Best Picture: "The Deer Hunter," 1978

Movie Stats:

Released 1978 (USA)

American & British, in English (some non-translated Vietnamese)

Director – Michael Cimino

Stars – Robert DeNiro, John Savage, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep

Plot Summary:

Follows the story of friends Mike (DeNiro), Steven (Savage), and Nick (Walken) as they go from factory workers in a Pennsylvanian steel mill town to soldiers in the wilds of Vietnam. Streep co-stars as Nick’s love interest Linda.

Warnings:

Strong blue language, including lots of f-bombs; brief male nudity; and graphic violence, including toward women, children, and animals.

Bad Stuff:

The pacing of it is very weird. Some parts are absolutely interminable, particularly all the scenes in Clairmont, the men’s hometown. I assume that the first hour, which showed the run-up to Steven’s wedding and the wedding itself, was supposed to establish the men’s friendship for the audience, but I didn’t feel it. The stuff in Vietnam was much more interesting and there simply wasn’t enough of it.

So much of it is an aural assault. People are constantly talking over one another, so conversations sound like a cacophony. There’s a lot of screaming and other loud noises. I would have liked to turn it down but then I wouldn’t have been able to hear the occasional one-on-one conversations that occurred.

With the exception of Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You,” the soundtrack was absolutely terrible.

Good Stuff:

There were some rare moments of brilliance. The first Russian Roulette scene in the Viet Cong camp was really intense.

Christopher Walken’s performance.

Some of the cinematography is breathtaking.

The Verdict:

As a child of the 80s, I grew up watching a lot of television & movies about Vietnam. It was a huge part of the public consciousness at the time. Therefore, I have a certain amount of fondness for these kinds of films. I expected, and hoped, to like this movie. I’m disappointed to report that I didn’t.

I felt like it was a wasted opportunity. There was a great story in there somewhere, one about life, love, and friendship. In my opinion, the director failed to find it. By the end of the film, I’d grown irritable. I wanted something better and it made me angry that I didn’t get it.

I don’t recommend it. There are far better films that tackle the subject of the Vietnam War. Do yourself a favor and watch one of those instead.

I give the movie 2 stars.