reposted from moviebuffs: response to a "review" of the deer hunter
A reply to this post.
First, one wonders if the reviewer paid attention to the movie. They state that Axel went to war and came home. I don't know anybody who watched this move that claims this. The guys who went to war and came home are Michael, Nick, and Steven. Perhaps the reviewer didn't watch the wedding reception scene. Perhaps they thought it "largely forgettable," which is how they termed most the movie (except for the russian roulette shots).
I once saw this movie 12 times over a period of two years. The penultimate time I saw it was two years ago October on the big screen at the University of Texas at Austin, which houses the Robert De Niro Film Archive. (Seeing it on the big screen made it that much more powerful experience. But I loved it before that.) I saw it once since then, as usual, by DVD on my TV.
I would ask the reviewer and others which of the following scenes are "largely forgettable":
* SPOILERS *
1. The wedding ceremony
2. The extended wedding reception
3. LInda getting hit by her father
4. The boys singing "I love you baby" in the pool hall
5. The shot that shows both Stan and John in focus, when John is playing the piano
6. The boys on the way to the deer hunting spot (getting out of the car to urinate)
7. The boys eating lunch before they go deer hunting; the confrontation between Michael and Stan; Stan's stupid gun
8. After the war, the confrontation between Michael and Stan; Stan's stupid gun
9. The drop of wine that falls onto the bride's dress
10. The Vietnam veteran saying "fuck it'"
11. Michael running naked through the street after the reception
12. Michael promising Nick that he wouldn't leave him behind in Vietnam
13. After the war, when Michael returns home, but by-passes the party in his honor
14. Michael in the motel room after the war; here we don't need a close up, but it is one of the most poignant scenes in film history
15 The reunion of Michael and Linda after the war
16. When Linda asks Michael if they might go to bed, just to comfort one another
17. The deer hunting scene after the war; Michael misses the deer on purpose; this scene is a mystical experience, with the clouds/mist in perfect formation, and the selection of sacred music from the Orthodox Divine Liturgy (aka Mass)
18. Michael and Nick talking before the war about "one shot" and the way the trees are
19. Nick in the hospital in Saigan -- Forgettable?????
20. Michael visiting Angela, and with Angela's child shooting that plastic pistol at Michael
21. Michael visiting Steven in the hospital
22. Michael visiting Linda at her place of work
23. The opening shot of the truck
24. The later shot of Michael passing the truck on the inside and swerving around to park in front of their hang out
25. Nick asking Linda if she will marry him, at the wedding reception
26. Michael fumbling for words to say to Linda at the wedding reception
27. Linda fumbling for words to say to Michael at their post-war re-union
28. The various mistakes the actors made that are captured on film in the movie, including the guys falling over during dancing and while carrying each other, and the girls dropping wedding gifts in the street
29. The helicopter rescue shot
30. Nick visiting the brothel in Saigon
31. John scrambling eggs
32. The crowds of people evacuating Saigon
33. Michael and Steven's drop from the helicopter, and the ensuing scenes with Michael and Steven
34. Nick refusing to sleep with the prostitute in Saigon
35. Nick encountering the French man
36. Michael running after the car that carried Nick and the French man
37. ...
If all this is forgettable, then so is real life.
Yeah the film is about enduring hardship. But to me it is also about friendship. Michael stayed true to his promise and never abandoned his friends. At the end all the friends are reunited -- on an equal footing. Here, as compared with the rest of the movie, Michael is on the same plane (a human being) with the rest of the major players: Linda, Stan, Steven, Angela, Axel. And the healing that can come out of such a tragedy that impinged so greatly on each of the character's lives - and of course the country.
The movie is famous for its russian roulette scenes. (The person I took to see the movie at University of Texas turned to me and said "That was some scary shit.") Yet they would have no impact were it not for the ONE HOUR of real life that takes place before the film even gets to Vietnam; that is pretty darn long time for a movie that is often characterized as a war movie. And the two and a half hours that takes place before the scene of Michael and Nick playing roulette with each other.
During that two year period, this film made it into my Top Five all time list. Perhaps since my last viewing it has dropped into my Top Ten list. But I would never describe it as largely forgettable.
Another thing is that for such a powerful and haunting film it is not based on a pre-existing work (book); it is Written Directly for the Screen.
First, one wonders if the reviewer paid attention to the movie. They state that Axel went to war and came home. I don't know anybody who watched this move that claims this. The guys who went to war and came home are Michael, Nick, and Steven. Perhaps the reviewer didn't watch the wedding reception scene. Perhaps they thought it "largely forgettable," which is how they termed most the movie (except for the russian roulette shots).
I once saw this movie 12 times over a period of two years. The penultimate time I saw it was two years ago October on the big screen at the University of Texas at Austin, which houses the Robert De Niro Film Archive. (Seeing it on the big screen made it that much more powerful experience. But I loved it before that.) I saw it once since then, as usual, by DVD on my TV.
I would ask the reviewer and others which of the following scenes are "largely forgettable":
* SPOILERS *
1. The wedding ceremony
2. The extended wedding reception
3. LInda getting hit by her father
4. The boys singing "I love you baby" in the pool hall
5. The shot that shows both Stan and John in focus, when John is playing the piano
6. The boys on the way to the deer hunting spot (getting out of the car to urinate)
7. The boys eating lunch before they go deer hunting; the confrontation between Michael and Stan; Stan's stupid gun
8. After the war, the confrontation between Michael and Stan; Stan's stupid gun
9. The drop of wine that falls onto the bride's dress
10. The Vietnam veteran saying "fuck it'"
11. Michael running naked through the street after the reception
12. Michael promising Nick that he wouldn't leave him behind in Vietnam
13. After the war, when Michael returns home, but by-passes the party in his honor
14. Michael in the motel room after the war; here we don't need a close up, but it is one of the most poignant scenes in film history
15 The reunion of Michael and Linda after the war
16. When Linda asks Michael if they might go to bed, just to comfort one another
17. The deer hunting scene after the war; Michael misses the deer on purpose; this scene is a mystical experience, with the clouds/mist in perfect formation, and the selection of sacred music from the Orthodox Divine Liturgy (aka Mass)
18. Michael and Nick talking before the war about "one shot" and the way the trees are
19. Nick in the hospital in Saigan -- Forgettable?????
20. Michael visiting Angela, and with Angela's child shooting that plastic pistol at Michael
21. Michael visiting Steven in the hospital
22. Michael visiting Linda at her place of work
23. The opening shot of the truck
24. The later shot of Michael passing the truck on the inside and swerving around to park in front of their hang out
25. Nick asking Linda if she will marry him, at the wedding reception
26. Michael fumbling for words to say to Linda at the wedding reception
27. Linda fumbling for words to say to Michael at their post-war re-union
28. The various mistakes the actors made that are captured on film in the movie, including the guys falling over during dancing and while carrying each other, and the girls dropping wedding gifts in the street
29. The helicopter rescue shot
30. Nick visiting the brothel in Saigon
31. John scrambling eggs
32. The crowds of people evacuating Saigon
33. Michael and Steven's drop from the helicopter, and the ensuing scenes with Michael and Steven
34. Nick refusing to sleep with the prostitute in Saigon
35. Nick encountering the French man
36. Michael running after the car that carried Nick and the French man
37. ...
If all this is forgettable, then so is real life.
Yeah the film is about enduring hardship. But to me it is also about friendship. Michael stayed true to his promise and never abandoned his friends. At the end all the friends are reunited -- on an equal footing. Here, as compared with the rest of the movie, Michael is on the same plane (a human being) with the rest of the major players: Linda, Stan, Steven, Angela, Axel. And the healing that can come out of such a tragedy that impinged so greatly on each of the character's lives - and of course the country.
The movie is famous for its russian roulette scenes. (The person I took to see the movie at University of Texas turned to me and said "That was some scary shit.") Yet they would have no impact were it not for the ONE HOUR of real life that takes place before the film even gets to Vietnam; that is pretty darn long time for a movie that is often characterized as a war movie. And the two and a half hours that takes place before the scene of Michael and Nick playing roulette with each other.
During that two year period, this film made it into my Top Five all time list. Perhaps since my last viewing it has dropped into my Top Ten list. But I would never describe it as largely forgettable.
Another thing is that for such a powerful and haunting film it is not based on a pre-existing work (book); it is Written Directly for the Screen.