This film was deliberately made for every taste. That of course is crucial to its success but that does not mean it could not have been better. A lot better I' d say. For example there are so many notes from the Godfather - why would it have to be so? For the recipe of success no doubt. The essential messages of the film are there to be seen of course but they are obscured Mr. Cimino by all that noise. Vietnam scenes are the required noise but the wedding? I don't consider him a master of his means, he just has too many things on his mind and is burnt out eventually. He should watch how the old masters (Henry King) delivered a story even when they had much less to say...

This is the pinnacle of Cinema.- Budget: 15 Million, length: 3 hours, Oscars 5

#2 The three main characters in "The Deer Hunter" have very different personalities which leads to different effects of their time in the war. Mike is a very linear, organized character which serves him well while he is in Vietnam. He manages to stay alive, unharmed physically, and protect the other characters to the best of his ability. When he returns from the war he is changed mentally. Mike had failed to bring Nick back with him as he had promised not to do. Between this broken promise, and the horrors he had to endure himself, Mike goes through minor mental changes when he returns. He holds a gun loaded with one bullet to his friend's head after he had been messing around with the loaded gun. Mike seems to have a minor case of PTSD involving guns. This is also seen when he purposefully misses shooting a deer. Nick was an emotional character from the beginning of the film. This trait served him well at home, but not in the war. Nick lost it when he was forced to play Russian Roulette for his life while he was a prisoner of war. This event had a severe impact on his life because it was his best friend, Mike, who forced him to do it so they could survive. Because he was such an emotional character, Nick was affected by the cruel game more than the others. Nick, unfortunately, did not make it home from the war. He spent his last few months at a Russian Roulette den in Saigon. He experimented with drugs and played the game because he was so far gone. in the end, it was the game that killed him. Steve was the third friend who went to Vietnam. Steve was a childish character before the war. He wasn't extremely mature or even aware of the world around him. This effected him terribly in the war. While playing Russian Roulette, Steve was crying and freaking out because it was so horrific to him. He was corrupted by the war and was forced to see and experience things he wasn't ready to experience. Steve was physically effected as well as mentally. He lost his legs and part of his arm during the war. All of these things that happened to the men because of the war could have been predicted to an extent. Mike is strong emotionally and physically, so he wouldn't be as effected by the war as most. Nick was emotional and therefore would be effected mentally. And Steve was the childish friend, so he would come out of the war different in some way. I don't think it could have happened another way. I wish Nick didn't have to die, but that was critical to the plot and outcome of the war on the men.

The Deer Hunter (1978) This is an epic war drama film about a trio of steelworkers whose lives are changed forever after they fight in the Vietnam War. The cast includes Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Savage, John Cazale, Meryl Streep, and George Dzundza. The story takes place in a little working class town south of Pittsburgh, and in Vietnam. The film won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor for Christopher Walken. It also marked Meryl Streep's very first Academy Award nomination. She is now the most nominated actor in history. It was named the 53rd greatest American film of all time by the American Film Institute (AFI). The film's initial reviews were mostly positive. It was hailed by many critics as the best American epic since The Godfather. The late Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four stars and called it "one of the most emotionally shattering films ever made." This film is an American classic. It is my favorite drama, and perhaps my favorite film of all time. It even holds up nearly 40 years later. My willingness to try older films, any films, was because of this picture. Movies are like these are why film lovers should really give older movies a shot. I suggest the AFI's top 100 films as a starting point. The Deer Hunter is a masterful piece of cinema that explores the human condition in a way few films do today.