The Deer Hunter is the best film of 1978

Rating: 10/10 (30 September 2013)

In 1975, America was leaving Vietnam as the communist Southeast Asia country fell under communist control. Hollywood at the time had already made a Vietnam movie and that film was John Wayne's The Green Berets. That film became the first pro-war film about the Vietnam War. In other words, the war is good. Well, that didn't fit well with the critics. Critics in that time in 1968 wanted a serious movie about the Vietnam War. It wasn't till 1978, about 10 years later, that Hollywood made the first anti-war about the Vietnam War. That film is, of course, was The Deer Hunter. It told the story about three Pennsylvania steel-workers who are having the time of their lives. Among the ordinary jobs they have, they also have a wedding before they are send to Vietnam to fight. The three men are played, very through and very strong, by Robert De Niro, John Savage and Christopher Walken, who won a Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. The three men leave the USA to go to Vietnam. They had no idea what kind of physical and mental destruction awaits them. The three men are forced to play Russian Roulette in a Vietcong hut. They have to survive the war and their aftermath. But, tragedy strikes and changes their lives, forever. As I said before, The Deer Hunter, has a lot of great performances by the three leading men and also, Meryl Streep, who is so effective as the role, Linda. The Deer Hunter took home 5 Oscars, including Best Picture. I felt that the movie works on character development. And, when we see the aftermath of the war, we see the aftermath of the three men. Director Michael Cimino tells this tale of war very thoroughly. Even though it runs 3 hours, it never runs out of steam. And even in the Russian Roulette scene, I felt so choked up that I felt like someone was strangling me. The suspense of that scene put me on edge. There's no doubt in my mind that The Deer Hunter is the best film of 1978. After The Deer Hunter, other great Vietnam movies came along. Movies like Apocalypse Now, Born on the Fourth of July and Platoon followed. And even when The Deer Hunter was released in 1978,other films told different tales about the war. Go Tell the Spartans was another film that dealt with the topic of the Vietnam War. The Deer Hunter is a shattering, heroic and deeply effective war drama. ★★★★ 4 stars.