What's the big deal?

Rating: 1/10 (27 June 2002)

Spoilers are possible, so proceed at your own risk.
I watched THE DEER HUNTER for the first time last night. I was interested in seeing it because of its status as Best Picture of 1978. After sitting through the three hours, I had one question in mind: what's the big deal?
This film, so widely praised in the annals of film history, seems to have no reason to support this praise. The story is drawn out, the characters lack depth (save Christopher Walken) and you cannot identify with them. Robert De Niro, who I usually like very much, does not give his usual bravura performance we're used to, as in RAGING BULL, TAXI DRIVER, and THE KING OF COMEDY. He seems to be just going through the motions. Cimino's direction lacks a certain style that Scorsese, Coppola, and other modern-era directors so painstakingly thread through the film. The acting beside De Niro is stale (with the exception of Walken, who can be called about "average.")

The first hour, while thought to be the highlight of the film, is still too long and causes even the most intent viewer to look at his or her watch once or twice before the men go to Vietnam.
The film had an interesting idea behind it: divide a film into thirds and have the first third show the life of Pennsylvania steel-workers, the second third show their ordeals in Vietnam, and the third show how they changed when they came home.
The problem I thought was this structure was that during the last third, the characters (except De Niro) hadn't changed greatly (or at all) from the first half! They still engage in the same adolescent horseplay and do not seem a bit stirred by their experiences in Vietnam. Christopher Walken is the only exception to this, and his reintroduction into the film near the three hour mark was too drawn out to achieve the artistic status that Cimino was trying to achieve.
There was too much Russian roulette! If I had to watch one more game of Russian roulette, I was going to shoot MYSELF! (Just kidding). It was too much, though. These scenes in Vietnam involving this deadly game were too overdramatic and drawn out.
Although this wasn't the worst of the Best Pictures (that honor goes to GIGI, AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, and the ones from the late 20s and early 30s), it is only middle of the road as far as Vietnam movies are concerned, as it suffers in comparison to FULL METAL JACKET and especially APOCALYPSE NOW, but is superior to PLATOON and BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY.
My rating: 4/10 (That's being generous).
Highlights: None that stand out.