Rating: 
Summary: PERFECT MOVIE
Review: PERFECT MOVIE
The Deer Hunter is one of the most powerful, emotionally satisfying movies ever made. In terms of acting, cinematography, story, screenplay, etc. it should rank with Dr. Zhivago and similar all time great movies. It's not so much a "war movie" as a movie about the effects of war on the daily lives of real people, particularly the strains on relationshps between friends and lovers. It's more of a love story. The Best Acting Awards were well deserved, it is one of Meryl Streep and Robert DeNiro's finest roles. This movie is not for the weak. The war segment is almost as hard to handle as the first ten minutes of Saving Private Ryan, especially the "Russian Roullette" scenes, which I still cannot watch, I have to close my eyes. The acting in this movie is so exceptional. The characters so real, you care for them, you feel for them and with them, and in the end you are as emotionally scared as they are. One of the saddest movies I have seen.. I cry over and over again.. and I'm a guy! A perfect movie... as for the DVD itself, not much as far as extras, but the video and audio are pretty good.
Rating: 
Summary: A Flawed Masterpiece
Review: 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 the Polish-American community of 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.
Rating:
Summary: Fear, Emptiness, and Despair
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: I was shocked and horrified. But I couldn't stop watching!
Review: Robert DiNiro is the star. His name is featured, even above the title on the video box. There's doubt that he's a fine actor and his performance is exceptional. But it was Christopher Walken, in a supporting role, who won an Academy Award. And John Savage, the third of a trio of friends from and Pennsylvania industrial town who go off to Vietnam, was equally as good. Meryl Streep, as the sweetheart back home is good too, but her role is small and she's basically just a backdrop for the real story of the three men, who are all full of macho vim and vigor at the start of the film. There's a long wedding scene followed by the men's deer hunting expedition to the woods later. These scenes developed their characterizations so well that I felt as if I knew each of them personally. Then, when the scene suddenly changes, plunging the viewer into the depths of battle resulting in captivity, the shock is horrific. Whether or not the scenes of Russian Roulette that the men are forced to play for the amusement of their captors was real is a moot point. The film makes it seem as if this practice was widespread. I don't know if that is true. But even if it is symbolic, it sure felt real. I found myself experiencing a quickened heartbeat as each man was forced to put the gun to his own head. And I was filled with a new appreciation of the deep psychological wounds of those who survived. Everything in this film is taken to extreme. Robert DiNiro's character is just too good to be true. The sadism of the Vietnamese goes too far. The sordid result of Christopher Walken's trauma seems too twisted. And the extent of John Savage's fear and eventually injuries are heartbreaking. Even the meaning of the deer hunt itself is confusing. And it's not even clear whether this is an anti-war movie or one about patriotism and what it means to be an American. But it sure is about the bonds of friendship, the only thing left in the midst of the cruelty of the world. All put together, the result is a stirring and frightening film. No wonder it won an Academy Award for best picture. Highly recommended, but certainly not for the squeamish.
Rating:
Summary: Robert De Niro is great
Review: Of course since Robert De Niro is in this just makes it great, but when you throw in Christopher Walken it's better. But in the backdrop of a Vietnam POW hut or camp, whatever you want to call it, is where the movie really shines. Of coarse there is the mind-numbing russian roulette scene, A+ acting. I just wished there would have been more scenes from the war.
Rating: 
Summary: great vietnam sequence but too slow to start
Review: The Deer Hunter does have its moments but its hard work getting too them. The first part of the movie, the wedding, is tedious, and really does drag on for ever. The Vietnam sequence and the remainder of the movie are far better, but its a bit of a mixed bag overall, and there are better films dealing with the period.
DeNiro and Walken are on good form.
Rating:
Summary: 3 for the movie 1 for the dvd
Review: movie--ok over all, strong acting always by robert de niro, supporting cast good, kinda long (clocks 3 hrs.), the wedding scene will never end! (just imagine the wedding scene in the godfather lasting an hour) dvd--picture was kinda bad it was dark in some parts and it was hard to make out, sound ok, extras not much.
Rating:
Summary: The Trauma of The Deer Hunter
Review: When THE DEER HUNTER was first released in 1978, the consensus of both critic and viewer was that it was a cinematic masterpiece, even if it was not clear why this was so. Some called it an anti-war opus. Others glorified it as a pro-war movie in the tradition of THE GREEN BERETS. Still others saw it on a symbolic level with the hunted deer as the inner self of the hunters who would later find that they were no more than two legged versions of that deer. The structure of THE DEER HUNTER, with its choppiness of dialogue, its puzzlingly long opening wedding scene, its unexpected shifts in place and tone combine to make critical analyses often seem at cross purposes. Yet, there is a pattern behind the surface confusion, much as a two-dimensional sphere full of random bubbles suddenly emerge with a pattern to those bubbles only when the viewer twists the sphere in a certain way. Director Michael Cimino wanted his movie to reflect not only the inherent chaos of war but also to force the viewer to see that chaos from the constantly changing perspective of those who fought it. At the center of this perspective is Michael, played by Robert DiNiro, who functions as the moral anchor for John Savage and Christopher Walken. At the movie's start there is the long wedding scene whose function is not only to marry the bride and groom, but to introduce the bride and groom to each other. They hardly know each other. One gets the idea that they just met the day before, but it is the wedding which is the eye-opener, not only to them but to all the major characters. The focus of the wedding is to foreshadow events that will happen both in Vietnam and later back in Clairton, Pennsylvania. In both locales, there is an undercurrent of confusion and chaos. The crudities of the wedding differ more in degree than in kind with the more lethal crudities of jungle warfare. The key to the wedding scene is the appearance of the silent soldier whom DeNiro, Savage, and Walken try to impress with their bravado and future plans to go to Vietnam and kick some serious butt. The soldier says not a word, and his silence alienates them, causing them to think that he is better somehow than they, but the reality is that he has seen so much of what the viewer will soon experience that he is mute. His silence says a great deal more than the incessant jabber of the bonding males who try futilely to verbalize their inability to form a significant friendship in the expected chaos of the coming war. The war scenes themselves are relatively short and occupy only a minority of the film's length, but their impact on both actor and viewer is enormously disproportional to their length. The violence of the Russian Roulette has been criticized as not being representative of action by either side. This is a valid criticism, but the collective perceptions of DiNiro, Savage, and Walken see this aberration as not an aberration at all, but as a garden variety mind twister generic to war in general and Vietnam in particular. Each is exposed to the horror of forced participation. DiNiro can shrug it off. Savage cannot do so but his fears focus on his lost limbs. It is Walken who emerges as the most seriously damaged. His body is unhurt, but he forces himself to re-enact the deadly game of Russian Roulette even after Saigon fell to the communists. The return home of DiNiro and Savage only reinforces in them that they need not just friendship, but a moral anchor. DiNiro can provide that for Savage, but he needs the help of Meryl Streep to remind him of his own vulnerabilities. At the film's end, DiNiro, Savage, and the others who stayed home to face the chaos of life in a steel town collectively bond in song as each realizes that in paying homage to Christopher Walken they are also reminding themselves of the reason why they sought each other out in the first place.
Rating:
Summary: So much emotion.
Review: Words cannot describe the emotions that arise within me when I watch this film. All of the actors are brilliant. The screenplay is superb. I recently read a review which gave the opinion that M. Streep's acting talent leads to a positive argument for cloning. I think that Robert De Niro can add just an equal argument. I simply am in awe of his acting skills. What can I say, along with Pacino, he is amazing and the BEST of the BEST.
Rating:
Summary: Should you watch it? YES. Will you like it? ...hmmm......
Review: 'The Deer Hunter' concerns the friendship of a amiable group of working class chums and the experience of Vietnam affects those who, didn't go, or came back, in various states of psychological or physical trauma. It remains one of the more interesting American movie experiences, everyone should at least take a look. At times the film is a triumph - there is no fault with the acting in any role, right down to Joe Garfisi's very small appearance as a neighborhood butcher and wedding night band leader. Other times the film seems to be a jumbled up confused enterprise plodding along to who knows where, and yet it is still interesting to watch. The main reason is because it so completely captures and identifies with the people and culture of this small, gritty, working class industrial Pennsylvannia town. The film captures it's American character with 'Rolling Rock' bottles and 'Iron City' beer tappers and emershes itself in the Russian ethnic heritage of the region with onion domed Orthodox churches. Problems? There are more than a few that keep this film from getting four stars. With the exception of John Savage nearly all the characters who go to Vietnam seem too old and we really don't know WHY they are going - although that can be analyzed. The biggest drawback is that in Vietnam the enemy is portrayed as the comic sadistic half-crazed, near flesh eating pyschos one sees in the films that portrayed the Japanese from about 1943. It is so over the top as to make one wince. At its best 'The Deer Hunter' is a peek through the keyhole into the lives of real average working class Americans in the town in which they do their living and dying and loving. At worst it is like a poluted dream.
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