surprisingly impressive and unique Vietnam War film that takes on a different perspective

Rating: 10/10 (16 January 2007)

In 1978, somewhat inexperienced filmmaker Michael Cimino wrote the screenplay and directed a sort of personal film project. Casting future Oscar-winners Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, and Meryl Streep along with many others, he created a film based on the horrors of the Vietnam War. But what I mostly love about "The Deer Hunter" is that it takes on a different kind of perspective than most Vietnam War films do. The movie itself doesn't concentrate a whole lot on war itself, but more on the effects and aftermaths of war. How it can change the lives of a person, or people, forever.
This is the kind of movie that should be shown to people who believe that war and combat are fun and enjoyable acts. Because you could be your average, everyday person with a great life (like these characters) and then get thrown into a war you never asked for. Even IF you get out alive, your life will never be the same. You could live the rest of your life without a limb or two, or without your best friend, or just simply live with the fact that you took the lives of another person.
"The Deer Hunter" is made up of three major sections. The first of which is about our main characters and their happy lives before they were sent to Vietnam. The second is their experience in war. And the third, and definitely best, is their new life home, where things will never be the same again. There are several emotionally devastating moments in the film.
Unfortunately, after the success of "The Deer Hunter", Michael Cimino directed a film that was the exact opposite. "Heaven's Gate" was a disaster, a box office failure, and a bad film. So we may never again see a Michael Cimino picture like this. But I will remember it.