...wow

Rating: 10/10 (10 October 2000)

SPOILER ALERT
Just got off THE DEER HUNTER about 20 minutes ago, I haven't seen it before and I don't really know what to say. I rented it along with three other movies, including SHINDLER'S LIST and THE PLATOON and THE DEER HUNTER striked these two out (even though "Shindler" came pretty close).
Sure, THE PLATOON, is a better war-movie but to claim that this movie is a war-movie is just a sign of stupidity and saying it's dull, sorry, I'm afraid that if you think you are some kind of movielovers I can assure you you are not. THE DEER HUNTER is a description of four friends and their life in a quiet town in Pennsylvania, before, during and after the Vietnam war. The war itself is just there, the story doesn't focus at the war. The movie focus on these four people's changes and, often heartbreaking, destenys.

People who complain over that there is a hole in between the big explosion and the concentration camp, and totally ignores the scene where Walken dies are probably people who were, or are interested in the war and want to see if it's realistic and don't care if it's emotional or not. Well (almost) the only thing this movie offers is emotions. The scene were Walken shoot himself in the head, because of the sadistic "russian roulette" some people tastelessly called it on this page, is one of the most frightening and emotional moments of film I've ever seen in my life, no war-movie I've seen, and I've seen almost all of the known ones, has had the same effect on me like this did, and still I find the war-movie a very underrated genre.

But, as I said before, this is no war-movie. The Vietnam war is in the movie, but it's only there to change these four people's lives. It's simply if not the most heartbreaking and sad, then it's very close, movie I've ever seen. Shouldn't be seen as a war movie, shouldn't be compared with war-movies. Should be compared with SCHINDLER'S LIST, CHINATOWN, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE or ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST. That's movies that goes on similar themes and similar greatness.
9/10