The Wasteland Reviewer

The Wasteland Gems: The Deer Hunter (1978)

How do you choose what to watch on all those streaming services you have access to? There are so many options that it is just overwhelming. These services constantly release new content and overshadow all the great films from the past that are already there and ready to watch. Now there is The Wasteland Gems! Here is a great film on streaming right now that you should check out this weekend:

The Deer Hunter (1978)

What was the biggest effect on the whole Baby Boomer Generation back in the 1970s? Vietnam. This war is one of the most controversial in our nation’s history. This was not us fighting for our freedom and revolution. We were not trying to end a worldwide war affecting everyone. The muskiness of the true motivation for the Vietnam War still looms over our country. This was also a war we did not win. Our soldiers went through much in their time in the jungles of Vietnam but there were those who had too much blood on their hands as well. A whole generation of young adults were drastically affected, and their lives were forever changed. Director Michael Cimino’s epic film The Deer Hunter captures all the dark layers of this generation, and their lives centered around Vietnam.

What is the heart and soul of Cimino’s war film? Friendships and dynamics. The whole first hour of this film is set up. A last hunting trip before shipping out. A wedding to bring everyone together. The Deer Hunter is about a group of young people from a small steel mill town in Pennsylvania. This blue-collar life is captured so perfectly and how life is centered around this mill. But Cimino captures that transition from this work centric community to this war centric community. The dynamic between Michael (Robert De Niro), Nick (Christopher Walken), and Steven (John Savage) has plenty of life and authenticity. This life and love are so essential to contextualize the evolution of these men because of their experience in Vietnam. Meryl Streep’s Linda and John Cazale’s Stan add even more layers to this group and explore how their lives will change forever. We became connected to this group in the first hour before the war tears them apart.

Just how effective is Cimino’s exploration of tension and suspense in these war sequences? The second act of this film drops our three protagonists into one of the most horrific nightmares imaginable. One of the most intense sequences in the history of cinema is the Russian Roulette sequence in this film. The Vietcong forced American soldiers to play this dangerous and deadly game. Cimino built that suspense with every pulling of the triggers. Any of our protagonists can be gone in a flash. We know that…so do they. The performances by these actors are off-the-charts. The fear, anxiety, and rage in De Niro’s face when he pulls that trigger is so authentic which makes this scene much more poignant and impactful. The production design, costumes, and make-up make this scene disgusting and grimy. As an audience member, Cimino makes you feel like you are stuck in this horrific nightmare with Michael, Nick, and Steven as well.

What is the true power of Cimino’s epic cinematic experience? All the thematic exploration of the third act of The Deer Hunter for sure. The way that Cimino navigates the effects of war is poignant and challenging. Michael is the one the most “unphased” by this experience, but he still has a coldness, distance, and disconnect that makes his return to Pennsylvania so uncomfortable. The exploration of his connection with Linda is compelling with De Niro and Streep delivering something quite impactful. Steven is an example of someone who physically lost parts of themselves. The audience is forced to see the psychological burden that this physical loss can have through Steven heightened depression. Nick is an example of someone who never mentally left Vietnam. He is a hollow human. A Zombie. One of the most emotionally devastating and iconic moments in this epic is Michael and Nick’s last round of Russian Roulette together.

Is The Deer Hunter a worthy classic worth a stream? This is a towering achievement of character work and exploration of the Vietnam War. Few films have dug so deep into the humanity of our soldiers and then show just how devastating the lasting effects of Vietnam can be. The Vietnam scenes are iconic in the film for sure (downright terrifying for sure) but the heart and soul of the film focuses on the before and after of this war. An epic scale and runtime. A legendary and talented cast. This is a true testament to the power of 70s filmmaking.

The Deer Hunter is streaming on Netflix.