The Deer Hunter (1978)

An in-depth examination of the way that the Vietnam war affects the lives of people in a small industrial town in the USA.

Director:

Michael Cimino

Writers:

Michael Cimino (story), Deric Washburn (story),

Stars:

Robert De Niro, John Cazale, John Savage

Top 250 #133 | Won 5 Oscars. Another 21 wins & 17 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert De Niro	...	Michael
John Cazale	...	Stan
John Savage	...	Steven
Christopher Walken	...	Nick
Meryl Streep	...	Linda
George Dzundza	...	John
Chuck Aspegren	...	Axel
Shirley Stoler	...	Steven's Mother
Rutanya Alda	...	Angela
Pierre Segui	...	Julien
Mady Kaplan	...	Axel's Girl
Amy Wright	...	Bridesmaid
Mary Ann Haenel	...	Stan's Girl
Richard Kuss	...	Linda's Father
Joe Grifasi	...	Bandleader

Storyline

Michael, Steven and Nick are young factory workers from Pennsylvania who enlist into the Army to fight in Vietnam. Before they go, Steven marries the pregnant Angela and their wedding-party is also the men's farewell party. After some time and many horrors the three friends fall in the hands of the Vietcong and are brought to a prison camp in which they are forced to play Russian roulette against each other. Michael makes it possible for them to escape, but they soon get separated again.

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Plot Keywords:

vietnam | russian roulette | escape | pennsylvania | vietcong | 

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Taglines:

One of the most important and powerful films of all time!

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Russian Vietnamese French

Release Date:

23 February 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die durch die Hölle gehen

Filming Locations:

993 N. 7th Street, Steubenville, Ohio, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

SEK 10,994,967 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

EMI Films, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

182 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Meryl Streep improvised many of her lines.

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Goofs

When returning to the bar after the hunting trip, they are singing "Drop Kick Me Jesus (Through The Goalposts Of Life))" a Bobby Bare song released in 1976, long after the Vietnam War had ended.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Michael: Hey, watch out, Axel. We'll be calling him old fireballs after tonight.
Axel: Fuckin' A.
Michael: Not bad.

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Crazy Credits

We gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of our Thai crew in the production of "The Deer Hunter"

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Rocket Attack U.S.A. (1990)

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Soundtracks

"Can't Take My Eyes Off You"
(1967) (uncredited)
Written by Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe
Performed by Frankie Valli
Published by BMI Records
by arrangement with Rhino Records Inc.

User Reviews

It's about character development

A comment re the other comments: A lot of the comments criticize the first half hour as being too long. In my opinion, these comments miss the point of the movie.

Of course many of the scenes in the first hour don't advance the narrative. They're not supposed to; they're for character development.

The whole point of the movie is to show us how the various characters were affected by the war. It wouldn't have worked nearly as powerfully as it does had the first hour been trimmed down. We have to sense the careless and frat-boy-like immaturity of these young men. That's why the scenes all revolve around frivolity and seemingly senseless boyish behavior; it creates such a stark contrast to the devastated characters of the three who went to war (and the relatively unaffected personalities of those who stayed behind, like Stanley).

The strong points of the film are the outstanding performances of nearly every actor in the movie. Yes, there are technical deficiencies in the sound, but it hardly matters. This is nitpicking compared to the overall construction of the film.