The Deer Hunter (1978)
This week on Shat the Movies, we take a long, hard look at the 1978 Oscar-winning epic The Deer Hunter. With a powerhouse cast featuring Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep, and John Cazale in his final role, this film explores friendship, trauma, and the toll of the Vietnam War. But does its three-hour runtime, abrupt storytelling, and questionable use of Russian roulette still hold up?
Gene and Big D unpack the movie’s emotional highs, editing lows, and the moments that left them confused, moved, and occasionally bored. Was The Deer Hunter a brilliant portrait of the human condition—or an overlong, slow-moving relic of its time? Tune in to find out where it lands on the Shat scale.
Plot Summary:
The Deer Hunter (1978), directed by Michael Cimino, is a powerful war drama that follows a group of working-class friends from a Pennsylvania steel town whose lives are forever changed by the Vietnam War. Starring Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, and John Savage, the film explores themes of friendship, trauma, and loss through a harrowing narrative that moves from small-town America to the brutal jungles of Vietnam. Known for its intense performances and the infamous Russian roulette scenes, The Deer Hunter remains a haunting examination of war’s psychological toll.
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