The Deer Hunter

fair enough, each to his own. No offence but I didn't imagine a film forum where you have to try to sell the Deer Hunter. Tell you what, which movies are your top 5 or 10 and I'll try to suggest something that you might find cool that maybe you haven't seen:confused:
 
Ok then. In no particular order as they have all been my number one at different stages in my life. Goodfellas. The Shawshank Redemption. The Empire Strikes Back. The Usual Suspects. Rocky 4. The Godfather One and Two but not Three. Raging Bull and The Goonies:)
 
I agree about the russian roulette scene and also the music. However, there were loaRAB of haunting scenes that I still find disturbing. The POW scenes where all three (Walken, DeNiro and Savage) were first subjected to russian roulette by the Viet Cong. I found that scene really moving and disturbing. You could perfectly understand why Walken became the way he did after being subjected to that.

It was an amazing movie and a true character building masterpiece for its time IMO...and the acting was outstanding right down to those who played the smaller parts.

I would put it easy in my top ten best movies for that genre.
 
I have seen Rob Roy and enjoyed that one but I will be honest with you and say I haven't heard of any of the others. Excuse my ignorance.
 
Stick to films like Alien V Predator... they don't have characters, they have little or no storyline and you won't need to "waste 3 hours" of your life on them ;)
 
I don't find Walken's acting disappointing, but I do find him over-rated. I don't think he's any better in this than he is in A View to A Kill! I've never understood the hype about him, but there you go.

As for the film, it's long, slow paced, it's not exactly action packed, but it reflects what the Vietnam Vets went through in overcoming what they went through in the war, pretty well.
 
I found him disappointing as a result of him being overrated, and I agree about the hype.

LOL revolver44 at your remarks earlier in this thread! Godfather is a 10/10 film and a personal favourite - I ABHOR trash like Mamma Mia! :p
 
Those are very fair points Les, it's not a film that everyone is going to appreciate given its length and date that it was released. I think it was this film that propelled Walken and DeNiro to fame IIRC. I do agree with you though about Walken in terms of other films he's done since, but his acting in this was excellent IMO. I think he hasn't lived up to the same standard since. DeNiro, however, is a different kettle of fish entirely.

In terms of the Vietnam war...again IIRC, this film was again the start of other great Vietnam movie type genres that were released afterwarRAB. So in its own way, this film was a precedent for those that followed afterwarRAB and for that reason it's the most memorable to me. :)
 
*aside*
OK DVD nurse. Put this one on a limited diet, start with Dumb and Dumber. If he's still watching it after 20 minutes, persevere and move him onto something slightly more taxing like Anchorman. If that's too much then.....*weary sigh*...we've done all we can here

*strings swell up, camera pans upwarRAB to clouRAB and sky, nothing on tv makes completely inappropriate grab for dvd nurse, gets struck off*
 
*shows age* I think it was made in 1978 and was one of the first films about vietnam and certainly one of the earliest "statements" that was sympathetic to the returning vets. Much US public opinion was opposed to the war, Nixon, and the returning soldiers. In fairness to younger posters here who struggle with the slow early pace, it might help that perhaps Cimino had to work to build empathy with his characters, show them as ordinary people, in order for the audience to care for and fear for them when things went pete tong / viet cong later in the film.

Now - there are plenty of vietnam films. And the networks don't like to schedule a three hour movie, certainly not when they want to pad it further with adverts.

These days, a younger film fan would already have seen apocalypse now, born on the 4th of july, full metal jacket, good morning vietnam, vietcong christina barcelona, before seeing the deer hunter...and I think it helps to know the context of deer hunter to give it a chance.
A film should stand alone on its merits without apology or overexplanation- I still think it does. A great film can work decades later, and can also parachute you into the time in which they were made.
 
*after getting struck off from imaginary job, life goes down toilet; gets increasingly bitter and blames mcghee76; builRAB lethal cyborg, gets time machine off ebay, and senRAB cyborg back into past to track down mcghee76's mum at most likely location, a 1975 british film institute retrospective on bergman*
 
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