The Deer Hunter
73425
224622187
2008-07-09T18:19:31Z
The Glow Pt. 2
1794177
[[WP:UNDO|Undid]] revision 224593285 by [[Special:Contributions/86.42.146.144|86.42.146.144]] ([[User talk:86.42.146.144|talk]])
{{Infobox Film
| name = The Deer Hunter
| image = The Deer Hunter poster.jpg
| caption =
| director = [[Michael Cimino]]
| producer = [[Barry Spikings]]<br>[[Michael Deeley]]<br>Michael Cimino<br>[[John Peverall]]
| writer = [[Deric Washburn]] (story & screenplay)<br>Michael Cimino<br>[[Louis Garfinkle]]<br>[[Quinn K. Redeker]] (story)
| starring = [[Robert De Niro]]<br>[[Christopher Walken]]<br>[[John Cazale]]<br>[[Meryl Streep]]
| music = [[Stanley Myers]]
| cinematography = [[Vilmos Zsigmond]]
| editing = [[Peter Zinner]]
| distributor = [[Universal Pictures]] <small>(US)</small><br>[[EMI Films]] <small>(non-US)</small>
| released = [[December 8]], [[1978]]
| runtime = 182 min.
| country = [[United States]]
| language = [[English language|English]]<br>[[Russian language|Russian]]<br>[[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]]<br>[[French language|French]]
| budget = [[United States dollar|US$]]15,000,000
| amg_id = 1:13060
| imdb_id = 0077416
|
}}
{{other|Deer Hunter}}
'''''The Deer Hunter''''' is a [[1978 in film|1978]] [[War film|war]] [[drama film]] about a trio of [[Rusyn American]] steel worker friends and their infantry service in the [[Vietnam War]]. It is loosely inspired by the German novel ''[[Three Comrades (novel)|Three Comrades]]'' ([[1937]]), by [[World War I]] veteran [[Erich Maria Remarque]], the author of ''[[All Quiet on the Western Front]]'', which follows the lives of a trio of [[World War I]] veterans in [[1920s]] [[Weimar Republic|Weimar Germany]]. Like the novel, ''The Deer Hunter'' meditates and explores the moral and mental consequences of war violence and politically-manipulated patriotism upon the meaning of [[friendship]], [[honour]], and [[family]] in a tightly-knit [[community]] and deals with controversial issues such as [[drug abuse]], [[suicide]], [[infidelity]] and [[mental illness]]. The film won five [[Academy Awards]], including Best Picture and Best Director.
The film stars [[Robert De Niro]], [[Christopher Walken]], and [[Meryl Streep]]. The story occurs in southern Vietnam and in working-class [[Clairton, Pennsylvania|Clairton]], [[Pennsylvania]], a [[Monongahela River]] town south of [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|Pittsburgh]]. It was filmed in the Pittsburgh area; [[Cleveland, Ohio|Cleveland]] and [[Mingo Junction, Ohio|Mingo Junction]], [[Ohio]]; [[Weirton, West Virginia|Weirton]], [[West Virginia]]; the [[North Cascades National Park]] in [[Washington]] state, the [[Patpong]] district of [[Bangkok]] in [[Thailand]] (as the [[Ho Chi Minh City|Saigon]] red-light district), and in [[Amphoe Sai Yok|Sai Yok]], [[Kanchanaburi Province]] (also in Thailand).
<!--spacing, please do not remove-->
==Plot==
In [[Western Pennsylvania]] during the late 1960s, Russian-American steel workers Michael ([[Robert De Niro]]), Steven ([[John Savage (actor)|John Savage]]), and Nick ([[Christopher Walken]]), along with their friends Stanley ([[John Cazale]]), John ([[George Dzundza]]), and Axel ([[Chuck Aspegren]]) are preparing for two rites of passage: marriage and military service.
During the infantry combat in Vietnam, the three (Michael, Steven, and Nick) are captured and held prisoner in a riverside prisoner of war camp along with other [[United States|US Army]] and [[Army of the Republic of Vietnam|ARVN]] prisoners. For entertainment, the guards force their prisoners to play [[Russian roulette]] and gamble on the outcome. All three are forced to play; Steven aims the gun above his head, grazing himself with the bullet and is punished by incarceration to an underwater cage. Michael and Nick orchestrate the killing of their captors and escape from the prison. Believing Steven to be mentally broken down, Mike considers abandoning him, but Nick angrily rejects that consideration.
The three float downriver on a tree. An American helicopter rescues them, but only Nick is able to board. The weakened Steven falls into the river. Mike jumps in to rescue him, as Steven has broken his legs in the fall. Mike carries him through the jungle to friendly lines. Nick is psychologically damaged, and finds himself recuperating in a military hospital in [[Ho Chi Minh City|Saigon]] with no knowledge on the status of his friends. At night, he aimlessly searches for Mike in the red light district. Nick encounters Julién Grinda, a champagne-drinking [[French people|Frenchman]] outside a gambling den where men play Russian roulette for money. Grinda entices Nick to participate, then leads him in to the den. Unbeknownst to Nick, Mike is in the crowd, as a gambler. Though Mike sees Nick, they do not reunite.
Back in the U.S., Mike eventually becomes romantically involved with Linda. Nick and Steven are still missing. Mike later reunites with Steven, who has lost his legs and is partially paralysed. Steven reveals that someone in Saigon has been mailing large amounts of cash to him, which indicates that Nick is still alive, and playing Russian roulette. Mike travels to Saigon just before [[Fall of Saigon|its fall]] in 1975. With the help of the Frenchman Julién Grinda, he finds Nick in a crowded roulette club, but Nick appears to have no recollection of his friends or his home in Pennsylvania. Mike's attempts to persuade him to come home are unsuccessful. Nick raises the gun and shoots himself in the head.
The film ends with Nick's funeral back in America and his friends' response to it.
==Production==
The film began with a spec screenplay called "The Man Who Came To Play", written by [[Louis Garfinkle]] and [[Quinn K. Redeker]]. The script, while unrelated to the Vietnam War, nonetheless centered on a group of men who travel to Las Vegas to play Russian Roulette. Producer [[Barry Spikings]], who had purchased the script from Garfinkle/Redeker, pitched the story to director Michael Cimino, who then adapted the Russian Roulette idea into a story he was preparing about Pennsylvania steelworkers who go off to war. Cimino then worked for 6 weeks with [[Deric Washburn]], before firing him (Cimino and Washburn had previously collaborated with [[Stephen Bochco]] on the screenplay for ''[[Silent Running]]'').
While Garfinkle and Redeker had nothing to do with the writing or filming of "The Deer Hunter", they ultimately shared a "Story By" writer's credit with Cimino and Washburn, since Cimino had adapted the Russian Roulette idea from "The Man Who Came To Play" into the film. Cimino would later claim to have written the entire screenplay himself, although a WGA arbitration awarded Washburn sole "Screenplay By" credit. All four writers received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay for this film.
Filming locations include:
* [[St. Theodosius Russian Orthodox Cathedral]], [[Cleveland, Ohio|Cleveland]], [[Ohio]], [[United States]].
* [[Patpong]], [[Bangkok]], [[Thailand]] - the area used to represent [[Ho Chi Minh City|Saigon]]'s red light district.
* [[Amphoe Sai Yok|Sai Yok]], [[Kanchanaburi Province]], Thailand
* [[North Cascades National Park]], Washington State, US.
* [[Mingo Junction, Ohio|Mingo Junction]], [[Ohio]], for the steel mills.
* [[Steubenville, Ohio|Steubenville]], [[Ohio]], for some mill and neighborhood shots.
* [[Struthers, Ohio|Struthers]], [[Ohio]], for external house and long-range road shots.
* [[Weirton, West Virginia|Weirton]], [[West Virginia]], for mill and trailer shots.
==Cast==
[[Image:DeerNiro2 sm.jpg|125px|thumb|right|Special Forces SSG Michael Vronsky ([[Robert De Niro]])]]
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! style="background-color:silver;" | Actor
! style="background-color:silver;" | Role
|-
| [[Robert De Niro]] || Michael "Mike" Vronsky
|-
| [[John Cazale]] || Stanley aka "Stosh"
|-
| [[John Savage (actor)|John Savage]] || Steven Pushkov
|-
| [[Christopher Walken]] || Nikanor "Nick" Chevotarevich
|-
| [[Meryl Streep]] || Linda
|-
| [[George Dzundza]] || John Welch
|-
| [[Chuck Aspegren]] || Peter "Axel" Axelrod
|-
| [[Shirley Stoler]] || Steven's mother
|-
| [[Rutanya Alda]] || Angela Ludhjduravic-Pushkov
|-
| [[Pierre Segiu]] || Julién Grinda
|-
| [[Amy Wright]] || Bridesmaid
|-
| [[Richard Kuss]] || Linda's father
|-
| [[Joe Grifasi]] || Bandleader
|}
==Reception==
{| class="infobox" style="width: 23em; font-size: 85%;"
|- bgcolor="#cccccc" align=center
! colspan="2" | Academy Awards record
|-
| '''1. Best Supporting Actor''', [[Christopher Walken]]
|-
| '''2. Best Director''', [[Michael Cimino]]
|-
| '''3. Best Editing''', [[Peter Zinner]]
|-
| '''4. Best Picture''', [[Barry Spikings]], [[Michael Deeley]], [[Michael Cimino]], [[John Peverall]]
|-
| '''5. Best Sound''', [[Richard Portman]], [[William L. McCaughey]], [[Aaron Rochin]], [[C. Darin Knight]]
|- bgcolor="#cccccc" align=center
! colspan="2" | Golden Globe Awards record
|-
| '''1. Best Director''', Michael Cimino
|- bgcolor="#cccccc" align=center
! colspan="2" | BAFTA Awards record
|-
| '''1. Best Cinematography''', [[Vilmos Zsigmond]]
|-
| '''2. Best Editing''', Peter Zinner
|-
|}
''The Deer Hunter'' won [[Academy Awards|Oscars]] in 1978 for [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]], [[Academy Award for Directing|Best Director]] (Michael Cimino), [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Actor in a Supporting Role]] (Christopher Walken), [[Academy Award for Film Editing|Best Film Editing]], and [[Academy Award for Sound|Best Sound]]. In addition, it was nominated for [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor in a Leading Role]] (Robert De Niro), [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Actress in a Supporting Role]] (Meryl Streep), [[Academy Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]] ([[Vilmos Zsigmond]]) and [[Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay|Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen]].
In 1996, ''The Deer Hunter'' was selected for preservation in the United States [[National Film Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
It is ranked # 53 on the [[American Film Institute]]'s list of the [[AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)|100 Greatest American Movies of All Time]].<ref>[http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/movies.aspx 100 Greatest American Movies of All Time]</ref>
The theme song of ''The Deer Hunter'', [[Cavatina (song)|''Cavatina'']], written by [[Stanley Myers]] and performed by classical guitarist [[John Williams (guitarist)|John Williams]] is commonly known as ''The Theme from The Deer Hunter''.
During the [[Berlin International Film Festival]] in 1979 the [[Soviet]] delegation expressed its indignation with the film which, in their opinion, insulted the Vietnamese people in numerous scenes. The socialist states felt obliged to voice their solidarity with the “heroic people of [[Vietnam]]”. They protested against the screening of the film and insisted that it violated the statutes of the festival, since it in no way contributed to the “improvement of mutual understanding between the peoples of the world”.<ref>[http://www.berlinale.org/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1979/01_jahresblatt_1979/01_Jahresblatt_1979.html | Berlinale | Archive | Annual Archives | 1979 | Yearbook<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
The ensuing domino effect led to the walk-outs of the Cubans, East Germans, Bulgarians, Poles and Czechoslovakians, and two members of the jury resigned in sympathy.
==DVD releases==
''The Deer Hunter'' has twice been released on DVD. The first 1998 issue by Universal, with no extra features and a non-anamorphic transfer, has since been discontinued. A second version, part of the "Legacy Series", was released as a two-disc set on September 6, 2005, with an anamorphic transfer of the film. The set features a cinematographer's commentary by Vilmos Zsigmond, interviews of the cast and crew, and deleted and extended scenes. The region-2 version of ''The Deer Hunter'', exclusive to the UK, features a [[commentary track]] from director Michael Cimino. The film was released on [[HD DVD]] in 2006.
==Miscellany==
*During an [[American Movie Classics]] broadcast of the film, Gossip said Robert De Niro requested a live bullet in the Russian roulette revolver, to heighten the intensity of the situation.{{Fact|date=August 2007}}
*To render himself ghostly, Christopher Walken exclusively ate rice, bananas, and water for the week before he filmed the third act.
*During screenings of the short version of the film, director Cimino bribed the projectionist to interrupt it, in order to obtain better reviews of the long version.
*The epigraph to E. M. Corder's [[tie-in novel]]isation of ''The Deer Hunter'' (1979) is from [[Ernest Hemingway]]: <blockquote>There is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never care for anything else thereafter.</blockquote>
*All scenes involving [[John Cazale]], who had end-stage bone cancer during the shoot, had to be filmed first. Cazale passed away shortly after filming wrapped. Because of his illness, the studio initially wanted to get rid of Cazale, but his real-life fiancee, Streep, threatened to walk away if they did.
*The animal that Michael hunts in the second hunting scene is not a deer, but an elk.
==References==
<!-- this 'empty' section displays references defined elsewhere -->
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*{{filmsite|id=deer|title=The Deer Hunter}}
*{{imdb title|id=0077416|title=The Deer Hunter}}
*{{amg movie|id=1:13060|title=The Deer Hunter}}
*{{rotten-tomatoes|id=deer_hunter|title=The Deer Hunter}}
* [http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/deer_hunter.html ''The Deer Hunter'' screenplay]
*[http://www.snopes.com/movies/films/deerhunt.htm The Deer Hunter: Viewings of the film The Deer Hunter have been tied to a number of Russian roulette suicides] (Snopes.com)
*[http://www.simplyscripts.com/reviews/deer_hunter.html ''The Deer Hunter'' Review]
*[http://www.michaelcimino.fr/film-michael-cimino.php?id_film=2 The Deer Hunter] at [http://www.michaelcimino.fr Unofficial french website]
*[http://www.filminglocationsdetectives.com/films/deer_Hunter.htm The filming location Detectives have sleuthed The Deer Hunter]
*[http://www.wvculture.org/history/deerhunter.html Newspaper articles on the filming of The Deer Hunter]
*[http://thedeerhunterdiscussionboard.yuku.com/forums/1 The Deer Hunter Discussion Forum]
{{start box}}{{s-awards}}
{{succession box |
| before = ''[[Annie Hall]]
| after = ''[[Kramer vs. Kramer]]
| title = [[Academy Award for Best Picture]]
| years = 1978
|}}
{{end box}}
<!--spacing, please do not remove-->
{{Michael Cimino Films}}
{{AcademyAwardBestPicture 1961-1980}}
{{Americanfilms1970s}}
====tags:====
{{Refimprove|date=August 2007}}
{{Plot|date=May 2008}}
<!-- Robert De Niro -->
<!-- Christopher Walken -->
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deer Hunter, The}}
[[Category:1978 films]]
[[Category:American films]]
[[Category:Best Picture Academy Award winners]]
[[Category:Drama films]]
[[Category:English-language films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Michael Cimino]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winning performance]]
[[Category:Films over three hours long]]
[[Category:Films set in the 1970s]]
[[Category:Films whose director won the Best Director Academy Award]]
[[Category:Films whose director won the Best Director Golden Globe]]
[[Category:Films whose editor won the Best Film Editing Academy Award]]
[[Category:French-language films]]
[[Category:Pittsburgh in film and television]]
[[Category:Prisoner of war films]]
[[Category:Rusyns]]
[[Category:United States National Film Registry films]]
[[Category:Universal Pictures films]]
[[Category:Vietnam War films]]
[[Category:Vietnamese-language films]]
[[Category:War drama films]]
[[Category:Films based on military fiction]]
[[da:Deer Hunter]]
[[de:Die durch die Hölle gehen]]
[[eo:The Deer Hunter]]
[[es:The Deer Hunter]]
[[fa:شکارچی گوزن (فیلم)]]
[[fi:Kauriinmetsästäjä]]
[[fr:Voyage au bout de l'enfer]]
[[he:צייד הצבאים]]
[[hr:Lovac na jelene]]
[[hu:A szarvasvadász]]
[[it:Il cacciatore]]
[[ja:ディア・ハンター]]
[[ko:디어 헌터]]
[[nl:The Deer Hunter]]
[[no:Hjortejegeren]]
[[pl:Łowca jeleni]]
[[pt:The Deer Hunter]]
[[ro:Vânătorul de cerbi]]
[[ru:Охотник на оленей (фильм)]]
[[simple:The Deer Hunter]]
[[sr:Ловац на јелене]]
[[sv:Deer Hunter]]
[[tr:Avcı (film)]]
[[zh:猎鹿人]]