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The Deer Hunter arrives on Blu-ray in a package that includes a solid high definition transfer, coupled with a dense HD sound mix and accompanied by the extras from the 2005 DVD release. The film continues to hold a fair amount of power, more than 30 years after its initial release. The performances in particular stand up – as both an early look at Christopher Walken and as a final one at John Cazale. The release is Highly Recommended.
THE DEER HUNTER
UNIVERSAL 100TH ANNIVERSARY
Studio: Universal/EMI Films
Release Year: 1978
Length: 3 hrs 4 mins
Genre: Drama
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
BD Resolution and Codec: 1080p, VC-1 (@ an average 24 mbps)
Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (@ an average 3.5 mbps, up to 4.7 mbps at times), English and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
Film Rating: R (Violence, Language)
Release Date: March 6, 2012
Starring: Robert De Niro, John Cazale, John Savage, Meryl Streep, Christopher Walken
Based on the script “The Man Who Came to Play” by Louis Garfinkle & Quinn K. Redeker
Screenplay by: Deric Washburn
Directed by: Michael Cimino
Film Rating: 4 ½/5
The Deer Hunter is a powerful film, not just because of its subject matter, but because of the rawness of the performances captured within it. The short version of this story is to say that it’s a long movie but not one that feels too long. The movie introduces the viewer to a group of Pennsylvania steelworkers, three of whom go off to fight in Vietnam and are irrevocably changed by the experience. That one line of plot description does not convey the depth of feeling or the complexity of character that the film manages to convey within three hours. It stands as a great example of complete storytelling – giving the viewer many details about the characters, but also allowing the viewer to fill in some blanks on their own. Having never seen the film before this review, I confess being surprised and awed at the movie’s power. It is an easy one to recommend for rental or purchase.
SPOILERS HERE: The real power of the movie lies in the performances of a large cast of characters. Going past Robert De Niro’s laconic turn as the central character, Michael, we are presented his best friends Nick (Christopher Walken) and Steven (John Savage). Both of those performances are marked by an almost painful innocence at the beginning of the film, and level of burned-out weariness by the end. The difference can be seen in the eyes – Walken in particular starts out quite earnest, and by the end has understandably checked-out. This Oscar-winning turn by him is a far cry from the odd line readings and tics that have been lampooned over the last decade or so. Past those performances is a great early one by Meryl Streep, where she establishes a fairly raw level of need for connection that resonates through the film. (It’s not an accident that Michael Cimino introduces her character by having her beaten by her drunken father.) Resonating more painfully than the other performances is the final screen performance by John Cazale, who somehow manages to use what was in reality a painful battle with terminal cancer to create a character who is both more savvy than the others in some respects and yet just as desperate for respect as his immortal Fredo. (The fact that Cimino, De Niro and Streep all were steadfast in their support of his wish to make this movie is a testament to their respect for Cazale. Had the accountants won that battle, neither he nor we would have been able to experience the performance he delivered.)
MORE SPOILERS: Michael Cimino’s construction of this movie is an example of unhurried storytelling. The movie certainly doesn’t rush along – it takes its time to introduce the characters and develop them. Over the first hour of the movie is centered on the wedding of Steven to his pregnant girlfriend (it’s made clear that he is not the father), which allows us to get to know all of the guys, who work together at the local steel mill. The three central characters are set to leave for Vietnam after the weekend, so they and their buddies go out of town for a last deer hunt before being inducted. The deer hunt itself is a greater revelation of who these guys really are – once they are removed from their normal environment. Out in the wilderness, John Cazale’s Stanley is totally out of his element, and completely dependent on the true leader of the group, Michael. The movie then shifts to Vietnam for what is actually a fairly brief series of scenes. We see one large-scale combat sequence that quickly ends with the three friends being captured by the North Vietnamese. For the next twenty minutes, the characters and the audience endure a grueling situation where the VC force their prisoners to play Russian Roulette while the captors bet on their chances for survival. Michael manages to outwit their captors (and get lucky enough with where the bullets are in the Roulette pistol) and the friends run for their lives. A helicopter rescue goes badly, though, and while the friends wind up back in friendly territory, they are all badly scarred in different ways. The movie then returns to Pennsylvania for what is essentially another feature-length section, now showing the aftermath of Michael’s return home. One could argue that the final section of the movie could have been the movie by itself, but it really does need the earlier sections to clarify exactly what has happened to these guys. The movie ends on a mournful note, but takes the time to have the characters, once full of life and song and dance, sing a very simple rendition of “God Bless America”. Is it a hopeful moment or is there some irony at work here? Or is it both? The viewer can decide for himself or herself.
Taken as a whole, this is a movie that really feels like something that fell together in a moment of serendipity. With a different cast, this may not have been the result. As it is, given this strong of an ensemble, and with this strong of a spine to his story, Michael Cimino was able to tell something that works both as an intellectual and emotional examination of what happens to people who go to war, and to the people they leave behind. One has to wonder if Cimino thought that this approach would also work with his next movie, Heaven’s Gate – but serendipity did not happen there, or on any of Cimino’s subsequent projects. Heaven’s Gate in particular stands both as an example of a movie just going way on past the viewer’s patience and as an example of extravagant moviemaking that, left unchecked, actually resulted in the end of a major studio. (United Artists) With The Deer Hunter, this fate was averted, due to the strength of the narrative, the strength of the cast, and particularly due to the clear chemistry between the cast.
The Deer Hunter has previously been released on laserdisc, standard DVD, with a Legacy Edition in 2005 including a commentary by cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond and a few outtakes. There was also an HD-DVD, which contained a good VC-1 transfer that is apparently the same one used here. (There has also been a Studio Canal Blu-ray release with a commentary by Michael Cimino that I have on order, but it still hasn’t arrived as of this writing, so I’m proceeding without it.) The new Blu-ray couples the transfer from the HD-DVD with a new DTS-HD MA sound mix and the extras from the 2005 release. The first disc of the Legacy Edition is also included, to provide the movie in standard definition as a bonus.
One last note: For some reason, this release, like All Quiet on the Western Front, does not have a Main Menu. After the intial screens, you’re put directly into the movie, from which you can raise the pop-up menu to get options on chapters, setup and extras. But there is no overriding menu to which you can turn.
VIDEO QUALITY 4 ½/5
The Deer Hunter is presented in a 1080p VC-1 2.35:1 transfer that, while it may be the same one used on the HD-DVD, is still a fine high definition presentation of the movie. The movie has an intentionally muted look in the stateside sequences, opening up to a much greener look in the Vietnam combat section. The Saigon scenes have a look more geared to the stock footage the movie is matching, but the nighttime material shows a great range between the darkness and the areas of illumination. Reds in this movie stand out in the way clearly intended by Cimino and Zsigmond, both for the headbands worn by the Roulette players and for the obvious usage in blood. I note a debt of gratitude to Robert Harris for his notes on the picture quality here. I would not have known this was the earlier transfer had he not pointed it out.
AUDIO QUALITY 4 ½/5
The Deer Hunter is presented in an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix in English, and a Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono mix in English and Spanish. The DTS-HD mix is a full-throated affair, particularly during the early steel mill scenes and during the combat sequences where the helicopters will literally rock the home theater. There’s a fair amount of atmospheric sound – both for the Vietnam sequence and for the appropriate times during the stateside work.
SPECIAL FEATURES 2 ½/5
The Blu-Ray presentation of The Deer Hunter comes with the usual BD-Live connectivity and My Scenes functionality, along with the commentary, the outtakes and the movie’s trailer, all presented in standard definition. The Legacy Edition DVD is included on a separate hub in the package.
Feature Commentary with Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond and Film Journalist Bob Fisher – Vilmos Zsigmond’s scene-specific commentary is carried over from the 2005 DVD. It’s actually a fairly thorough discussion of the movie and the way it was made, although Zsigmond can be a little hard to understand at times. Bob Fisher drives the discussion by constantly prodding Zsigmond to explain how various shots were accomplished. (Zsigmond thankfully discloses that they were not actually shooting a deer during the hunt…)
Deleted and Extended Scenes – (16:57, 480p, Non-Anamorphic) – This is actually an unchaptered collection of unused takes and angles from three moments in the movie. The POW Russian Roulette scene is shown from two unused angles for a specific part of the dialogue. A shot of John Savage in the water cage is shown, with Cimino shouting direction to him from offscreen. A scene of Christopher Walken at a VA hospital is shown in two unused takes, offering different flavors of his characterization on each side of the coverage. This material was previously included on the 2005 DVD.
Theatrical Trailer – (2:47, 480p, Full Frame) - The film’s original trailer is included here in standard definition (and in somewhat distressed condition).
100 Years of Universal: Academy Award Winners (9:35, 1080p) (SAME FEATURETTE FOUND ON ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT) – This high definition featurette discusses the Universal movies that have won the Best Picture Oscar, and then gets into the various actors and creative people who have won for their work on Universal movies. Most of the running time is taken up with clips from the movies in discussion.
BD-Live - The more general BD-Live screen is accessible via the menu, which makes various online materials available, including tickers, trailers and special events.
My Scenes - The usual bookmarking feature is included here.
DVD – The Legacy Edition DVD from 2005 is included in the package. This is only the first disc of that package, but the only extra left out of this package from the second disc is the text Production Notes. The Legacy Edition DVD presents the movie in a standard definition transfer with a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix in English (448 kbps) and 2.0 Mono mixes in English and Spanish. The commentary by Vilmos Zsigmond is included as an additional audio track.
As noted before, there is no Main Menu for this Blu-ray. The film is subtitled in English, French and Spanish on the Blu-ray and the DVD. The usual pop-up menu is present. There is an identical chapter list for the movie on both discs.
IN THE END...
The Deer Hunter is a powerful film, and one that continues to be worth seeing today. If you haven’t seen this film and you’re an aficionado of great movies, you should see this one. This Blu-ray presentation is a great way to experience it. The release is Highly Recommended for purchase or rental.
Kevin Koster
March 18, 2012.
Equipment now in use in this Home Theater:
Panasonic 65” VT30 Plasma 3D HDTV – set at “THX” picture mode
Denon AVR-3311Cl Receiver
Oppo BDP-93 Blu-ray Player
PS3 Player (used for calculation of bitrates for picture and sound)
5 Mirage Speakers (Front Left/Center/Right, Surround Back Left/Right)
2 Sony Speakers (Surround Left/Right – middle of room)
Martin Logan Dynamo 700 Subwoofer
