Nick, and Stevie. We get a good idea from his wedding and the circumstances of his bride, Angela's, pregnancy that he is a naive, but faithful and well meaning young man, who sees a big future ahead of them. Nick shows himself as an optimistic romantic, looking to work in the best of his friends' actions in the hunting trip and at the same time, play by Mike's rules. He also spends much time showing how much he cares for Linda, and openly comments about how he loves the small steel town he lives and works in. Mike, on the other hand, is much less of a romantic, and despite his naked run after the wedding, is shown to have a set of rules he lives by, and this includes his dedication to his friends, and the promise he makes to Nick to bring him home.Being in Vietnam changes things, especially the russian roulette scenes. Stevie, with his emotional naive nature, handles it poorly and winds up in a cage full of water and rats because he misses his head with the bullet. Mike, with his strict rules and self compass, fares better because he is the one who can steel himself against death, and ultimately is mostly responsible for their escape. He tries with Nick, but... Nick can't handle it. Having to play russian roulette against Mike while being encouraged by Mike to do it for their escape breaks him, and this impacts his portrayal from then on.By the end, Stevie is paralyzed and missing both legs, Mike is living with psychological trauma from both his experiences in war, and also the results of his attempt to rescue Nick, who was playing russian roulette professionally in Vietnam. Being forced to do it by Mike has left him in a broken state, and when Mike comes to rescue him, he blows his brains out in a russian roulette match in a disturbingly tragic way. "One shot" indeed. The line shows just how far he had fallen from before, and how much spite he had for Mike inside for the entire experience. Despite Mike's best efforts, he couldn't bring Nick back, even if he technically kept the promise and brought him home. That ending sort of broke my heart too, and I think it was a great way to hammer home the emotional message of the movie. Good movie overall. Would recommend.

gab-14712 1978's The Deer Hunter is one of the more polarizing movies to come out during the 1970's. It was the first movie with the deeply controversial subject of the Vietnam War to both become a critical and commercial success. However, there were several people who expressed dissent ranging from its portrayal of the Vietnam War to the controversial involvement of Russian roulette to the singing of "God Bless America." I remember not being too impressed with the film the first time I viewed it. I felt it was too long and violent. Years later, I am singing a different tune. It's a difficult film to sit through because of its violence and the effects of PTSD (post-trauma syndrome). But it is a highly engaging and effective film and I regard it as one of the more influential American movies of the 1970's. Not the best, but the most influential because there will be more successful films tackling the Vietnam War on the horizon.You can call this movie a symphony of some sort. I sort this film into three major segments. The first segment is the longest because of its lengthy and effective characterization. We meet three Pennsylvania factory workers: Michael (Robert De Niro), Steven (John Savage), and Nick (Christopher Walken). They enlisted in the army to serve in Vietnam. Steven decides to marry before going off to war and this wedding also serves as the farewell party. This section is eerily reminiscent of the opening act of The Godfather. There is lots of partying and dancing. And we essentially get to know these characters. These men are hard workers who get drunk at the party because they deserve a night for themselves. After the party, the trio of friends along with another friend Stan (John Cazale) go into the mountains to hunt for deer for one last trip. Hence the title of the movie. I found this section to be incredibly effective in character-building. Director Michael Cimino took his time with his part because it was important to understand these men before they go into the horrors of war.The second movement of our symphony is the actual war. Just like that with a loud noise, the film instantly changes its tone. From the foggy mountains of Pennsylvania to the tropical war zone of Vietnam we go. In one of the most terrifying sequences ever made, the three men are taken prisoner and are forced to play Russian roulette while their captors are betting who will win and who will die. Just seeing the men's faces as they are waiting their turn in the rat-infested cages are undeniably scary. One of the film's controversies is that roulette was not actually played in Vietnam. According to Cimino, he read articles saying they did play roulette although any of this has not been confirmed. But it's one hell of a way to add tension to the movie. You can also take this as a symbol for the war overall. Roger Ebert puts it perfectly in his review, "Anything you can believe about the game, about it's deliberately random violence, about how it touches the sanity of men forced to play it, will apply it to the war as a whole." Essentially, this violence stands for the war itself and what these men face. Now our final act of the symphony is what happens after the horrors of the prison camp. Michael becomes a prominent character here as he returns home and is welcomed as a hero by his townsfolk and his girlfriend Linda (Meryl Streep). But Michael does not feel like a hero. Steven is in the hospital after losing his legs and Nick is somewhere in Vietnam still. Michael eventually goes back to find Nick who happened to take his roulette experiences to heart by playing this game professionally. This section is incredibly sad and moving as here we see what exactly war can do to strong-willed men. It was horrible to watch this transformation on screen. To see these characters we got to laugh with in the first part to seeing them play with death in the final act is sad to see. We also get to see an act of patriotism (or is it?) when the survivors join in a ragged rendition of "God Bless America" in the very end. This movie has a very strong cast, although the only star at the time was Robert De Niro. De Niro instantly became the film's leader and he played Michael very well. He became a bona fide star after his work in The Godfather: Part Two, and he put that stardom to work here. Christopher Walken had some of the strongest scenes in the movie because of his involvement with the deadly game of Russian roulette. Meryl Streep is one of the greatest actresses ever to grace our screens, and this was one of her first big roles. We end this paragraph with a sad note. This would be the last movie John Cazale would play because he was suffering from terminal cancer and he died before the film was released. He was very good as Stan, but you can tell in the movie that he was really sick.Michael Cimino's The Deer Hunter is a incredible movie about the horror of wars and it effective covers themes ranging from PTSD to male bonding and friendship. It was one of the first movies to successfully cover the Vietnam War, although I'd say this film may not be the most accurate regarding the actual war. I do commend its effort on conveying the themes of general war though. This film was nominated for nine Oscars and it won five of them including Best Picture. Walken took home the statue for his amazing and tense performance as Nick. The film may be controversial and it may be hard to watch, but it's one you'll remember forever. My Grade: A-