TotalTelly.co.uk

Devoted to Popular, Cult and Retro TV

The Deer Hunter (Special Edition) (2 Disc) [1978]


RRP: £17.99
Our Price: £5.00 (subject to change)

Epic and mind throbbing 'Nam epic!
Review date: 2008-04-07 Rating: 10 out of 10

The Deer Hunter is a compelling look at contrast. The contrast in speaking is of the war in Vietnam and life in a small Pennsylvanian town. I first came across the film when it was advertised as a Sunday night movie on channel 4 and thought, if it is really as great as everyone says it is then why not brave it? I had to say that my first impression was doubtful: the plot was messy, there was no tone and to be quite honest, it wasn't going anywhere. But give it maybe 20 minutes (not even a 6th of the movie) and you will realize how absorbing and tragic the Deer Hunter really is. The Vietnam scenes are realistic and count as far more perilous than any 'Nam scene in any 'Nam movie. The Russian Roulette segments will never escape me as being poignant and horrifying! These are immense scenes of first class film making and the final is a chill beyond disturbing.

As always, De Niro performs his absolute best and offers deep realism that carries the movie through its second half into a very unexpected climax. Walken however is the star of the film. His character transforms so intensely that there is sudden doubt as to whether they are the same people he is performing. From a happy-go-lucky guy into a dead, tortured soul. His is the performance that demands acclaim. Cazale also shines and Meryl Streep simply scrapes along. But as her first serious role, she can be hard to blame...

In conclusion, the story of 3 friends so anxious to fight in Vietnam, only to find a pit of torturous mentality is a classic

Similar Products

Reviews


Not the masterpiece it once seemed, but not the propaganda its detractors claim either
Review date: 2007-11-10 Rating: 6 out of 10

For all the naturalism of the presentation, the plot of The Deer Hunter is melodrama and metaphor, sometimes effective, often contrived, and seen today it's hard to get over how the main characters seem far too old to be going to Vietnam. Indeed, the film itself seems so much less impressive than Heaven's Gate today that it's surprising that this is the one the critics feted. Not that it's as bad as the revisionism that subsequently hit it would have you believe, but a lot of its original power has been diluted by the better films about Vietnam that would follow it. There's definitely a feeling of avoiding saying anything about Vietnam: this could almost be any war, from Korea to WW2, leaving much of the last act a 70s Best Years of Our Lives.

The biggest revelation watching it again is how good Robert de Niro used to be, leaving you with the suspicion that the pod people got him and replaced him with a lifeless hack who gets his assistants to phone in his performances while he's down at the bank cashing the checks these days. It's a surprise to see how engaging and credible an actor he once was. Unlike his later work, he seems less selfish here and able (in the first half at least) to connect with the other actors in the ensemble rather than constantly standing apart, which makes the character's feelings of disconnection with his old life far more effective in the latter part of the movie. Similarly, Meryl Streep is surprisingly natural in an early performance before everything became a veritable computer program of meticulously planned mannerisms and inflections that bore increasingly little relation to human behavior, while Christopher Walken didn't have the baggage that would increasingly prevent him from playing regular guys onscreen.

Scary anecdote from the DVD interview on the 2-disc set with a now very scary looking Michael Cimino (imagine a blonde Truman Capote in sunglasses playing an alien on Dr Who and you're not even close): for the scene where De Niro holds a gun to John Cazale's head and pulls the trigger, De Niro asked for a real bullet to be put in the chamber - and Cazale agreed!


It only takes one shot
Review date: 2007-02-25 Rating: 10 out of 10

(Warning: this film contains war bruality and violence that is "not suitable" for sensitive people)

The Deer Hunter was the one, that no studio would take on, following the end of American involvement of Vietnam, a couple of years previous. The help of Sir Henry Belfonte, the chairman of EMI as one of a three-picture-deal, ensured it was made and released to the public.

Fresh out of Thunderbolt and Lightening, Cimino and his crew studied the impact of Vietnam War, via many sources, to add to the accuracy and realism of the tough times in half capitalist and half communist divided states of North and South Vietnam.

The Deer Hunter deals with a group of blue-collar steel workers drinking buddies' in a small Pennyslevania town. Michael and Nick are the closest and are probably seen in our eyes as the most afraid of going to fight, Nick promises whatever happens, he wants Michael to take him home where he belongs......

The title, is a metaphor, since in this case, the men refer the deers as "girls", hence it is important to find one to settle down with and that "you've only got one shot" like the precise shot to kill the deer, to get it right before the oppertunity is gone forever.

The acting, shows the men try to stride along with three serving in Vietnam, how difficult and lost their lives' become, how empty and meaningless. The performance of Walkden, who comes across as loving, cheery and happy, slowly reverts in a suicidal troubled man whose longing to go back, means nothing to him now. De Niro gives the emotion of a man of dedication, glory and trust, but deeply worrying and sad. Meryl Streep in her first main role, plays the role of abused Linda, who is Nick's girlfriend, but doesn't cherish her love for him as much as she likes to think.

The editing of The Deer Hunter places the film into chapters, broken down and easy to follow, to show the horror of war and conflict, also the slow distrengtion of their friendship and the lives' which are recked.

The Deer Hunter is daunting, brisk and moving, it is one of the finest Best Picture films and arguably one of the finest seventies films ever made.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Robert De Niro
John Savage
Meryl Streep
John Cazale
Christopher Walken

Creators:
Robert De Niro (Primary Contributor)
John Cazale (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Optimum Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Optimum Home Entertainment
EAN: 5060034577003
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 2
Format: Anamorphic, Box set, PAL, Special Edition,
Release date: 2006-10-23
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 177 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1978
Language: English (Original Language)

Add to Cart

© 2006 Darren Hester, DesignsByDarren.com, Some Rights Reserved.
Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional