The Deer Hunter

This epic look at the Vietnam War and its effects told through the lives of a tight knit group of friends from a Pennsylvania town was Michael Cimino's second film and established him in the pantheon of American directors. Complex and emotionally raw performances from Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep earned each an Academy Award nomination, and Christopher Walken's portrayal of Nick, who survives capture but is unable to escape its trauma, is a tour de force that earned him the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. With a keen eye for nuance and a carefully structured script, Cimino interweaves the rituals great and small that make up the lives of his characters, creating a poignant sense of what remained constant and what was forever changed by their experience of the war.

"...The film remains intense, powerful and fascinating for more than three hours....The acting, throughout, is outstanding. Walken's performance is a marvel..." - Variety

"...A big, awkward, crazily ambitious, sometimes breathtaking motion picture that comes as close to being a popular epic as any movie about this country since THE GODFATHER....[Streep] gives a smashing film performance..." - New York Times

Included in the New York Times's "10 BEST FILMS OF 1978" - New York Times

"Hell is war in Michael Cimino's decade-defining classic..." - Total Film

5 stars out of 5 -- "[A]n unforgettable study of friendship, pre-, during and post Vietnam." - Ultimate DVD

5 stars out of 5 -- "Cimino's is a political film that makes its points through the trials of its characters..." - Uncut

"Cimino's sprawling Vietnam drama is an intimate epic, favouring the personal over the political....This is an ensemble cast par excellence." - Sight and Sound

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