The Deer Hunter

Not to be confused with deer hunting, The Man Who Killed the Deer, or The Deer Stalker.
For other uses, see Deer Hunter (disambiguation).

The Deer Hunter
Robert De Niro, in character, points a pistol to his head. It is a black-and-white image with red highlighting his bandanna and the film credits below.
UK cinema release poster
Directed byMichael Cimino
Screenplay byDeric Washburn
Michael Cimino (uncredited)
Story byDeric Washburn
Michael Cimino
Louis A. Garfinkle
Quinn K. Redeker
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyVilmos Zsigmond
Edited byPeter Zinner
Michael Cimino (uncredited)
Music byStanley Myers
Production
company
Distributed by
Release dates
  • December 8, 1978 (1978-12-08) (Los Angeles)
  • February 23, 1979 (1979-02-23) (United States)
  • February 27, 1979 (1979-02-27) (United Kingdom)
Running time
184 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
Russian
Vietnamese
French
Budget$15 million[2]
Box office$49 million[2]

The Deer Hunter is a 1978 American epic war drama film co-written and directed by Michael Cimino about a trio of Slavic-American[3][4][5] steelworkers whose lives are upended after fighting in the Vietnam War. The three soldiers are played by Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken and John Savage, with John Cazale (in his final role), Meryl Streep and George Dzundza in supporting roles. The story takes place in Clairton, Pennsylvania, a working-class town on the Monongahela River south of Pittsburgh, and in Vietnam.

The film was based in part on an unproduced screenplay called The Man Who Came to Play by Louis A. Garfinkle and Quinn K. Redeker about Las Vegas and Russian roulette. Producer Michael Deeley, who bought the script, hired Cimino who, with Deric Washburn, rewrote the script, taking the Russian roulette element and placing it in the Vietnam War. The film went over-budget and over-schedule, costing $15 million. Its producers EMI Films released it internationally, while Universal Pictures handled its North American distribution.

The Deer Hunter received acclaim from critics and audiences, with praise for Cimino's direction, the performances of its cast, its screenplay, realistic themes and tones, and cinematography. It was also successful at the box office, grossing $49 million. At the 51st Academy Awards, it was nominated for nine Academy Awards, and won five: Best Picture, Best Director for Cimino, Best Supporting Actor for Walken, Best Sound, and Best Film Editing. It was Meryl Streep's first Academy Award nomination (for Best Supporting Actress).

Despite its critical acclaim and awards, some critics derided what they considered the film's simplistic, bigoted, and historically inaccurate depictions of the Viet Cong and America's position in the Vietnam War.[6] The central theme of the Viet Cong forcing American captives to play Russian roulette has been widely criticized as having no historical basis, a claim Cimino denied but did not refute with evidence.

The Deer Hunter has been included on lists of the best films ever made, including being named the 53rd-greatest American film of all time by the American Film Institute in 2007 in their 10th Anniversary Edition of the AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies list. It was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 1996, as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."[7][8]

  1. ^ a b "THE DEER HUNTER (X)". British Board of Film Classification. November 15, 1978. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "The Deer Hunter (1978)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference gMorris was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference sshChong was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference sBiel was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Harmetz, Aljean (April 26, 1979). "Oscar-Winning 'Deer Hunter' is Under Attack as 'Racist' Film". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 4, 2022. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
  7. ^ Stern, Christopher (December 2, 1996). "National Film Registry taps 25 more pix". Variety. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
  8. ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2022.