Review of The Deer Hunter (1978) by Bradford O — 27 Sep 2010
The Deer Hunter is quite possibly the single greatest achievement in filmmaking. A superb cast along with excellent cinematic visuals highlight this character study of a group of young Pennsylvanian steel workers who are sent to fight in Vietnam.
Career performances by Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken showcase how personal and traumatic war can be, physically and mentally. Meryl Streep utilizes her looks and emotional techniques to pull off a stellar supporting role.
The dynamics between Walken, De Niro, and Savage are unparalleled. As I perviously stated, this is a serious achievement in filmmaking. Character development, dialogue, thematic structuring, and cinematic configuration make this a hard film to say no to.
This film is most famous for the intense and haunting Russian Roulette scenes, which are highly disturbing. Some say it's too long ( 3 Hours ), others say it struggles to find a certain identity and is a cliche of the Post-Vietnam war effects.
I say that The Deer Hunter set the standard for excellent filmmaking, in all categories. If you want to understand why films are sometimes considered art, watch this and the awareness will hit you in the face like a sledgehammer.
This review of The Deer Hunter (1978) was written by Bradford O on 27 Sep 2010.
The Deer Hunter has generally received very positive reviews.
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