I'm thinking about renting it sometime this week. Is it a good movie? Is it as good as Apocalypse Now?

Apocalypse Now is better IMO. I rate them both ****.

The Deer Hunter is the best Vietnam movie IMO, I don't consider AN a Nam movie. It brilliantly shows the effects of war, before, during, and after.

Good God man, where have you been?!?!!!!!!!? Yes definately go rent it. I think it is better than Apoc. Deer Hunter rates #5 on my list.

Sweet.

I think the Deer Hunter is an excellent movie, the only thing is that it upsets me for days on end, worth it though!

Excellant Film great acting and story line,best part is the Russian Roulete scene's,just imagine being in that situation,defintley worth watching takes at least 2/3 views to really apprciate the film on the whole.

Yeah, I watched it once. I bought it, but have never watched since. It can be difficult to watch because of its heaviness.

The Doc

MFA Top 100 Review , by me.

I think it's a much better film than Apocalypse Now, mainly thanks to its humane acting. But when you think about, a comparison is redundant, as they're entirely different films.

Mick

It is very long, it is VERY dark. Some people can't handle it others can. I'd say its kind of like a game of Russian Roulette.

My problem with The Deer Hunter is the wedding scene. It is ridiculously long.

And ridiculously necessary. If it wasn't as long as it is, we wouldn't care for the characters as much as we do. When Michael (De Niro) goes back to Vientam in search of Nick (Walken), we know exactly what is at stake, because of that wedding sequence and the deer hunt before they go to war.

Mick

Not only is this a "war movie", it's about small town values and friendships. Basic relationships. A deeply humanistic film. DeNiro and Streep are superb.

I just watched it...

WOW. What an unbelievable movie. One of my top 5 favorites. DeNiro was mind blowing as usual, and watching him, the greatest actor of all time, act with Meryl Streep, the greatest actress of all time, was just great.

Apocalypse Now is a story of one mission. The Deer Hunter is an in-depth examination of the way the Vietnam war affects the lives of people in a small town in the US. The Deer Hunter is way better.

I have a question:

In the scene where they go deer hunting, and DeNiro shoots and misses the deer, was that symbolic of something? How was it significant to the story?

I think that's a ridiculously simplified plot. That's like saying "Oh, Taxi Driver is the story of some crazy taxi driver."

De Niro's best performance.One of the "Strongest" movies ever if not the strongest.

I agree. It was bone chilling the way he reacted when the vietcong guy kept slapping him. If somebody kept slapping you in the face and you couldn't do anything about it, you'd go crazy. And DeNiro depicted that perfectly. Gave me chills.

I think that's a ridiculously simplified plot.[/b][/quote]And yet, in this context, I think it's a valid point. Coppola's film isn't really much more than a beautiful-to-look-at poem about one man's journey into insanity.

Mick

Has anyone read the book A-Now was based on?

Yeah, The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. A genius of a writer, but the book isn't one I'd recommend to just anyone. Seriously heavy-going is probably the best way to describe it.

Mick