The Deer Hunter (R)

Set out in three distinct acts, the story follows the lives of three Russian-American steelworkers and lifelong best friends; Michael (Robert De Niro) Nick (Christopher Walken), and Steven (John Savage), and their blue-collar lives beginning in the steel mills of a small town outside of Pittsburgh and landing them in the raging horrors of the jungles of Saigon.

Reviewing “The Deer Hunter” on the basis of analytics clearly renders it a solid film. Ripe with symbolism and an abundance of terrific megastar performances, a film like “The Deer Hunter” fits perfectly in the classroom of any collegiate course in cinema. Robert De Niro is one of my all time favorite actors and shows in the role of Michael that he’s brilliant far beyond words and is so much more than a thuggish mobster.

The ambiance of the film is outstanding.  From the first scene, you’ll feel as though you are transported back to early 1970s Pittsburgh. From the clothing and the cars to the overall gloomy tone and smoke spewing factories, it screams of its time frame and as a result adds character to the story.  Likewise, the Vietnam scenes were filmed on location in Thailand making for a very realistic display.

Immersed in the depths of “The Deer Hunter” is a powerful and well renowned scene involving a sinister game of Russian Roulette.  The three primary stars do a masterful job in bringing the tension and downright terror involved in the game, but would you expect less from De Niro or Walken?  “The Deer Hunter” also marks the feature debut of Hollywood queen Meryl Streep, whose quite fetching as a 29-year-old rookie, playing Michael’s love interest Linda. Though her time on screen is limited until the third act, Streep demonstrates a charm and candor that mark a perfect foreshadowing to her illustrious career.

A review of “The Deer Hunter” through the eyes of a casual fan yields a far different result. The film runs over three hours in length, far too long for any movie. The majority of the scenes are overdrawn and painfully boring.  One in particular is the wedding and reception of Steven and Angela (Rutanya Alda), the primary event of the first act. The reception scene in particular is drawn out in a seemingly real time format with very little happening in the way of dialogue and progression. Before the chosen few who “get it” jump down my throat, I’m aware of the reason for the scene (as a way of establishing the friendship of the men and their seemingly normal lives that are about to be disrupted by the war.) But overkill ruins it. Other scenes are edited in a similar way with excess minutes that could have, and should have, landed on the floor of the editing studio. A good hour could have easily been removed, which would in turn have made the film that much better.

One of the more intriguing aspects is of the secondary character of Stan. Actor John Cazale, known for his role as the bumbling Fredo Corleone in “The Godfather,” was diagnosed with terminal cancer after landing the part, and at the time was romantically involved with Streep. When producers of “The Deer Hunter” learned of Cazale’s illness, they wanted to remove him from the film completely but Streep threatened to quit if they did. Always a consummate professional, you can literally see Cazale deteriorating as time in the movie progresses (remember this was 1978, in the days of limited makeup and cover-up effects).

Cazale passed away on March 12, 1978 at the young age of 42 – nine months before the release of the movie. Knowing the fate of Cazale going into the film gave me a better grasp of the situation. To see a brilliant actor interacting with his costars at a time when he knew he would soon be gone (and that this would be his final role) is a shuddering concept. While De Niro, Walken, and Streep used “The Deer Hunter” to launch their decades-long highly successful careers, it was the final stop for John Cazale. In a brief six-year Hollywood career, Cazale only appeared in five films – and each received nominations for Best Picture, the only actor to date with this distinction.

If you are interested in film history, “The Deer Hunter” is something you may want to check out. But from an enjoyment standpoint it’s a tough pill to swallow. In fact, if the same movie were anything other than “The Deer hunter” I would have flipped it off midway through and flunked it outright. But sometimes a film’s reputation can be persuasive, even for me.

– by Matt Christopher