The Deer Hunter

And this week's Friday night movie has been... The Deer Hunter!

Original image located here. Accessed 4th November 2024

Best Picture Oscar winner no.: 51 (1978)

I was dreading watching this movie. Largely for two reasons:
Firstly, this movie is notorious for being the progenitor of 'Oscar Bait'. For those who don't know this movie, upon release, was deemed a hard sell due to it's depressing nature and it's length. Producer Allan Carr decided that if the movie was nominated for Best Picture, then people will go and see it. So the movie received a nomination after achieving the bare minimum requirement - along with Carr's own heavy campaigning for the movie. And it worked - The movie won Best Picture and, in turn, has inspired similar campaigns in it's wake.
And secondly, this is the movie that gave director Michael Cimino success - which he followed up with Heaven's Gate. This one was a notorious flop, with a oversized budget and seemingly never-ending production cycle. And it was enough to bring about the end of the New Hollywood era. I personally have never seen Heaven's Gate but my dad did - and he hated it, regaling me with stories of pointless scenes that dragged on. 
Thing is though, these two obstacles are ultimately outside factors: They don't say much about The Deer Hunter itself so there is still grounds for me to assess this movie on it's own terms.

What is striking is that there are three parts to this movie. The first introduces the protagonists and their bonds. The second catapults into the Vietnam War and gives us the infamous Russian Roulette scene. And the third examines the fallout of our protagonists retuning home and struggling in various forms. 
Really this movie left me with a lot of mixed feelings: On one hand there are some sequences that drag out and seem pointless. But on the other hand, there are some intense scenes (like the war portion) and some moments of sensitivity - both of which prove that Cimino knows what he's doing and the cast are delivering some career best performances. 
Some strong ideas to be sure but sadly bogged down with some baffling meandering.

Still, I will give props that the Academy awarded Best Picture to a movie about the Vietnam War - long regarded as 'the unpopular war'. Seems they were going against the grain but, as it would turn out, it's not the last time the Vietnam War would walk hand in hand with the Best Picture Oscar...