The Deer Hunter (1978)

The Deer Hunter follows the story of Michael, Steven and Nick, three young blue-collar workers and average Joes from Pennsylvania whose lives are forever changed by the Vietnam War.

I’m not going to lie, folks; it took us a long time to finally watch this one for the blog because I kind of scared Katie away from it by telling her it was fantastic but incredibly depressing. I’m glad we finally got to it however as it is easily one of the most intense, powerful and effective anti-war films ever made. This film has three distinct parts: the wedding/hunt, the war and the aftermath. The first time I saw this film I thought the first part with the wedding was incredibly long and drawn out but on repeat viewings it doesn’t seem so; it’s truly necessary to have the glimpse of the normalcy of their simple lives and to have that kind of relief before those lives are thrown into upheaval forever. Nothing is ever the same for the characters, even after they return home. The internment camp and the Russian roulette scenes are truly some of the most harrowing and suspenseful you will ever see in film- I know what’s going to happen, but those scenes remain as impactful and shocking for me as the first time. This film is significant for a myriad of reasons. Not only is it notable for Christopher Walken’s brilliant Oscar-winning performance, featuring a very authentic-looking thousand-yard stare, but it is also the equally fabulous John Cazale’s final performance. Cazale was only in five films before he died far too soon of cancer, and each one was a classic that either won or was nominated for Best Picture. This was also the film that catapulted director Michael Cimino into the spotlight, whose follow-up film to this entitled Heaven’s Gate was such an unmitigated financial disaster that it essentially ended the Western film genre and was responsible for the shift of creative control from directors to producers. Oddly enough, I hear that now that the dust has settled that it’s actually a pretty decent film but I’ve never seen it so it’s on my to-do list. Nevertheless, none of that diminishes the quality and reputation of The Deer Hunter, a true classic that everyone should see at least once.


So… this is probably the most stressful movie of all the movies.  If they had an AFI top ten list for most stressful scenes, the Russian roulette scene(s) would be at the very top.  And after watching this, Russian roulette was in like every single movie and/or television show.  It was everywhere…even in Disney movies (just kidding… it wasn't but it felt like that).  As Tim mentions, the movie really is set up into three parts.  And after enduring the first two parts, it's really hard to watch the one of the final scenes.  The final scene shows how the war has changed all of these hopeful young kids into weary young adults.  This movie also shows a glimpse of how PTSD was not treated as a life-threatening mental illness.  After some of the main characters are captured with guns held to their head, they are expected to go home and resume their forever changed lives.  It's amazing how misunderstood and alone they seem.  I can't say I loved this movie but it's an important film and it's a great one.  I probably won't watch this too many more times and definitely not on a weeknight (because it's long and keeps me up worrying).  I think I'll watch Tangled now.  

John Cazale was very weak when filming began, and for this reason, his scenes were filmed first. Michael Cimino knew from the start that Cazale was dying from cancer, but the studio did not. When they found out, they wanted to replace Cazale. When Meryl Streep learned of their intentions, she threatened to quit if they did. Cazale died shortly after filming was completed.

Nick: I don't think about that much with one shot anymore, Mike.

Michael: You have to think about one shot. One shot is what it's all about. A deer's gotta be taken with one shot.