The horrors of Vietnam affect three Pennsylvania steelworkers (Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John... (Learn more)
Starring: Robert De Niro, John Cazale, John Savage (View All)
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Starring: Robert De Niro, John Cazale, John Savage
One of several 1978 films dealing with the Vietnam War (including Hal Ashby's Oscar-winning Coming Home), Michael Cimino's epic second feature The Deer Hunter was both renowned for its tough portrayal of the war's effect on American working class steel workers and notorious for its ahistorical use of Russian roulette in the Vietnam sequences. Structured in five sections contrasting home and war, the film opens in Clairton, PA, as Mike (Robert De Niro), Nick (Christopher Walken), and Stan (John Cazale, in his last film) celebrate the wedding of their friend Steve (John Savage) and go on a final deer hunt before the men leave for Vietnam. Mike treats hunting as a test of skill, lecturing Stan about the value of "one shot" deer slaying and brushing off Nick's urgings to appreciate nature's beauty. As Mike ruminates post-hunt, the film cuts to the horror of Vietnam, where the men are captured by Vietcong soldiers who force Mike and Nick to play Russian roulette for the V.C.'s amusement. Mike turns the game to his advantage so they can escape captivity, but the men are permanently scarred by the episode. Steve loses his legs; Nick vanishes in the Saigon Russian roulette parlors. Mike returns alone to Clairton a changed man, as he rejects the killing of the deer hunt and finds solace with Nick's old girlfriend Linda (Meryl Streep). Disgusted by the antics of his male cohorts at home, Mike decides to bring Steve back from a veterans' hospital, and he returns to Saigon to find Nick. As Saigon falls, Mike discovers how far gone Nick is; the survivors gather in Clairton for a funeral breakfast, singing an impromptu rendition of "God Bless America." ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
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US Release Date
11/30/78
MPAA Rating
Rated R
Running Time
183 mins.
Locations
- Mount Baker, Washington, USA
- Ohio, USA
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Thailand
- Weat Virginia, USA
Language
- English
Awards
- Winner of the Best Cinematography award at the 1979 British Academy of Film and Television Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Cinematography award at the 1978 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion award at the 1978 Hollywood Foreign Press Association [F Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Actor award at the 1978 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Picture - Drama award at the 1978 Hollywood Foreign Press Association [F Awards.
- Winner of the Best Director award at the 1978 Hollywood Foreign Press Association [F Awards.
- Winner of the Best Editing award at the 1979 British Academy of Film and Television Awards.
- Winner of the Best Director award at the 1978 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie Awards.
- Winner of the Best Supporting Actress award at the 1978 National Society of Film Critics [Fest Awards.
- Winner of the U.S. National Film Registry award at the 1996 Library of Congress [Festival/Award] Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama award at the 1978 Hollywood Foreign Press Association [F Awards.
- Winner of the Best Editing award at the 1978 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie Awards.
- Winner of the 100 Greatest American Movies award at the 1998 American Film Institute [Festival/Awar Awards.
- Winner of the Best Director award at the 1978 Los Angeles Film Critics Association [ Awards.
- Winner of the Best Picture award at the 1978 New York Film Critics Circle [Festival Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Moti award at the 1978 Hollywood Foreign Press Association [F Awards.
- Winner of the Best Sound award at the 1978 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie Awards.
- Winner of the Best Supporting Actor award at the 1978 New York Film Critics Circle [Festival Awards.
- Winner of the Best Supporting Actor award at the 1978 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Original Screenplay award at the 1978 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie Awards.
- Winner of the Best Picture award at the 1978 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Picture award at the 1979 British Academy of Film and Television Awards.
- Winner of the Best Director award at the 1978 Directors Guild of America [Festival/A Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Supporting Actress award at the 1978 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie Awards.
- Nominated for a Best Screenplay award at the 1978 Hollywood Foreign Press Association [F Awards.
Distributor
- Universal Pictures
- Universal Studios Home Entertainment
