The Hunters, The Hunted and a box of Tissue

Rating: Null/10 (26 June 2002)

A Pennsylvanian Steel-Mill town is the setting. Six close friends enjoy their last autumn before the 'fall of their youth' (some are drafted into Vietnam hell). The long Wedding Scene (beginning with the moment the bridesmaids rush to the Russian Orthodox Church, dropping some gifts on the way) is brilliantly shot and choreographed (Cimino also studied acting and ballet while in college).
One-hit wunderkind Cimino pounds out an American masterpiece here. His subsequent 'embarrassment' "Heaven's Gate'(an embarrassment only in the sense that it cost $44 million and only recouped $1.5 at the box-office) is today being recognized by cineastes as merely an unlucky yet artful follow-up to "Deer Hunter."
The protracted and infamous Wedding Scene in 'Hunter is necessary, but was once poo-pooed by many film critics.
Director meant this film to highlight the importance of "friendship" and "courage," and not the eye-candy usually stressed in other Vietnam movies like "Apocalypse Now" and "Full Metal Jacket."
During its initial release, some audience members walked out of this film and into private places to cry. If you're anything like these people, you'll love "Deer Hunter."