The Deer Hunter

Next on our 100 Movies Bucket list is Michael Cimino’s 1978 Oscar winning epic.

Michael (Robert De Nero), Nick (Christopher Walken) and Steven (John Savage) are friends from a steel town in Pennsylvania who are called up to serve in Vietnam. We meet them on Steven’s wedding day as they prepare and celebrate his marriage two days before heading to Vietnam. While Steven spends time with his wife Angela (Rutanya Alfa) Michael and Nick along with Stan (John Cazale), John (George Dzundza) and Axel (Chuck Aspergen) head to the mountains to hunt deer. From here life will never be the same.

It is certainly an epic, coming in at just under 3 hours. While it is long it generally uses its time well to give the main characters real depth, establishing relationships with each other and those close, including the complicated relationship between Linda (Meryl Streep), Nick and Michael.

Its second act in Vietnam is the films best, potraying the horror of conflict and its physical and mental impact. It manages all this without feeling overly voyeuristic. However, Its final act didn’t fully work for me at times feeling melodramatic. Although at others it did show real sensitivity with the way it handles its difficult topic.

It certainly look a film of its time, shot with that grainy realism of 1970’s blue collar America so popular at the time and works perfectly here.

It’s not perfect, it is long and predictable, although that should be put in the context of films since that have trodden similar ground.

It is an epic and feels epic, but it isn’t so big it forgets to take time to build characters we get to know and care about and allow excellent performances throughout to breathe. And while the Vietnam war is at its heart it’s not really a war film or even one about Vietnam. It’s much more about how war changes people and how friends handle change.

I wasn’t sure I would enjoy The Deer Hunter and while it is long, it is also thoughtful and uses much of its time brilliantly to develop characters and tell an often touching story. A film that, in my opinion, deserves its reputation.