The Deer Hunter

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The Deer Hunter

R

1978

3h 3m

War

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

86%

Tomatometer

129 Reviews

91%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

In 1968, Michael (Robert De Niro), Nick (Christopher Walken) and Steven (John Savage), lifelong friends from a working-class Pennsylvania steel town, prepare to ship out overseas following Steven's elaborate wedding and one final group hunting trip. In Vietnam, their dreams of military honor are quickly shattered by the inhumanities of war; even those who survive are haunted by the experience, as is Nick's hometown sweetheart, Linda (Meryl Streep).

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Critics Consensus

Its greatness is blunted by its length and one-sided point of view, but the film's weaknesses are overpowered by Michael Cimino's sympathetic direction and a series of heartbreaking performances from Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, and Christopher Walken.

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Wendy Ide

The Times (UK)

11/29/2022

... Perhaps a little cumbersome, but it’s hard not to get caught up in the film’s big, sentimental sweep.

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Stanley Kauffmann

The New Republic

08/30/2022

So many of the elements are so good that it all adds up to a pity. Someone, or more than one -- writer or producers or director or editor or all -- fogged up about why this picture was being made and whether it was on the rails.

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Charles Champlin

Los Angeles Times

08/30/2022

A film to be debated and argued over seriously because it is an earnest, serious and impressive work, despite the reservations it is necessary to have about it. In a thin and evasive year, The Deer Hunter joins a thin company that aspire to greatness.

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Richard Freedman

Newark Star-Ledger

Jan 12

It is a flawed but important movie, both as a work of art and for what it has to tell us about ourselves.

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Sean Burns

Crooked Marquee

11/22/2023

There’s something elemental about the movie’s boys’ adventure machismo, a primal force that overpowers Cimino’s more cartoonish flourishes.

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Mark Johnson

Awards Daily

06/08/2023

Michael Cimino’s tale about the physical, emotional, and psychological impacts the Vietnam War had on a group of friends remains one of film's ultimate masterpieces. Very few movies have ever captured the unsparing aftermath of war quite as devastatingly.

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Guillermo A

@Guillermo.Almeida Jan 8

The most groundbreaking story ever told about Vietnam is perfect. Walked and DeNiro at their acting best with a Cazale and Streep as a side dish for this perfect recipe.

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Maksim S

@MaksimusMovies Dec 19

The Deer Hunter is often labeled a war film, but it’s far more a study of friendship, trauma, and the quiet destruction of ordinary lives. The Vietnam War is not the subject so much as the rupture — the event that fractures a tight-knit community and permanently alters the men who leave it. Its deliberate pacing and extended character moments demand patience, but they’re essential to the film’s emotional weight. Powerful performances and an unflinching look at psychological damage elevate it beyond combat spectacle. Somber, exhausting, and deeply human, The Deer Hunter is less about war itself than the scars it leaves behind.

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rex w

Dec 11

Some of the most intense scenes in cinema history.

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Kimmo K

@Kimble98 Nov 21

The russian roulette scenes were intense, but the film as a whole was way too long.

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Jack F

@MovieFan111 Nov 17

Not your typical war movie. Those caged roulette scenes were really intense.

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Harold C.

@ChambersContent Sep 29

A long but rewarding watch, this heavy character study thrives on powerhouse performances and a balance of intimacy and intensity, leaving behind not just iconic moments but a lasting reflection on friendship, trauma, and the cost of war.

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Michael Cimino

Director

Robert De Niro

Michael Vronsky

Christopher Walken

Nick

John Savage

Steven

John Cazale

Stanley "Stosh"

Meryl Streep

Linda

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Synopsis

In 1968, Michael (Robert De Niro), Nick (Christopher Walken) and Steven (John Savage), lifelong friends from a working-class Pennsylvania steel town, prepare to ship out overseas following Steven's elaborate wedding and one final group hunting trip. In Vietnam, their dreams of military honor are quickly shattered by the inhumanities of war; even those who survive are haunted by the experience, as is Nick's hometown sweetheart, Linda (Meryl Streep).

Director: Michael Cimino
Producer: Michael Cimino, Michael Deeley, Barry Spikings
Screenwriter: Michael Cimino, Deric Washburn
Distributor: Universal Pictures, MCA/Universal Pictures [us]
Production Co: Universal Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: War, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 8, 1978, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 2, 2016
Runtime: 3h 3m
Sound Mix: Surround

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