The Deer Hunter
Cast
Robert De Niro .... Michael Vronsky
John Cazale .... Stanley 'Stosh'
John Savage .... Steven
Christopher Walken .... Nick
Meryl Streep .... Linda
Directed by
Michael Cimino
Rater #2 has description and review.
Rater #1
Has Not Seen Movie
Rater #2
10/10. Most young people today need to learn that Robert De Niro was not
just the person in Meet the Parents or The Adventures of Rocky and
Bullwinkle, but he starred in films like The Deer Hunter, which got
him to where he is today. Not only is he a great actor, he always
picks good films to act in. And with a strong supporting cast, also,
you can't really go wrong with The Deer Hunter.
Michael (De Niro), Nick (Christopher Walken), and Steven (John
Savage) sign up to go to Vietnam. They leave after a farewell
party/wedding party for Stanley (John Cazale) and Angela (Rutanya
Alda). Once in the midst of the war, they are forced into playing
Russian Roulette and eventually they escape, but none of them can
forget the experiences from the war.
It's sad to see that Michael Cimino fade from view, because his
direction here is really memorable and it's what holds the film
together. There's about 70 minutes in the beginning of the film that
has nothing to do with the rest of the film, but it gets us to know
these three main characters, and it seems like you wouldn't care if
they even went to Vietnam, because you certainly were intrigued by
these three people. And once they're in the perils of war, you feel
enough for these three basic people to get through the war.
The Russian Roulette scenes are harrowing, even when it's a complete
stranger who has the gun to their head. I read that to get the
tension on set, a live bullet was put into the gun, but it was
checked to make sure that it wasn't the one about to be shot. And,
since you've known these people for 90 minutes already, you obviously
didn't want them to die, making them all the more nervous.
The Deer Hunter is quite unlike another great Vietnam film, Full
Metal Jacket. While FMJ just showed the immediate results, this movie
showed the results immediately and in the future, back at home. This
helped make everything seem more realistic, which it was. For each of
the three main characters, the war has changed them greatly, and none
for the better.
De Niro is great, but the stand out here is Walken, who accurately
takes his role and makes it into something memorable. Thankfully, he
won best supporting actor. Meryl Streep was nominated as a supporting
character, deservedly. However, this movie is not all about the
acting, it's about the feeling you get. As one character says, "I
don't know how I feel." That's exactly how you'll feel after seeing
this tour-de-force.
Rated R for strong language and violence.
Running time: 183 minutes
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