The Deer Hunter (1978)
(R) 183 mins

Why is this movie three hours long? I mean yeah it’s a great film and all, well deserving of best picture, but it does not need all of 183 minutes to do that. There’s an hour plus of film before the three men go to Vietnam. If the point of the film is to demonstrate the effect that traumatic life can have on the mind, I don’t need to see a four minute segment showing someone getting out to pee and driving off behind him. I got the picture after the thirty minute mark, and I was quite bored with the film until the scenes in Vietnam.

That being said, it should say enough about the remaining two hours of the film that I give it a +4. Immediately after the long opening act is an intense scene behind enemy lines. To call it gripping is a massive understatement. The rest of the film is largely the aftermath of that scene, and the effects that it has on the minds of the men. It’s this third act that really makes ‘The Deer Hunter’ stand out, as even the strongest-minded of men can be affected.

+4


Oscar Awards
Best Picture
Best Supporting Actor (Christopher Walken)
Achievement in Sound
Achievement in Film Editing

Oscar Nominations
Best Actor (Robert De Niro)
Best Supporting Actress (Meryl Streep)
Best Original Screenplay
Achievement in Cinematography