The Deer Hunter

I see there are a lot of experts contributing here. If you look at the symbolism of "The Deer Hunter", you'll realize the importance of this film. Never mind the "that couldn't happen" crap; pay attention to the story.

This amazing film will leave you shell-shocked. Made before Apocalypse Now, and eight or nine years before Platoon and Full Metal Jacket it was the first major film to deal with the Vietnam war.

The film breaks down into three main sections. The opening long section, is all about character development. The first time you see it you may think this section is too long, but with subsequent viewings it becomes more and more important to the films structure.

The second section in Vietnam starts very suddenly and is a complete nightmare. Everybody knows about the Roulette scene but this is only one part that vividly displays the hideous nature of war and the inhumanity of man to his fellow man.

The after effects of this are shown in the third section, which is all the more shocking because for the men involved the war is over, but the psychological damage caused by the war has changed their lives.

This really is an epic film that you need to see more than once. However, unlike a lot of Hollywood films this deals with the realities of war and you may not find repeated viewings easy to take!

Deer Hunter shows the ugly side of war at a time when no one truly understood except those who fought. Everyone should experience this movie!

The Deer Hunter (Universal Legacy Series) is just as good as the HD DVD version. After watching both back and forth at the same time I could not see any difference on my Sony KDS 50A2020 in 1080p. My review is for the HD Quality and not the 5 Star Movie.

There have been plenty of films made about the Vietnam War, Platoon (Collector's Edition Steelbook), Apocalypse Now - The Complete Dossier (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition), Full Metal Jacket (Deluxe Edition). But there's something about The Deer Hunter that stands out as one of the best. Not only does it have the distinction of being the first, it's a movie that deals with the effects of the war, more than the war itself.

There's not much actual fighting, but the scenes are definitely intense. The Russian Roulette scene, which many peole have commented on, is absolutely superb. But I want to focus on the wedding. Grand in scale and long in length, this scene makes the movie. Although it is long, it is a wonderful scene, one that sets up the movie perfectly. It lets you get a feel for the characters before you see the gruesomeness of war effects them.

One of the most underrated movies about Vietnam and of the 70's when you compare it to others that came out in that decade.

Also, the cast is phenomenal. Robert De Niro is the headliner, followed by Best Supporting Actor winner Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep, John Savage, and John Cazale in his very last film role.

This release, the two disc Universal Legacy Series releases, features a commentary with the cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond and film journalist Bob Fisher. Also included sre a few deleted and extended/alternate scenes and a few production notes.

A Definite Must Have in any collection.