The Deer Hunter
Directed by Michael Cimino. US. 1978. R. 182 min.
- Sun, Jun 27, 2:00 pm
With a cast that features a young Robert DeNiro, Meryl Streep and Christopher Walken (all of whom were nominated for Oscars, with Walken taking home a Best Supporting award), this is a movie filled with breakout roles. The film itself, a stunning depiction of how the Vietnam War affected a small western Pennsylvania community, also won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Direction, and Best Editing. With its showing of the lives of three young steelworkers before, during, and after their tours of duty, it is at times harrowing, as well as deeply moving, in its depiction of the soldiers’ return home from a controversial, soul-deadening war. As noted critic Leonard Maltin has described it, “this sensitive, painful, evocative work packs an emotional wallop.” And it is also a film that lingers long in the memory. (Bill Roth)