DVD Review HTF REVIEW: The Deer Hunter (1 Viewer)

[Steve Tannehill]

I guess I'll pull out the scanner... it said Dolby Stereo for The Deer Hunter.

- Steve

 

[Felix Martinez]

Over the years, I've observed with interest the slow decline in appreciation of Cimino's Deer Hunter.

Perhaps I approached the remastered DVD version of the film this past weekend with a clean slate. I had not seen the film in years due in large part to its utter horrible presentations on home video. This new version is absolutely miraculous.

And perhaps the Vietnam sequence was far from my mind when the film started. For me, this film is about friendships under duress and about appreciating life. It is a firm statement condemning the bullshit we do to ourselves: creating (and self-imposing) stress to control, to feel superior, or to feel sorry for ourselves. This can be taken on a personal level or as a metaphor for larger sociological or political issues. I focused on the personal, and was greatly rewarded with an incredible film experience.

With this fine release, I hope that The Deer Hunter will start to take on a new life on home video and earn newfound appreciation in the years to come.

 

[JohnRice]

That was an excellent post Felix. You have perfectly expressed why I think The Deer Hunter is such a great film. In my opinion, you get what it is actually about when so many others fail to do so. The so-called "manipulation" and "plot holes" are not important. It also amazes me to see these comments when an infinitely more manipulative film like Crash does not get the same criticism. I also can't help but wonder how many people's opinion of the film is colored by Cimino's track record since.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Nice review, Steve. Unlike you, however, I consider this film one of the absolute greatest Vietnam-based features ever made (and I do not care for Platoon, though another film from that same year, Full Metal Jacket, is perhaps the finest Vietnam-related film ever made).

 

[JohnRice]

Jack, we are in complete agreement. The Deer Hunter is manupilative, when it lacks the melodramatic scenes such as Willem Dafoe, backlit, on his knees raising his arms to the sky with bombs exploding as he undulates from the bullets hitting his body....from which he survives? Yeah, right, The Deer Hunter is the manipulative one.

 

[Haggai]

LOL, John...but actually, Dafoe doesn't survive that scene, he survived the earlier one where he was shot by Berenger.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Felix, a superb post.

You know, I think I'll give The Deer Hunter
another chance over the next day or two.

I have to admit, it has been almost 20 years and
my last viewing was on VHS.

I'll check back in a few days and let you know
if I have gained any new-found appreciation for it.

 

[Hal F]

Sorry, but manipulations and plot holes are important to some people. We all have different standards by which we judge movies.
Haven't seen Crash. The reviews I've read of it, indicate that it is, as you indicate, very over-handed (manipulative) in its treatment of racism. That is one reason why I have avoided it.
And, of course, no matter how bad Crash is, that doesn't make Deer Hunter itself any better. Except maybe it doesn't stink as much as Crash.

There are some good things to be said for Deer Hunter: great musical soundtrack, filming and acting.

 

[JohnRice]

Hal, I guess my real point is, I don't perceive the aggregious plot holes and manipulation that I hear complaints about. it takes a few (what I consider to be minor) liberties, but no more and probably fewer than most movies.

In fact, I have yet to hear of any specifics, other than the "manipulation" of the Russian Roulette theme and singing God Bless America at the end. That, in my book, is far less than most movies.

 

[Doug_B]

Interesting how the opinions on this thread are so polarized. I believe I've seen this movie only once in it's entirety, and that was in '79 in college. Not knowing anything about the movie beforehand, I expected to do the usual party-it-up-on-campus-on-Saturday-night thing after the movie, but that was impossible to do after watching it. It was a powerful experience for me, to say the least. Whether I will be as "depressed" watching it now I do not know, but I've waited for this decent release to find out. I will purchase or at least rent.

Doug

 

[Joe D]

Sign me up for seeing a war movie by Terry Gilliam, that would be awesome.

 

[Hal F]

- all of these roll off the top of my head and I haven't seen the movie for years.
There's also the mixed up philosophical point Cimino is trying to make: life is just a roulette game, we really don't have any control in the final analysis over our fates (its all up to that random single bullet that may or may not hit us) and then he completely undercuts it with the fact that Michael is rewarded for having the kind of character that helps him to presevere over all adversity.


As I said before, John, the movie is in many respects very well made. For instance, I think whoever did the editing for the russian roulette scenes did a fantastic job. Because of the craft that went into the filming of this, I think it easy to see why it has the emotional impact it has for so many.
But it just seems to me that when one stands back and tries to see what the movie is really about, it loses most of its luster

 

[Kevin M]

Happened all the time in Nam, in WWII the battle field was wide enough to separate these men, but in Nam it was so confused at any given time just what the objective was that often holes like that happened. I know because my two uncles and their childhood friend all served in the same platoon in Vietnam. It happens.

 

[JohnRice]

Thanks to contributions from Kevin & Felix, a great movie just keeps getting better. BTW, this thread motivated me to buy and watch the SE yesterday. I had already sold my old copy. Despite the "faults" so many are so eager to find, I still think it is a great film which holds up very well in a philosophical way.

 

[Steve Tannehill]

I want to thank everyone for their contribtions to this thread. It's a pretty powerful statement that a movie can retain its controversy even after more than 25 years.

Now who wants to tackle Heaven's Gate, Cimino's oft-maligned follow-up to The Deer Hunter?

- Steve

 

[Erik_H]

The 70MM release of "The Deer Hunter" appears to have been very limited. A website (www.fromscripttodvd.com) that tracks 70MM releases states that the film was shown in 70MM in several LA theaters in 1978-79; there is no listing for a 70MM presentation in NYC. I saw the film twice during its initial reserved seat engagements, first at the Coronet in NYC and then at the Charles in Boston (the Charles was the top theater in Boston at the time and often showed films in 70MM). Both theaters were showing the film exclusively in their respective markets and neither screened a 70MM print.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

Wow, it's been three years since I've seen this movie.

Click here to see what I'm talking about.

Good posts from John and Elizabeth.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Dome,

Great reading. Thanks for the link.

I have Deer Hunter on my list of DVDs
to watch today. I'm just trying to muster up
some motivation to get through the first hour
of it.

 

[JohnRice]

Dome, I'm curious if you are saying The Deer Hunter is the least "good" of the great Vietnam movies because it is the least about Vietnam? Does the fact it is not really being about Vietnam make it a lesser film?

 

[Mark Zimmer]

It's a pretty good movie if you fast-forward through the interminable wedding sequence. The man really needs an editor, though.