Flashback: The Deer Hunter – Michael Cimino’s divisive Vietnam war classic

Michael Cimino’s The Deer Hunter polarised audiences and critics when it was released, in 1978. The story about three young Americans going to Vietnam, and the destruction the experience wreaks on their lives afterwards, won five Oscars in 1979, including best picture and best director.

Supporters of the film say it’s a lyrical, elegiac analysis of the horrors of war, an accurate view of working-class life, and a metaphorical analysis of the Vietnam experience. Its detractors, a group that includes Vietnam veterans, say its depiction of the war is inaccurate to the point of fantasy, its style is overly melodramatic, its politics are extremely right-wing, and it’s an undisciplined and over-long piece of filmmaking.

The only thing that both sides agree on is the all-round strength of the performances, especially those of Robert De Niro, John Savage and Christopher Walken. The story begins with a wedding in a factory town in Pennsylvania. (Note there are spoilers in this description.) The wedding is also a leaving party for three close friends – Mike (De Niro), Steven (Savage) and Nick (Walken) – who are heading off to fight in Vietnam. Nick makes Mike promise to see that he gets back home if anything goes wrong during their tour of duty.

In Vietnam, the three are captured and forced to play Russian roulette by their tormentors. They escape, but are separated. Mike makes it home to the US, but discovers that Nick is still in Saigon, making a living as a professional Russian roulette player. So Mike returns to Vietnam to make good on his promise.