No, "The deer hunter" is better, Mr. Canby

Rating: Null/10 (2 June 2006)

It's not my intention to pick on the late Mr. Vincent Canby, but I do wish to beg to differ regarding his review on "Born on the fourth of July" (The New York Times, 20 December 1989). To be completely fair, Mr. Canby did not say that it is "better" than "The deer hunter", but rather that it's "more effectiveit connects the war of arms abroad with the war of consciences at home". Maybe therein exactly lies the key.
There's no question that "July" is a good Vietnam War movie. It has a single, unflinching theme  anti Vietnam War  which it delivers effectively through the depiction of the experience of Ron Kovic (a Golden Globe worthy portrayal by Tom Cruise). As some critics pointed out, the life of a paralyzed veteran in a Bronx hospital has never been depicted before in such gruesome details. The fact however remains that "July" has a simple, rather straightforward and easily grasped agenda and for that, could be considered a "level 1" Vietnam War movies, not meant in any demeaning way.
By comparison, then, "The deer hunter" is level 2:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077416/usercomments-336
For level 3, approaching a metaphysical plain, one has to look towards "Apocalypse now".