Weekends of deer hunting turn into days of the Vietnam War.

Rating: 9/10 (13 April 2006)

Shocking, fascinating, and controversial, The Deer Hunter is a great film with jaw-dropping images of war and the way of life of a few friends of Pennsylvania. The film is quite lengthy, with three significant parts. The first part shows how normal these people are  working at the local factory, attending a wedding, drinking at the local bar and enjoying weekend deer-hunting trips. Michael (Robert De Niro) is the apparent "big brother" of the bunch who keeps things under control. When Michael, Nick (Christopher Walken), and Steven (John Savage) get drafted to war, they are shown of war's circumstances and how it affects people's lives dramatically. When they return, nothing seems to be the same: Michael is somewhat alone, returning to Linda (Meryl Streep), Nick's girlfriend, and Steven is in a hospital, almost abandoning his wife, Angela (Rutanya Alda).
One of the most unforgettable images of this film is when the friends are captured and must play Russian roulette against each other. I have never seen anything more horrific than the stares they gave each other, what they said to each other, and the screams. That one scene is much more terrifying than the rip-off scene we get from scary movies. It is not only jaw dropping, but it defines the struggle of soldiers in the Vietnam War (as far as film-making is concerned).
The performances are fantastic. One thing that I absolutely love about films from the 70's is that you an get De Niro, Streep, Walken, Savage, and John Cazale on one screen and make sure they are not making some holiday movie crap  they are still trying to achieve their names as actors, and they are fantastic at it. There are rarely any actors like that now (so who's the next superstar? Orlando Bloom? I doubt it). There is perfect chemistry between the actors. Christopher Walken, in his Oscar-winning performance is brilliant in here: The scene in the Vietnam hospital where he is trying to keep from crying in just one great scene. Meryl Streep (in her first Oscar-nominated performance out of her record 13-nominations and 2-wins) is also incredible as Linda, who is torn between her boyfriend who doesn't seem to be coming home and Michael, her boyfriend's best buddy.
The director, Michael Cimino makes The Deer Hunter like a history lesson without making it too melodramatic (which is the word people often use when they don't like it). It has a great story and every scene seems to count  even the later Russian roulette scenes with the characters we do not know the names of. I have not seen a better cast than The Deer Hunter, which even improves the film. Even though the ending is a little unsatisfying, what happens is heartbreaking and memorable, as they sing "God Bless Americans" like true Americans who appreciate the country even in such a terrible time.