IMDB Title: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077416/Twilight descends on Clairton, a sad-looking town, somewhere in Pennsylvania. A massive steel plant looms over the rain-soaked streets. The spires of the Russian Orthodox Church rise up into the sky, but they are dwarfed by the chimneys of the factory where Michael, Nick and Steven work for a living. It would be last few hours they spend happily together in that sleepy town, for their decision to join the American war effort in Vietnam would irreversibly alter their lives. “A drama of friendship and courage and what happens to these qualities under stress” is how Michael Cimino describes his 1978 epic, “The Deer Hunter”. The film was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won five, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actor.
On the eve of his departure to Vietnam, Steven (John Savage) is getting married to Angela. His friends Michael (Robert De Niro), Nick (Christopher Walken), Stanley (John Cazale), Axel (Chuck Aspegren) and John (George Dzundza) join in the revelry and then set off for their last hunting trip before the war. During the course of the war, Mike, Steven and Nick are captured by the Vietnamese soldiers and forced at gunpoint to play Russian roulette. Steven loses his mind, but Michael manages to outwit his captors and rescue his friends. However, the game takes its toll on Nick and he goes AWOL from the hospital where he is recuperating. Michael returns home, but is unable to comprehend the muted life after war without his friends. He tries to find solace in the arms of Linda (Meryl Streep), Nick’s girlfriend. On his visit to the hospital to see Steven, who has lost his legs in the war, he learns that Nick is alive and still in Vietnam. With the intention of fulfilling the promise he had made to his friend, Michael returns to Saigon to bring back Nick, only to find him playing Russian roulette professionally.
Though there is only about 25 minutes of war footage, “The Deer Hunter” is one of the most poignant anti-war movies ever made. Inspired by Erich Maria Remarque’s 1937 novel Drei Kameraden (Three Comrades), it was the first major American film about the Vietnam War. Holding back the actual horrors of Vietnam, the director tries to portray the impact and repercussions of the war on the survivors as they strive to pick up their shattered lives. The central cog around which the story moves is the deadly game of Russian roulette, where the players gamble with their lives, brandishing the revolver with one bullet. On the hunting trip with his friends, Michael stalks the best deer and fells it with a single shot. “A deer has to the taken with one shot!” exclaims Mike, and it is that One Shot – the lone fatal bullet in the chamber – that tears the three friends apart, as Nick loses himself to the mad game of death in the dark streets of Saigon.
The film courted controversy in its portrayal of the Russian roulette – there is no record of captives being forced at gunpoint to play Russian roulette by the captors during the Vietnam War. Critics also claimed that “The Deer Hunter” sparked off a string of suicides with viewers trying to imitate the roulette scenes. Deric Washburn’s screenplay, though at times elongated, keeps the viewers captivated in the surreal narrative of love, friendship and disenchantment. The long wedding scene in the beginning (reminiscent of The Godfather) and the hunting expedition that follows, perfectly etches the portraits of the lead characters in our minds. The haunting “Cavatina” written by Stanley Myers and performed on the guitar by John Williams, floats through the movie like an unseen ghost, invoking a feeling of dread and agony at the fate of the war veterans. The cinematography of Vilmos Zsigmond is mesmerizing and serves to hold the film together.
De Niro is perfectly cast as Michael, the natural leader of the group, torn apart by his inability to protect and bring home his mates. But it is Christopher Walken - in an Academy Award winning role – who steals the show as the doomed Nick – Michael’s lovable and loyal friend who loses everything to the dangerous game of death. Meryl Streep – as beautiful as ever (sigh!) – gives a smashing portrayal as the subdued and suffering Linda, uncertain, whether to wait for Nick or surrender herself to the love of Michael. The supporting cast is equally brilliant. But spare a thought for the tragic John Cazale whom you will love to loath as the eccentric and self-centered Stanley. The immensely talented Cazale did not live to see the release of the film, succumbing to bone cancer barely a month after the completion of the film. His sparkling career last just five hugely successful films (The Godfather, The Godfather II, The Conversation, Dog Day Afternoon and The Deer Hunter), all of which were nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award.
Though the leading cast went on to establish a name for themselves in Hollywood, Michael Cimino never rose to the heights that he achieved with “The Deer Hunter”. With its moving story, “The Deer Hunter” touches your heart and leaves you numb with horror. A few images leave an indelible imprint in the mind: the old couple resting peacefully in each others’ arms as the guests revel in Steven’s wedding party; As Steven and Angela toast to the crowd and drink together, two drops of blood-red wine drip down on to Angela’s white bridal dress – the omen of dark days ahead; The gaunt and ghostly face of the heroin-influenced Nick, as he steps into the dark room to face Michael in his last game of Russian roulette. But the most poignant scene of them all? On a hunting trip after his return, Michael stalks the best deer. He has the deer in his gun sight, but cannot bring himself to shoot the animal. He pulls up his gun just as he pulls the trigger, and lets the animal go.
Perhaps never again will he be able to take a deer with One Shot…
On the eve of his departure to Vietnam, Steven (John Savage) is getting married to Angela. His friends Michael (Robert De Niro), Nick (Christopher Walken), Stanley (John Cazale), Axel (Chuck Aspegren) and John (George Dzundza) join in the revelry and then set off for their last hunting trip before the war. During the course of the war, Mike, Steven and Nick are captured by the Vietnamese soldiers and forced at gunpoint to play Russian roulette. Steven loses his mind, but Michael manages to outwit his captors and rescue his friends. However, the game takes its toll on Nick and he goes AWOL from the hospital where he is recuperating. Michael returns home, but is unable to comprehend the muted life after war without his friends. He tries to find solace in the arms of Linda (Meryl Streep), Nick’s girlfriend. On his visit to the hospital to see Steven, who has lost his legs in the war, he learns that Nick is alive and still in Vietnam. With the intention of fulfilling the promise he had made to his friend, Michael returns to Saigon to bring back Nick, only to find him playing Russian roulette professionally.
Though there is only about 25 minutes of war footage, “The Deer Hunter” is one of the most poignant anti-war movies ever made. Inspired by Erich Maria Remarque’s 1937 novel Drei Kameraden (Three Comrades), it was the first major American film about the Vietnam War. Holding back the actual horrors of Vietnam, the director tries to portray the impact and repercussions of the war on the survivors as they strive to pick up their shattered lives. The central cog around which the story moves is the deadly game of Russian roulette, where the players gamble with their lives, brandishing the revolver with one bullet. On the hunting trip with his friends, Michael stalks the best deer and fells it with a single shot. “A deer has to the taken with one shot!” exclaims Mike, and it is that One Shot – the lone fatal bullet in the chamber – that tears the three friends apart, as Nick loses himself to the mad game of death in the dark streets of Saigon.
The film courted controversy in its portrayal of the Russian roulette – there is no record of captives being forced at gunpoint to play Russian roulette by the captors during the Vietnam War. Critics also claimed that “The Deer Hunter” sparked off a string of suicides with viewers trying to imitate the roulette scenes. Deric Washburn’s screenplay, though at times elongated, keeps the viewers captivated in the surreal narrative of love, friendship and disenchantment. The long wedding scene in the beginning (reminiscent of The Godfather) and the hunting expedition that follows, perfectly etches the portraits of the lead characters in our minds. The haunting “Cavatina” written by Stanley Myers and performed on the guitar by John Williams, floats through the movie like an unseen ghost, invoking a feeling of dread and agony at the fate of the war veterans. The cinematography of Vilmos Zsigmond is mesmerizing and serves to hold the film together.
De Niro is perfectly cast as Michael, the natural leader of the group, torn apart by his inability to protect and bring home his mates. But it is Christopher Walken - in an Academy Award winning role – who steals the show as the doomed Nick – Michael’s lovable and loyal friend who loses everything to the dangerous game of death. Meryl Streep – as beautiful as ever (sigh!) – gives a smashing portrayal as the subdued and suffering Linda, uncertain, whether to wait for Nick or surrender herself to the love of Michael. The supporting cast is equally brilliant. But spare a thought for the tragic John Cazale whom you will love to loath as the eccentric and self-centered Stanley. The immensely talented Cazale did not live to see the release of the film, succumbing to bone cancer barely a month after the completion of the film. His sparkling career last just five hugely successful films (The Godfather, The Godfather II, The Conversation, Dog Day Afternoon and The Deer Hunter), all of which were nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award.
Though the leading cast went on to establish a name for themselves in Hollywood, Michael Cimino never rose to the heights that he achieved with “The Deer Hunter”. With its moving story, “The Deer Hunter” touches your heart and leaves you numb with horror. A few images leave an indelible imprint in the mind: the old couple resting peacefully in each others’ arms as the guests revel in Steven’s wedding party; As Steven and Angela toast to the crowd and drink together, two drops of blood-red wine drip down on to Angela’s white bridal dress – the omen of dark days ahead; The gaunt and ghostly face of the heroin-influenced Nick, as he steps into the dark room to face Michael in his last game of Russian roulette. But the most poignant scene of them all? On a hunting trip after his return, Michael stalks the best deer. He has the deer in his gun sight, but cannot bring himself to shoot the animal. He pulls up his gun just as he pulls the trigger, and lets the animal go.
Perhaps never again will he be able to take a deer with One Shot…
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