Heartbreaking story about the personal consequences the Vietnam war has on a group of friends

Rating: 8/10 (1 May 2018)

The Deer Hunter is not the typical moral confliction of soldiers in war kind of motion picture but one that instead focuses on the consequences the war has for people that have participated in it, and for the people related to them.
It is a character picture, focusing on its vast group of characters as its main focus. We get to know all of the main characters ( and the three of them that leave for Vietnam ) in a lengthy opening hour of the movie so we can relate to them better when the scenes in Vietnam do occur. It is a movie divided into three parts: The pre-Vietnam phase in which one of the three protagonists leaving for Vietnam gets married, which also features a very large wedding scene. The scenes in Vietnam themselves & the post-Vietnam phase. Obviously the whole point of this film is the last hour of the movie, but this would not be as powerful or emotionally rich without the first two parts in which we see what the characters are like and ( by the time they reach Vietnam ) can relate to them and root for them to escape with their lives.
The acting for all of the main characters is absolute world class, with Cristopher Walken seemingly the greatest of them all. While the characters might not always seem likeable, they are portrayed realistically and their friendship feels genuine due to this.
The musical score by Stanley Myers captures the emotional intensity of the movie perfectly due to its peaceful bittersweet kind of sound which fits just right into the theme of the movie about friends trying to reconnect with eachother after a series of brutal events.
The cinematography is beautiful, especially the scenes with Michael ( Robert de Niro ) deer hunting in the mountains are just visually incredible due to their gorgeous backdrop mountain shots. Tension is only something that is build up for the Vietnam scenes, but this is done beautifully in the form of Russian roulette games that feature exceptional acting by de Niro whose electrifying presence further heightens the tension.
The final part of the movie where one of the protagonists tries to reconnect with his former life and friends is ofcourse where it really shines. It accurately shows the consequences of the dehumanizating nature of war and how the lives of the participants and their relatives are affected by it, often resulting in heartbreaking scenes.
Unfortunately there does seem to be an abundance of constant background sounds or indistinguishable dialogue that makes it quite hard to follow what is going on, and that the scenes seem to jump a bit too quickly from one place to another ( probably due to its already long running time, but still ). Yet these things are not so noticeable that they significantly lessen the cinematic experience.
It is an emotionally rich statement about how war affects us all in a negative way, and by showing us the first hour of pre-war character development, Michael Cimino allows us to see the changes this causes to ( especially ) our three protagonists who have left for Vietnam.