The Deer Hunter
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The Deer Hunter is a 1978 film which tells the story of how the Vietnam War affects the people in the industrial town of Clairton, Pennsylvania just south of Pittsburgh along the Monongahela River (although it was actually filmed in Cleveland and Mingo Junction, Ohio). It stars Robert De Niro, John Cazale, John Savage, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep and George Dzundza.
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Plot
De Niro, Savage and Walken portray American factory workers and avid deer hunters of Russian ancestry who serve in combat in Vietnam, returning to a significantly-changed country as significantly-changed men. Inspired by German First World War soldier and author Erich Maria Remarque's 1937 novel Drei Kameraden (Three Comrades) depicting the lives of a trio of disillusioned World War I veterans in 1920s Weimar Germany, this film attempts to explore the meaning of violence, predation and survival, the often ghastly misuses of patriotism as well as illustrating the concepts of ethnicity, family, friendship and community ties and how they complement as well as clash with one another.
Credits
The movie was written by Michael Cimino, Louis Garfinkle, Quinn K. Redeker and Deric Washburn, and directed by Cimino.
Producers
- Joann Carelli - associate producer
- Michael Cimino - producer
- Michael Deeley - producer
- John Peverall - producer
- Marion Rosenberg - associate producer
- Barry Spikings - producer
Cast and roles include
- Robert De Niro - Michael Vronsky, "Mike"
- John Cazale - Stanley 'Stosh'
- John Savage - Steven
- Christopher Walken - Nick Chevotarevich
- Meryl Streep - Linda
- George Dzundza - John
- Chuck Aspegren - Axel
- Shirley Stoler - Steven's mother
- Rutanya Alda - Angela
- Pierre Segui - Julien
- Mady Kaplan - Axel's girl
- Amy Wright - Bridesmaid
- Mary Ann Haenel - Stan's girl
- Richard Kuss - Linda's father
- Joe Grifasi - Bandleader
- Christopher Colombi Jr. - Wedding man
- Victoria Karnafel - Sad-looking girl
- Jack Scardino - Cold old man
- Joe Strnad - Bingo caller
- Helen Tomko - Helen
- Paul D'Amato - Sergeant
- Dennis Watlington - Cab driver
- Charlene Darrow - Redhead
- Jane-Colette Disko - Girl checker
- Michael Wollet - Stockboy
- Robert Beard - World War II veteran
- Joe Dzizmba - World War II veteran
- Father Stephen Kopestonsky - Priest
- John F. Buchmelter III - Bar patron
- Frank Devore - Barman
- Tom Becker - Doctor
- Lynn Kongkham - Nurse
- Nongnuj Timruang - Bargirl
- Po Pao Pee - Chinese referee
- Dale Burroughs - Embassy guard
- Parris Hicks - Sergeant
- Samui Muang-Intata - Chinese bodyguard
- Sapox Colisium - Chinese man
- Vitoon Winwitoon - NVA officer
- Somsak Sengvilai - Viet Cong referee
- Charan Nusvanon - Chinese boss
- Jiam Gongtongsmoot - Chinese man at door
- Chai Peyawan - South Vietnamese prisoner
- Mana Hansa - South Vietnamese prisoner
- Sombot Jumpanoi - South Vietnamese prisoner
- Phip Manee - Woman in village
- Ding Santos - Viet Cong guard
- Krieng Chaiyapuk - Viet Cong guard
- Ot Palapoo - Viet Cong guard
- Chok Chai Mahasoke - Viet Cong guard
- Tom Madden - Steelworker (uncredited)
Filming locations
Filming locations include:
- Saint Theodosius Russian Orthodox Cathedral, Cleveland
- Patpong, in Bangkok, Thailand - the area was rented during 2 days for the film. In the film, it is portrayed as a part of Saigon.
- Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand
Awards and recognition
It won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director (Michael Cimino), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Christopher Walken), Best Film Editing, and Best Sound. In addition, it was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Robert De Niro), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Meryl Streep), Best Cinematography (Vilmos Zsigmond) and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen.
It has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry and is consistently on the Internet Movie Database's list of top 250 films.
It is also renowned independently for its theme tune, Cavatina by Stanley Myers, commonly called The Theme from The Deer Hunter.
Miscellaneous
Some people contend that The Deer Hunter sparked a string of Russian roulette suicides because of its dramatic depiction of captured American soldiers forced to play Russian roulette by their Viet Cong captors.
External links
- The Deer Hunter screenplay (http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/deer_hunter.html)
- The Deer Hunter: Viewings of the film The Deer Hunter have been tied to a number of Russian roulette suicides (http://www.snopes.com/movies/films/deerhunt.htm) (Snopes.com)
- The Deer Hunter Fan Page (http://w3.gwis.com/~dml/tdh/)
- The Deer Hunter Review (http://www.simplyscripts.com/reviews/deer_hunter.html)
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