In addition to recent hits like Rebel Ridge and Damsel, Netflix is now streaming a must-see classic with 1978’s The Deer Hunter. Directed by Michael Cimino (Heaven’s Gate), this epic film follows Michael, Nick, and Steven, three steelworker pals from Pennsylvania whose lives forever change after fighting in the Vietnam War. Released at a time when Hollywood rarely made films about the Vietnam War, The Deer Hunter received nine Oscar nominations and won five Academy Awards, including those for Best Picture and Best Director, becoming one of the most beloved and hotly discussed war films in cinema history.
The Deer Hunter remains controversial for the infamous “Russian Roulette” scene and depiction of the Vietnamese people. Despite this, Cimino’s revolutionary picture continues to be a powerful piece of anti-war cinema and an essential watch for film lovers. For those wondering what they should watch on their next movie night, here are three reasons they should pick The Deer Hunter.
It has a great all-star cast
Since it was made in the ’70s, The Deer Hunter features many acting legends in their prime, including Robert De Niro (Taxi Driver), Meryl Streep (Sophie’s Choice), John Savage (Hair), Christopher Walken (The Dead Zone), and John Cazale (The Godfather) in what would be his last cinematic performance.
De Niro and Streep stand out for their on-screen chemistry and their tender performances as Michael and Linda, respectively. Walken, in particular, gives the Oscar-winning performance of his life as Nick, who goes from being a sensitive young man engaged to be wed to a lonely, traumatized survivor addicted to gambling his life in the Saigon underworld.
Its haunting depiction of war
When The Deer Hunter finally depicts Michael, Nick, and Steven in Vietnam, audiences see them suffer some extreme horrors. Most notably, they are imprisoned and forced to play Russian Roulette in the most suspenseful, heart-pounding scene in the entire film. Whether the Viet Cong played this morbid game in real life has long been debated by audiences. Nevertheless, this recurring symbol represents the true chaos and unpredictability of war, as well as the dehumanizing effects it has on people like those who fought in Vietnam.
Even after the protagonists survive the war and are allowed to return home, they still have trouble reintegrating into their civilian lives, with Nick outright staying in Saigon due to his PTSD. The harsh realities of the Vietnam War were barely shown in Hollywood films before The Deer Hunter, and the way this film depicted this nightmarish conflict and its terrible impact on veterans made for an unforgettable experience, paving the way for many other films in the genre like Apocalypse Now, Platoon, and Full Metal Jacket.
The story before the war
While most war films spend much of their runtime on the battlefield, The Deer Hunter spends a third of its three-hour runtime depicting its protagonists in their beautiful mountain town before they leave for combat. This is best exemplified by Steven and Angela’s joyous wedding, which presents the happy, promising lives of its leads as long-time friends and their plans to start their own loving families.
This is a stark contrast to their lives and the lives of their loved ones after such a hellish war has left them physically disabled and traumatized. Thus, The Deer Hunter shows exactly how their lives were irreparably damaged by combat, making their loss all the more heartbreaking.
The Deer Hunter – wedding party
On top of all that, the film also explores the Slavic-American community from which the protagonists hail, with Steven and Angela getting married in a Russian Orthodox Church. The way the movie immerses its audience into the culture of such a tight-knit community makes their characters and stories more distinctive and realistic. The town itself becomes a character who becomes fractured by the war along with the protagonists, embodying how the war changed America as a whole.
