SYNOPSIS:It covers the impact of the Vietnam War on some
working-class buddies who live in a Pennsylvania steel town.The first part depicts a traditional wedding
of one of them.Three of the friends go
to Vietnam and are captured by the Viet Cong and tortured.They eventually get away, but one stays in
Vietnam as the other two return home.Michael (Robert DeNiro) goes back to try to find Nick (Christopher
Walken).
BACK-STORY: “The Deer Hunter” was
released in 1978 and was the first important major motion picture about the
Vietnam War. Its success marked the rise of the subgenre that
has produced some great war movies. Significantly, 1978 also saw the
releases of “Coming Home”, “The Boys in Company C”, and “Go Tell the
Spartans”. The movie was directed and co-written by Michael Cimino
and marked the peak of his career. He battled the suits to get his
vision on the screen and succeeded for the most part. The movie was
a big critical hit and did well at the box office. It was awarded
Oscars for Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor (Christopher Walken), Editing,
and Sound. It was nominated for Actor (Robert De
Niro), Supporting Actress (Meryl Streep), Cinematography, and
Original Screenplay. It is ranked #53 on the most recent AFI’s
greatest movies list. The film was Streep’s first big movie role and
ironically, John Cazales’ last film. He was dying from cancer and
passed before he saw the finished product.
TRIVIA:wikipedia,
imdb, TCM
1.De Niro was a last minute replacement for Roy
Scheider who left because of creative differences.
2.John
Cazale was dying from terminal cancer.When the studio wanted to drop him, Meryl Streep (who was in a
relationship with him) and Cimino threatened to drop out.Since he was uninsurable, De Niro paid the
insurance.nominated for Best Picture.
3.Streep’s role was enhanced after she was
cast.Cimino had her write her own
lines.
4.It was based on a script called “The Man Who
Came to Play” which was about Russian roulette in LasVegas.
5.The scenes in Clairton were actually filmed
in eight different towns in four states.
6.The wedding scene lasts 51 minutes.Cimino originally claimed it would last 21
minutes.The Russian immigrants who were
the extras for the scene were asked to bring wrapped boxes as authentic looking
gifts. When production was over, the crew opened up the boxes and found actual
wedding gifts.
7.The deer (actually an elk) that Michael lets
go was later used in commercials for Connecticut Life.
8.The river Michael and Steven fall into was
the River Kwai.DeNiro and Savage did
their own stunt – fifteen times.
9.When Nick spits in Michael’s face, Walken
ad-libbed it and De Niro was not happy.
10.The slapping by the Viet Cong leader was for
real.Cimino cast an actor who hated
Americans
11.When Steven is in the cage and yells
“Michael, there’s rats in here”, it was Savage telling Cimino that there were
actual rats on the set.
12.De Niro has said that Michael’s visit to see
Steven in the hospital was the most emotional scene in his career.He also said the movie was the most
physically exhausting of all his movies.
13. When Michael puts the pistol to Stan’s head
to reenact Russian roulette, De Niro insisted on a bullet being in the
gun. Cazale insisted on checking the gun
before each take.
Belle and Blade=2.5
Brassey’s=4.0
Video Hound=3.1
War Movies=4.4
Military History=#29
Channel 4=#12
Film Site=no
101 War Movies=yes
Rotten Tomatoes=#30
OPINION:This is an extremely well-made
movie. The cinematography and acting keep you focused through the
slow moments. The interior shots are intimate, the exterior shots of
Clairton are industrially grimy. The hunting scenery is
breathtaking. The camera work is not pretentious. The
score is fine. The movie also has an eclectic mix of period songs.
The
acting could not be better. De Niro and Walken are electric from
their first appearance. This was Walken’s first major role and
seldom is it more obvious that you are watching the beginning of a great
career. Streep is Streep, of course. She wrote some of
her lines and the role was expanded because of her talent. The rest
of the cast is up to these three. Special mention has to be made of
John Cazales. It was tragic that this was his last film, but he went
out on top. As usual, he plays a dislikable character, but he makes
a good foil for Mike. Savage is kind of odd man out, but he gives a
sincere performance as the weakest of the “warriors”.The screenplay tends to be a little
heavy-handed. The themes are hammered in. War impacts not
just the warriors. There are different types of wounds – physical
and mental. Cimino comments on working class patriotism and male
bonding in a knowing way.
In
conclusion, “The Deer Hunter” is an important movie. It
opened the flood gate of Vietnam movies and still remains one of the
best. I think it is appropriately placed at #40 on the list of great
war movies.
ACTING It would be hard
to find a Vietnam War movie with a better cast than “The Deer Hunter” although a
couple of the stars (Walken and Streep) were early in their careers. Walken
deserved the Best Supporting Actor award he won. He is absolutely amazing.
DeNiro anchors the film although the film is something of an ensemble effort. He
earned a Best Actor nomination. John Cazales is his usual solid self in what was
sadly his last role. Streep clearly shows why she became a superstar. There is
not a weak performance to be found. A+
“The Green Berets” is a John Wayne movie, ‘nuff said. Wayne plays Wayne
and this is the movie that cemented his reputation as the iconic American
warrior as far as Vietnam grunts were concerned. Wayne is pretty subdued and
does not dominate, which may have been a mistake because the rest of the cast is
weak. David Janssen embarrasses himself as the cynical newsman. He spends most
of his scenes with his chin on his neck. Jim Hutton is almost as bad as the
stereotype scrounger and comic relief. The rest of the cast is low rent with
exception of the super cool Aldo Ray as a tough sergeant. C
FIRST QUARTER
SCORE The Deer Hunter = 10 The Green
Berets = 7
PLOT
“The Deer Hunter” is different than all
the other movies in the tournament. The plot is divided into three parts. The
first is an extended wedding sequence that establishes the main characters and
the steel town atmosphere they are leaving to go to the Nam. In Vietnam, they
are scarred in different ways by a stint as VC prisoners. Two of them return
home to a world they no longer fit in while the third remains in Saigon playing
Russian roulette. The themes are hammered in. War impacts not just the warriors.
There are different types of wounds – physical and mental. Cimino comments on
working class patriotism and male bonding in a knowing way. B
“The Green Berets” is essentially a Western set in
the East. Wayne’s Col. Kirby heads off to S. Vietnam with a Green Beret unit and
is charged with defending a strategic hamlet / base camp. Newsman Beckworth is
in tow to evolve from dove to hawk. The film features an Alamo-like defense of
the camp and a behind enemy lines mission to kidnap a VC general. Numerous
clichés are thrown in to hammer the theme that the Communists are taking.
D
HALF TIME
SCORE The Deer Hunter = 18 The
Green Berets = 13
COMBAT
“The Deer Hunter” has very little
combat in it so it is hard to judge this aspect of the film. I almost did not
put it in the tournament for this reason, but I could not leave out one of the
seminal Vietnam War movies and a movie that won Best Picture. If we stretch to
call the scenes where Mike, Nick, and Steven are forced to play Russian roulette
combat scenes, we do get one spectacular scene where Mike engineers the trio’s
escape. I’m going to have to go with a default C in this category. C
“The Green Berets” certainly has a higher quantity
of combat. The VC assault on the camp is one of the longest battle scenes in the
tournament. It’s basically your human wave variety similar to what you see in
“Siege of Firebase Gloria” and just as laughable in spots. There’s a very fake
helicopter crash and an equally faux tower collapse. The enemy deaths are rote
and the American deaths are melodramatic. Just like in a Western, the cavalry
arrives in the form of Puff the Magic Dragon with its Gatling guns. Any
red-blooded American commie-hater got his fill of action from the film and the
movie was popular partly because of the combat. C
THIRD QUARTER
SCORE The Deer Hunter =
25 The Green Berets = 20
REALISM
“The Deer Hunter” is bipolar when it
comes to realism because the home front scenes seem true to the environment of a
steel town in Pennsylvania and the Greek Orthodox culture. The trio that go off
to war are all volunteers and patriotic. The movie reflects the attitudes of the
“silent majority” through the first half of the war. The movie vividly contrasts
their relationships with family and friends from before they leave to when they
come back. On the other hand, the scenes in Vietnam have little foundation in
reality. There is no evidence that the VC forced prisoners to play Russian
roulette. It makes for great drama, but is ahistorical. Also the time frame is
completely messed up. Nick would have been playing the game for years before
Mike finds him. That’s some incredible luck. C
“The Green Berets” is a realistic view of the war
if you are looking at it with hawkish glasses on and the year is 1968. If not,
it is a anti-commie, pro-Saigon propaganda piece. It is as realistic as a 1940s
Western. In fact, it is a 1940s Western! Hell, the camp is nicknamed “Dodge
City”. I’m no fan or apologist for the VC, but they get trashed unfairly in this
movie. They are punji-staking, booby-trapping, civilian-torturing, ugly-ass,
barbarians. Oh, and they kill the cute little mascots dog! With that said, the
big battle is not too far from an assault by VC forces in a Tet Offensive
scenario. As far as the mission to kidnap the VC general, give me a break! It
does give us the hilarious visual of Wayne escaping in a French Citroen.
D
FINAL
SCORE The Deer Hunter =
32 The Green Berets = 26
ANALYSIS
I have to admit that I had
not seen “The Green Berets” since it came out. I had avoided it partly because
of the incredibly bad reputation it has acquired over the years. It has one of
the iconic bad movie moments with the sun sinking in the east in the final shot.
On second viewing, it is not as bad as its reputation. There are some LOL
moments, but overall it is a decent Western that makes the mistake of trying to
be historical and relevant to the concurrent events it covers. It also takes an
untenable position on the nature of the war. “The Deer Hunter” is on the other
end of the spectrum. It is art! Flawed art. Slightly bloated art. It deserved
the Best Picture award and you would have to be Rush Limbaugh to think “The
Green Berets” should have won this match.
BACK-STORY:“The Deer Hunter” was released in 1978 and
was the first important major motion picture about the Vietnam War.Its success marked the rise of the subgenre
that has produced some great war movies.Significantly, 1978 also saw the releases of “Coming Home”, “The Boys in
Company C”, and “Go Tell the Spartans”.The movie was directed and co-written by Michael Cimino and marked the
peak of his career.He battled the suits
to get his vision on the screen and succeeded for the most part.The movie was a big critical hit and did well
at the box office.It was awarded Oscars
for Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor (Christopher Walken), Editing, and
Sound.It was nominated for Actor
(Robert De Niro),Supporting Actress
(Meryl Streep), Cinematography, and Original Screenplay.It is ranked #53 on the most recent AFI’s
greatest movies list.The film was
Streep’s first big movie role and ironically, John Cazales’ last film.He was dying from cancer and passed before he
saw the finished product.
OPENING:The movie opens with the beautiful “Cavatina for
Guitar and Orchestra” playing over the credits.This creates a positive vibe from the start.We are introduced to the dingy industrial
city of Clairton, Pa. in the year 1967.Our working class quintet of buddies is preparing for the marriage of
one and the cleaving of the group by the Vietnam War.Their camaraderie is similar to that of soldiers
in the barracks and on R&R.
one shot
SUMMARY:The first third of the movie involves the wedding of Steven
(John Savage) to his pregnant girlfriend Angela.The wedding is in an Eastern Orthodox church
and if you ever wondered what those rites are like, watch this movie.The extended scene flows into the rollicking
reception.(There was literally an open
bar for the extras.Check out the old
couple sleeping on each other in the background.)Those Russian-Americans know how to
party.It’s not just a wedding
celebration.The groom and two of his
buddies – Mike (De Niro) and Nick (Walken) – are headed for Vietnam as
volunteers.The characters are clearly
drawn.Steven is the sensitive guy who
marries a woman who is not carrying his child.Nick is the lady magnet who has a spiritual streak.Mike is the taciturn leader who takes hunting
(and life) seriously.His character
reminds of Hawkeye in “The Last of the Mohicans”.Cimino lets the reception play out with
little dialogue.A key terse exchange
occurs when the trio encounter a veteran drinking at the bar and try to suck up
to him.He is obviously suffering from
PTSD and responds to their patriotic overtures with several “fuck it”s.This is the first foreshadowing that their
working class lives are about to take a turn for the worse.Another omenous development is when Angela
spills some red wine on her wedding dress during the “it’s good luck if you
don’t spill” toast.Oh, oh! The non-grooms in the extended buddy group
leave the reception and head off on one last deer hunt.The scenery is awesome and the music elegaic as
Mike and Nick track a magnificent stag that Mike bags with “one shot” (his
mantra and a recurring theme).
one flame
Suddenly we are in Vietnam.No boot camp for this movie.Mike is lying outside a village.An enemy soldier appears and throws a grenade
in a bunker full of civilians and then kills a mother and child.Mike uses a flame thrower on him.Nick and Steven are part of reinforcements
that arrive, but so does a large force of Viet Cong.Cut to the famous prison locale.The trio and some expendables are being held
captive in a cage on the river.There
are rats!The sadistic guards are
forcing the prisoners to play Russian roulette for their amusement.(The head thug was a local Thai who Cimino
instructed to actually slap Walken to get the right reaction.)In one of the greatest scenes in war movie
history, Mike engineers their escape in ten seconds of orgiastic violence.The acting is fantastic.They float down the river (the actual Kwai
River) and eventually make it back to American lines, but Steven is physically
crippled and Nick is emotionally damaged.Mike remains stoic.
Uncle Ho will not be happy with what is about to go down
Nick, although clearly suffering from PTSD, is
released from the hospital and wanders the streets of night-time Saigon.(The Saigon sets are authentically red-lit.)He stumbles upon a Russian roulette den and
is lured into the “sport” by a decadent Frenchman.I guess it’s Stockholm syndrome.It’s a small world as Mike happens to be at
that particular “competition”, but he is unable to prevent Nick from choosing
this new career path.Mike returns to
America thinking Nick is lost and Steven is dead.
Mike’s return is not a joyous one.If he was to look in the mirror he would see
the “fuck it” vet.He feels
disconnected from his old life and friends.He passes up the “Welcome Home” party, but later hooks up with Nick’s
girlfriend Linda (Streep).They’ve been
meant for each other since the beginning of the film, but it’s an awkward
arc.Linda asks him “did you ever think
life would turn out like this?”An
unanswered “no”.Speaking of awkward,
the reunion with the buddies proves positive that “you can’t go home”.Mike tries hard and even goes hunting again. Guess what happens when he has a clean shot
at another stag (the deer from the Hartford commercials)?The hunt ends with Mike introducing Stanley
(Cazale) to Russian roulette.Awkward
scenes come in threes as Mike visits Steven who is wheel chair bound in a Veterans
Hospital.Ever the leader, Mike forces
Steven to return to the catatonic Angela.
Mike learns Nick is still alive and since he had
promised not to leave him behind, he heads back to the Nam.He arrives during the chaotic last days of
Saigon.It’s not too chaotic for him to
find the Frenchman and get to the game.
Nicky don't pull that trigger
the view from the other side of the table
CLOSING:Mike buys into the game when Nick does not recognize
his friend (and in fact spits in his face).Nick has needle marks indicating heroin addiction.Watch out, that stuff can kill you.Usually it is lame when a movie tries to
replicate a previous scene, but in this case the Russian roulette match is riveting.Once again, De Niro and Walken are amazing.The climax is predictable, but touching and
wrenching.
Mike brings Nick home (for his funeral).The gang is together one last time and the
movie ends with them singing “God Bless America” which means we are left to
puzzle what the Hell is Cimino trying to say?Is he making fun of their blue collar patriotism?Is he being ironic?Did he just dilute the anti-war message of
the film?Discuss.One thing is indisputable.The three guys who stayed out of the war are
much better off than the three that volunteered to go.
RATINGS:
Acting =A+
Action =6/10
Accuracy =C
Realism =B
Plot =A
Overall =A-
WOULD CHICKS DIG IT?Definitely.It is one of the more balanced war
movies.That doesn’t mean it’s not
predominantly a guy film.I don’t think
the Russian roulette subplot was included to attract females.Linda and Angela are not feminists and both
are damaged goods, but they are realistic characters.
HISTORICAL ACCURACY:The movie is not based on a
true story.Clearly.Cimino tried to justify the Russian roulette
scenes as based on reality, but he was shaky on this.There is no evidence that the Viet Cong
tortured prisoners using Russian roulette.They were bastards, but not that bastardly.Cimino took some flak for the racist
undertone of his depiction of the Viet Cong.There is also little evidence for the existence of Russian roulette
dens.If they didn’t exist, they were
the only form of entertainment that could not be found in Saigon.
CRITIQUE:This is an extremely well made movie.Cimino put all his talent into the film (and
based on the rest of his career might have left some of it).He’s under relative control here, unlike the
bloated “Heaven’s Gate”.The decision to
break the narrative into three parts was wise and tempers the length of the
movie.That doesn’t mean it doesn’t feel
a little long.Cimino takes his time
getting where he’s going.For instance,
we don’t get to Vietnam until the 1:08 mark.It’s worth the wait as that middle third is so intense, albeit over the
top realism-wise.
The cinematography and acting keep you
focused through the slow moments.The
interior shots are intimate, the exterior shots of Clairton are industrially
grimy.The hunting scenery is
breathtaking.The camera work is not
pretentious.The score is fine.The movie also has an eclectic mix of period
songs.
The acting could not be better.De Niro and Walken are electric from their
first appearance.This was Walken’s
first major role and seldom is it more obvious that you are watching the beginning
of a great career.Streep is Streep, of
course.She wrote some of her lines and
the role was expanded because of her talent.The rest of the cast is up to these three.Special mention has to be made of John
Cazales.It was tragic that this was his
last film, but he went out on top.As
usual, he plays a dislikable character, but he makes a good foil for Mike.Savage is kind of odd man out, but he gives a
sincere performance as the weakest of the “warriors”.
The screenplay tends to be a little
heavy-handed.The foreshadowing allows
the alert viewer to piece together some upcoming plot points.Not unusual for a Hollywood flick,
however.The movie reminded me of “Jaws”
in this respect.The themes are hammered
in.War impacts not just the
warriors.There are different types of
wounds – physical and mental.Cimino
comments on working class patriotism and male bonding in a knowing way.
The movies biggest flaw is the time-line makes little
sense.Of course, this type of thing
bothers only the very small minority of viewers like me.Check this out.They go to Vietnam in 1967.We can assume a good bit of time passes
before the village scene.Mike has gone
into a different unit than Nick and Steven and in fact does not even recognize
them (possibly from combat stress).This
reunion was most likely in 1968-69.That
means Nick goes into the Russian roulette business no later than 1970.Clearly Mike returns to Saigon in 1975.This means a lot of time has passed and it is
inconceivable that Nick had survived that long.Cimino’s decision to stage the climactic scene in the midst of the
chaotic last days of Saigon is understandable for cinematic effect, but makes
no sense in reality.
CONCLUSION:“The Deer Hunter” is an important movie.It opened the flood gate of Vietnam movies
and still remains one of the best.I
think it is appropriately placed at #29 on the list of great war movies.I might add that it also fits on a list of
great movies.You can’t say that for
many of the other movies on Military History magazine’s list.It is definitely a must see for any movie
buff.
MY VIETNAM TOP 10
1.Platoon
2.Apocalypse Now
3.Full Metal Jacket
4.We Were Soldiers
5.The Deer Hunter
6.84 Charlie Mopic
7.Born on the Fourth of July
8.Hamburger Hill
9.Go Tell the Spartans
10.Rescue Dawn
Now that I look at it,
that’s a damn fine list of movies.I
wonder if there is any other war that has that kind of quality at the top.
THE POSTER: It is certainly eye-catching, but shouldn't it be Christopher Walken with the red head band and the pistol to his head? Let's see, who was the bigger star? Oh, yeah. Never mind. Grade = B
the trailer
THE TRAILER: The trailer pretty much covers the gist of the movie in 3 minutes. I don't like the way the clips are monotonously broken up with the chilling music and the constant reminder of the name of the movie.
