Review: The Deer Hunter Cast: Robert De Niro Christoper Walken John Cazale Meryl Streep Directed by: Michael Cimino Perhaps one of the most powerful yet painful American cinematic experiences and films is 1978's The Deer Hunter. War is as evident and meaningful now as it was some 25 plus years ago as shown in this film. We see a lot of films about war. Most involve winning the war and after you win, all is well. But this is a much brainier, tougher, and thought provoking film. It just may be one of the best films ever. We open in small town industrial USA where steel mill workers work on the mill and then after working, share a couple of beers with their buddies. It's all in a day's work. After a long shift buddies Michael and Nick (Robert De Niro and Christoper Walken) chug dog some beers, play pool, and jam to "Can't Take My Eyes Off You". The late great John Cazale is apart of their group along with John Savage. Everything is fun and games for them. They also enjoy shooting deer on the weekends. They are preparing for a buddies wedding. The wedding might be the biggest wedding in the history of film weddings and that's saying something as that includes The Godfather wedding. The wedding scene and the bar scenes take up a good chunk of the early portion of the film and this is a wise film making move on the part of the director. He gives us time to see how each actor and character responds to situations they are. The first part of the movie is purely situational and by seeing this we get a better understanding of what it has to mean in the later portion of the film. Nick and Robert are then sent off to Vietnam for a life changing experience. This is anything but glamorous or rewarding. They are put to the test in a bone chilling scene known as the Russian Roulette scene. It's the most disturbing and grueling thing to ever watch on film. Even watching it to this day, I cringe, winch, and have a hard time watching. The game involves a gun and putting it to your head and you hope and pray your round does not go off. They turn return home to small town USA and nothing is the same. De Niro, an avid deer hunter, can't bring himself to shoot a deer after all he has seen and been through. John Savage loses his legs and refuses to return home and face what he once had. He stays in the hospital. Walken has lost all of his well being and stays in Vietnam and becomes obsessed with the Russian Roulette game. Leaving at home, his love interest Meryl Streep. We have seen so many war movies and most of them involve the good guys winning and then everything goes back to normal. This film is an in depth examination and I do mean in depth as it runs at 3 hours on the after effects of war. What it all means, how people try yet fail to live a normal life after this occurs. Returning home in one piece, yet not feeling as if you are there mentally. You are there in body but not in spirit. Never before has a film taken the time to not show the war, but what war does to the individuals and people. The Deer Hunter is an important film that every movie fan should see at least once. It will stay with you for days and I never met a man who didn't cry at the end of this film. Tense, brooding, and powerful is this film. Review by Tony Farinella

 

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