THE DEER HUNTER remains a screen classic

            There’s a key scene in Michael Cimino’s Vietnam-era classic, The Deer Hunter (1978), in which Robert De Niro comes face-to-face with his prey; a beautiful, long-horned deer. He’s in perfect aim with his rifle, and in the backdrop are the breathtaking Pennsylvanian mountains. In a moment of psychological confusion and hurt, he shoots the rifle up to the sky. This single action surmises the entire film.

The opening setting consists of a small, working class town in Pennsylvania, built around a steel factory and a Russian Orthodox Cathedral. Working, drinking, bonding, marrying, and deer hunting are highly integrated into the blue-collar social structure. It’s a pure slice of sweet Americana.

            Robert De Niro’s character, Michael, takes pride in the recreation. Deer hunting is a tradition; a sacred bond between man and nature. Notice how Michael (De Niro) refuses to let his longtime friend, Stan (John Cazale) borrow his spare set of boots. He believes that if you’re a serious outdoorsman, then every item should be thoroughly accounted for. However, after bringing home the traumatic baggage of the Vietnam War, “killing,” even a deer, seems morally demeaning. The men’s values are warped after the horrific tour of duty. The Deer Hunter is essentially about the psychological affects the Vietnam War has on a true-blue, All-American, working-class society. The perspective of violence, warfare, service duty, and camaraderie are permanently askew in the bloody aftermath.

            The Deer Hunter is a sweeping epic told in three very distinct parts. 1. The grand wedding and farewell party. 2. The gritty war depiction. 3. Coming home and trying to build back an inkling of simple values, which were lost in the mayhem. What I love about The Deer Hunter is how unafraid it is to let every scene in the first part play out. It’s important to get to know and truly empathize with the characters.  The audience gets a better sense of how far they fell from their original personality, after Vietnam. In the end, we can’t help but care and hope for a better future.

In the first part, the director stages and frames a rich, panoramic wedding reception. In a series of magnificent wide shots, the frame is filled with townsfolk dancing, drinking, eating, fraternizing—it breaths of human connections. The director wants to make sure that you, the viewer, are allowed to inhale every detail of this all-American, tight-knit town. In another important shot, the camera pans and tilts around the Cathedral, emphasizing the Russian Orthodox heritage. In a more up-to-date film, I think the studios would find it necessary to point out the cultural overtones in the dialogue, or relay information using screen titles. Never underestimate your audience. Cinema of the 70s was very different. It was an artistic decade. Filmmakers didn’t need $150 million to create a grand epic, and the studios gave the directors more creative control.

            The Russian roulette scenes in Vietnam are by far the most suspenseful and provocative elements in the film. I found it interesting how the Vietcong would volunteer their own men and bet on a fatal game. I’ve never read or heard about underground games of Russian roulette as part of the war subculture. It could be meant as a historical fantasy—a thought-provoking way of metaphorically expressing the notorious “draft.” The chances of being randomly picked by Lotto Uncle Sam are no different than sliding a single bullet in a six barrel chamber, and praying it’s not going to be the last time. It reminds me of what Jack Nicholson said in the Departed (2006), “When you’re starring at a loaded gun, what’s the difference.”

            Watching a glorious 35 mm print of The Deer Hunter was almost as exhilarating as seeing Apocalypse Now: Redux. Francis Ford Coppola’s vision of war was more potent and imaginative; an almost, psychedelic experience. However, Michael Cimino’s The Deer Hunter is still a memorable classic; a truly emotional drama.

The 1978 Oscar-winner was showing exclusively at the Texas Theatre in Dallas. Make sure to checkout the movie theater’s website for upcoming screening.

www.thetexastheatre.com