Review of The Deer Hunter (1978) by Sam P — 11 Apr 2012

I have to admit, âThe Deer Hunterâ? was a magnificently made film, the build up of the film and look of the film is very beautiful. The only problem is that I feel the length of the film just drained me out, making it less enjoyable by the end. I understand the three acts were all an hour each so that we could immerse ourselves into the characters lives more often. However, when forty minutes are dedicated to an overtly long wedding that tries too hard, it burns you out a little bit, which is unfortunate.

Now granted, there are magnificent performances, as expected. Robert De Niro is as always a consummate leading man, his character starting off as desperate to join war, a quiet but charismatic strength of character that his friends follow. However, the best performance for me was Christopher Walken, which shocked me, as most films Iâ(TM)d seen him in basically had Walken over the top in Walken-esque style. This film, however, showed Walken in a subtle style, slowly breaking down, which just shocked me.

The most infamous scenes were obviously the Russian Roulette scenes, which were very good, full of build up, tension in every frame, and leaving you truly uncertain if anyone would survive. I know Russian Roulette is supposedly unlikely, but it worked very well in the film.

For me, I am not sure if I would watch this film again for a while, as it was a very draining three hours, and it says everything when I can watch LOTR Extended Editions gleefully.