And the Best Picture goes to....

Didn’t love this film, but didn’t hate it either.  It could have been shorter had they eliminated 10 minutes from the first act and maybe 5 minutes from the second and third.

This opens up as a slice of life in blue collar America with a group of friends getting off of work and preparing for their buddy’s wedding.  Though the first act does stretch for 50 minutes, Cimino does effectively develop his characters and the bond that exists between them, which is necessary when you consider what is coming down the road for this group.

The plot does move slowly and many of the scenes do seem drawn out.  Yet the performances are all strong, especially when you consider the pool of fairly new talent that goes on to achieve super stardom.  (Such is the example that the “Deer Hunter” is one of Meryl Streep’s earliest film roles as well as the first of her many Oscar nominations.)

Christopher Walken was the only actor from this film to walk off with an Oscar.  He delivered some strong scenes, including where he’s asked his name in the hospital and can’t get the words out, demonstrating just how shellshocked he is from his experience in the Viet Cong prison.  From that point he becomes completely unhinged.

Surprisingly John Savage didn’t receive a supporting actor nomination and his character lost his legs and finds himself confined to a wheelchair—in my opinion quite a similarity to Jon Voight’s character in “Coming Home”, which won him Best Actor that very same year, and later on for Gary Sinese’s Supporting Actor nomination in “Forrest Gump”.

I also thought that the director could have worked harder to establish a proper timeline.  When the film began, I wasn’t certain what the year or decade was and to me it seemed that it was set sometime in the early to mid-1970’s, not the late 60’s at all.  Perhaps the use of music, a movie marquee with a film title or guests talking of current events during the wedding would have helped determine that point.

In conclusion, “The Deer Hunter” stands as a powerful and haunting exploration of friendship, sacrifice, and the impact of war. Through its compelling narrative and exceptional performances, particularly by Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken, the film delves deep into how trauma can shape the lives of the characters, thus leaving a lasting impression on the audience.