The Deer HUnter

 

The Deer Hunter 1978

• Director: Michael Cimino
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Savage, John Cazale, Meryl Streep
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Robert De Niro – Joy, The Silver Linings Playbook, Stardust, 15 Minutes, Flawless, Jackie Brown, Marvin’s Room, Heat, Frankenstein, The Awakening, Stanley and Iris, New York New York, 1900, Taxi Driver
• Christopher Walken – Jersey Boys, Seven Psychopaths, Hairspray, Romance and Cigarettes, Sarah Plain and Tall, Sleepy Hollow, Suicide Kings, The Addiction, Pulp Fiction, True Romance
• John Savage –Hair, many times
• John Cazale – A Dog Day Afternoon, The Godfather
• Meryl Streep - many
• Why? A second chance
• Seen:  Once before. Now 19 November 2023        

       Pro-war? Anti-war? The first time I saw it, I disliked it intensely. Since then, many friends have insisted that it’s an anti-war film so I’ll give it another chance.

If you don’t know the story, Google it. Briefly, three fellow steel workers and friends go to Vietnam.

Hunting and weddings, two subjects that bore me to tears. So… fast forward. Patriotism, no thanks! Gung-ho machismo, so tiresome.

Sadistic Viet Cong – racist and untrue. No organised Russian roulette has ever been documented. And remember, it was the Americans who were the invaders. The Vietnamese were defending their country.

If the film is trying to be anti-war, it fails miserably. It enjoys wallowing in atrocities too much. It’s way too long and often boring and clichéd. It’s far from the masterpiece many claim it to be and nowhere near worth the many 10*-ratings. From me it gets a * for the beautiful mountains, the theme song and because he didn’t shoot the deer. Another * for the few occasions when the drama overrides the pretentious self-indulgence. And minus about 50* for the nauseating ‘God Bless America’ at the end.

 2* of 5