The Deer Hunter: A Review by Me drewg
The images used here (besides the resized cover, which was resized and hosted by me) were all borrowed from JoBlo.com and hosted by me. I am eager to make this review as JoBlo as possible because Mr.Blo himself will be reading this. I hope he enjoys what he sees.
Reviewed By: DrewG.
Director: Michael Cimino
Actors:
Robert DeNiro
Christopher Walken
Meryl Streep
Movie:
DVD:
Overall:
The movies opens at the wedding of three companions living in their Russian Orthodox community in Pennsylvania. Shortly after the conclusion of the wedding, the three friends head to Vietnam. The movie follows their reunion in Vietnam under the most dreaded circumstances. Their fight for survival is only the beginning as they struggle to rid themselves of the mental anguish of the Vietnam War.
The Deer Hunter, a film made in 1978, has stood the test of time very well. It is still as powerful and as realistic as I imagine it was during its initial release. The movie itself nearly swept the 1979 Academy Awards, and while The Deer Hunter is a nicely-crafted film, it is not perfect. The Deer Hunter, however, is undebatably a great piece of American cinema. The story is of three young men from a Russian factory town in Pennsylvania who go to the Vietnam. The film isn’t really about the three friends sticking together, but more about the effects the war has on each individual. This is just another superb acting performance on Robert DeNiro’s larger than life resume. Pair DeNiro with Christopher Walken (who has also been credited as God himself), and you’ve got yourself a combo that can’t lose. It’s evident that the movie is well acted and because of this the movie pulls at the heart strings when it needs to and builds a slow and foreboding feeling on the viewer. You get sucked into this dark and seedy setting of Vietnam, but you also feel the hope, innocence and fun of this Russian town in Pennsylvania.
Worth mentioning is the beautiful on location filming in Vietnam. The war scenes are not only intense, but also painful to watch because of how real the settings are and how brutal what is going on actually is. Michael Cimino has a colorful eye behind the camera and he uses it throughout the film in many ways. The viewers get these long drawn out scenes, and even though there is a long without an actual cut, they are still drawn into the scene and what the characters are saying or doing. What ends up dragging down the The Deer Hunter for me are the holes that lie within the movie’s logic. For long spurts in the movie I felt uninformed, and I even felt like I had missed something someone had said during a scene that was relevant to what was going on. It’s unfortunate that discussing the holes I see the movie’s logic would be spoiler-filled, because if they weren’t I would have been happy to discuss them in this review. The Deer Hunter is infamous for its bloated length. The film runs a shade over three hours, though I will honestly say that it isn’t as boring as people had made it out to be. When people talk about the Deer Hunter they usually end up mentioning how it’s too long and there’s too many unneeded scenes. Obviously I wasn’t completely engrossed every second of the three hour runtime, but The Deer Hunter isn’t as boring as certain circles have made it out to be. What it comes down to is that The Deer Hunter is an excellent drama featuring brilliant performances by DeNiro and an Oscar winning performance by Walken. The movie is hurt by it’s inability to fully inform the viewer, and the holes that are made in the movies logic because of it. The logic holes aside however, The Deer Hunter is a brutally powerful film that speaks volumes.
Video: At almost 30 years old this video transfer is absolutely beautiful. There is nearly no grain or fuzz to talk about and the colors and vibrant and leap off the television. This is the way all older films should be restored.
Audio: Logic 7 surround, along with Spanish and Enlgish 2.0. The sound on this Legacy Edition is crisp and clear, but it’s mainly focused in the center channel. I thought they could have worked the surround speakers more, especially during the scenes in Vietnam.
A surprisingly enjoyable little set of extras comes with this DVD.
With a good movie, outstanding sound and video transfer, you’d expect the Legacy Edition of the Deer Hunter to pack a serious punch in the extras department. Unfortunately, the extras on this DVD are quite disappointing. Where is the making of featurette that Amazon.com claims is on this disk..?
Commentary with Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond: Considering Zsigmond won the best cinematography Oscar for this, you get some interesting tidbits on the lighting and camera work. The commentary doesn’t however, hold up for 3 hours. But if you’re into cinematography, it may hold your attention.
Deleted and Extended Scenes: Nothing special at all. A few extended scenes or scenes simply shot from a different angle. The deleted scenes are pretty boring to watch.
Besides this we get a THEATRICAL TRAILER and some PRODUCTION NOTES. Disappointing set, but the audio and video help out the DVD features.
The Deer Hunter is a symbolism-filled, brutally filmed, and lengthy movie about Vietnam. The movie isn’t so much about Vietnam, but about three friends and how they were before, during and after the war. The movie is 3 hours and each hour is different than the last. The Deer Hunter is masterfully acted and directed, but the holes in logic that appear throughout the film end up hurting it a bit in the end. The Deer Hunter is still a cinematic gem, and a movie that holds up in terms of realism and power nearly 30 years later. This DVD release is quite a big disappointment in the extras department, but the video and audio transfer make this worth buying. Good movie, great transfer, not such great extras.
Reviewed By: DrewG.
Director: Michael Cimino
Actors:
Robert DeNiro
Christopher Walken
Meryl Streep
Movie:
DVD:
Overall:
The movies opens at the wedding of three companions living in their Russian Orthodox community in Pennsylvania. Shortly after the conclusion of the wedding, the three friends head to Vietnam. The movie follows their reunion in Vietnam under the most dreaded circumstances. Their fight for survival is only the beginning as they struggle to rid themselves of the mental anguish of the Vietnam War.
The Deer Hunter, a film made in 1978, has stood the test of time very well. It is still as powerful and as realistic as I imagine it was during its initial release. The movie itself nearly swept the 1979 Academy Awards, and while The Deer Hunter is a nicely-crafted film, it is not perfect. The Deer Hunter, however, is undebatably a great piece of American cinema. The story is of three young men from a Russian factory town in Pennsylvania who go to the Vietnam. The film isn’t really about the three friends sticking together, but more about the effects the war has on each individual. This is just another superb acting performance on Robert DeNiro’s larger than life resume. Pair DeNiro with Christopher Walken (who has also been credited as God himself), and you’ve got yourself a combo that can’t lose. It’s evident that the movie is well acted and because of this the movie pulls at the heart strings when it needs to and builds a slow and foreboding feeling on the viewer. You get sucked into this dark and seedy setting of Vietnam, but you also feel the hope, innocence and fun of this Russian town in Pennsylvania.
Worth mentioning is the beautiful on location filming in Vietnam. The war scenes are not only intense, but also painful to watch because of how real the settings are and how brutal what is going on actually is. Michael Cimino has a colorful eye behind the camera and he uses it throughout the film in many ways. The viewers get these long drawn out scenes, and even though there is a long without an actual cut, they are still drawn into the scene and what the characters are saying or doing. What ends up dragging down the The Deer Hunter for me are the holes that lie within the movie’s logic. For long spurts in the movie I felt uninformed, and I even felt like I had missed something someone had said during a scene that was relevant to what was going on. It’s unfortunate that discussing the holes I see the movie’s logic would be spoiler-filled, because if they weren’t I would have been happy to discuss them in this review. The Deer Hunter is infamous for its bloated length. The film runs a shade over three hours, though I will honestly say that it isn’t as boring as people had made it out to be. When people talk about the Deer Hunter they usually end up mentioning how it’s too long and there’s too many unneeded scenes. Obviously I wasn’t completely engrossed every second of the three hour runtime, but The Deer Hunter isn’t as boring as certain circles have made it out to be. What it comes down to is that The Deer Hunter is an excellent drama featuring brilliant performances by DeNiro and an Oscar winning performance by Walken. The movie is hurt by it’s inability to fully inform the viewer, and the holes that are made in the movies logic because of it. The logic holes aside however, The Deer Hunter is a brutally powerful film that speaks volumes.
Video: At almost 30 years old this video transfer is absolutely beautiful. There is nearly no grain or fuzz to talk about and the colors and vibrant and leap off the television. This is the way all older films should be restored.
Audio: Logic 7 surround, along with Spanish and Enlgish 2.0. The sound on this Legacy Edition is crisp and clear, but it’s mainly focused in the center channel. I thought they could have worked the surround speakers more, especially during the scenes in Vietnam.
A surprisingly enjoyable little set of extras comes with this DVD.
With a good movie, outstanding sound and video transfer, you’d expect the Legacy Edition of the Deer Hunter to pack a serious punch in the extras department. Unfortunately, the extras on this DVD are quite disappointing. Where is the making of featurette that Amazon.com claims is on this disk..?
Commentary with Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond: Considering Zsigmond won the best cinematography Oscar for this, you get some interesting tidbits on the lighting and camera work. The commentary doesn’t however, hold up for 3 hours. But if you’re into cinematography, it may hold your attention.
Deleted and Extended Scenes: Nothing special at all. A few extended scenes or scenes simply shot from a different angle. The deleted scenes are pretty boring to watch.
Besides this we get a THEATRICAL TRAILER and some PRODUCTION NOTES. Disappointing set, but the audio and video help out the DVD features.
The Deer Hunter is a symbolism-filled, brutally filmed, and lengthy movie about Vietnam. The movie isn’t so much about Vietnam, but about three friends and how they were before, during and after the war. The movie is 3 hours and each hour is different than the last. The Deer Hunter is masterfully acted and directed, but the holes in logic that appear throughout the film end up hurting it a bit in the end. The Deer Hunter is still a cinematic gem, and a movie that holds up in terms of realism and power nearly 30 years later. This DVD release is quite a big disappointment in the extras department, but the video and audio transfer make this worth buying. Good movie, great transfer, not such great extras.