The Deer Hunter (1978)

In 1978, Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Christopher Walken, and John Cazale starred in The Deer Hunter. Upon the release of this film, moviegoers everywhere were shocked by brutal Russian roulette scenes and submerged into the lives of a few small town Pennsylvania steel worker friends. One of their bonding activities happens to be deer hunting.

 

With the direction of Michael Cimino, The Deer Hunter went on to win 5 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor (Christopher Walken). Though lengthy, the film delivers with a powerful impact, supported and complemented by John Williams’s eternally popular “Cavatina” theme, which you’ve probably heard on the radio and not even known it. See the related links to hear the theme on your desktop.

 

Two close friends—Michael and Nick—go through the very same experience, yet come out completely changed in opposite ways. One loses his respect for life, and the other gains it. The line, “This is this,” has no real underlying message other than the film is just what it appears to be—it’s not technically an anti-war film, and manages somehow not to be biased to either way, though it in no way glorifies the horrors of Vietnam.

Related Links:

• The Deer Hunter (1978)
• Greatest Films: The Deer Hunter
• The Deer Hunter - a redefinition of war films
• The Deer Hunter, a review of the play
• Taxi Driver: The Deer Hunter Part 2 Essay
• Movie poster
• Meryl Streep Online

 

Trivia about The Deer Hunter:

 

• During the helicopter stunt, the runners caught on the ropes and as the helicopter raised it threatened to seriously injure John Savage and Robert De Niro. The actors gestured and yelled furiously to the crew in the helicopter to warn them. Footage of this is included in the film.
• Robert De Niro claims this was his most physically exhausting film, and his best performance.
• John Cazale barely finished the film, dying of cancer soon after its completion.

 

 

Quotes from The Deer Hunter:

 

Axel: You're so full of shit you're gonna float away.

 

Displaying a rifle cartridge:

Michael: Stanley, see this? This is this. This ain't something else, this is this!

 

Michael: One shot is what it's all about. A deer has to be taken with one shot.

 

 

Cast overview, first billed only:

Robert De Niro ....  Michael 

John Cazale ....  Stan 

John Savage ....  Steven  

Christopher Walken ....  Nick 

Meryl Streep ....  Linda 

George Dzundza ....  John 

Chuck Aspegren ....  Axel  

Shirley Stoler ....  Steven's Mother 

Rutanya Alda ....  Angela  

Pierre Segui ....  Julien  

Mady Kaplan ....  Axel's Girl 

Amy Wright ....  Bridesmaid  

Mary Ann Haenel ....  Stan’s Girl 

Richard Kuss ....  Linda’s Father 

Joe Grifasi ....  Bandleader