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The Deer Hunter
User Score
8.3 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 44 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 40 out of 44
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 44
  3. Negative: 3 out of 44

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  1. DaveC.
    Sep 24, 2005
    4
    Plodding, laborious and pretentious. It supposedly gave Heaven's Gate a high standard to live up to and while I would never rate the Deer Hunter as low as that five hours of agony, I fail to see what this film did to convince producers that Cimino could be trusted with $40 million. It does however deserve four points for a typically superb performance from De Niro.
    • 1 of 2 users said yes
  2. Jonathan
    Oct 2, 2005
    10
    My favourite movie of all time. GREAT!!!!!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. D.T.
    Sep 20, 2005
    9
    This is to Vietnam what "Best Years of Our Lives" was for World War II. An excellent telling of war affecting a small town. Lives are changed for those who go as well for those who stay behind. Acting is at the peak of it's period - along with Dog Day Afternoon, the best of the 70's.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  4. BlakeJ.
    Mar 26, 2007
    7
    Ask me: "Blake, does this movie stand the test of time?" And I will be forced to honestly say, "No, in my opinion it does not." The Deer Hunter is a serious movie, filled with serious ideas, and serious actors. In his most endearing performance ever on scree, Christopher Walken molds Nicky into precisely the desensitized warriror Cimino must have wanted, or at least dream about. The entire supporting cast adds to the movie's sparkle and gleam of greatness. But, it is in it's lack of cohesion, and it's, ultimately, slow pacing. There is a scene that will make your heart explode, but you wont make it to that scene if you have a short attention span.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  5. JJLaw
    Oct 22, 2005
    8
    Gritty, Vietnam-era movie about the relationship between close friends and how time and war affect their relationships. Excellent cast including Christopher Walken's best performance and Robert DeNiro.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  6. JoeC.
    Jan 5, 2005
    7
    I'm a Vietnam vet. Where did the Russian Roulette things come from?
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  7. tomR
    Jul 18, 2005
    9
    I don't think this was particularly about vietnam, more a brilliant portrayal of emotion and friendship.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  8. UCLA
    Sep 16, 2005
    9
    Great movie. Not Deniro's best but still one of his great movies.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  9. Dave
    Jun 29, 2006
    10
    The best, period. But, only if you are capable of appreciatiing and understanding such quality.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  10. ERG1008
    Aug 24, 2010
    8
    People in a small working class town, friend gets married, go to Vietnam, get capture, Russian roulette, escape, Two go back home, one doesn't. It takes a while to get going but builds the characters up & you get a feel of where these people are from & who they are. Brutal in parts (the capture scene is very intense) but also some excellent cinematography in the hunting parts. Really strong cast & I'd say one of De Niro's best films. Slightly long but a very good film indeed.… Expand
  11. kk10
    Aug 24, 2010
    10
    A great movie. The movie has three parts, a wedding, the war and at last afuneral. In the first we discover the characters. In the second we fear for their lives and in the third we sympathize with them. It is a powerful movie. and also has strong performances.
  12. ScottB
    Dec 4, 2010
    10
    My favorite movie of all time. This movie will take grasp of you and show you what a real friend is for. however it is long and somewhat slow, their is a story behind it that is dark and makes you feel like the characters are "true". i challenge to any contender. A true film!!
  13. D-Slice
    Jan 23, 2011
    10
    This movie is potentially the most powerful film I have seen in my life. Amazing performances from Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken that surely raised them to stardom. The Russian roulette scene absolutely tore me apart. That scene is potentially the most emotionally powerful scene of cinema I have ever seen. The amazing thing about this movie is that, while not only touching on issues of war and post-war syndrome, this movie shows us classical themes of friendship and brotherhood. I pretty much felt like I had just been punched in the face by a wave of awesomeness when it finished. This is, by far, one of the best movies ever made. Period.… Expand
  14. Lolcano
    May 4, 2011
    3
    My expectations were high. I had heard so much about this film - THE defining Vietnam film. Gritty, unnerving, fearless and provocative, and with a wide scope that broached all the mores of the times... What a load of guff. I'm serious. Perhaps when the film was released in 1978 it was such a great achievement to even attempt a film about Vietnam that it got a by on artistic merit. Here's the lowdown (no spoliers): *An incredibly long wedding scene that has no particular bearing on the plot (including the memorable line "f**k it" which nicely defines the movie). *Lot's of irrelevant hunting scenes (is killing a stag like... killing a man? Am /I/ the stag?). *A combat scene in Vietnam that lasts 20 seconds (when we had to sit through the wedding scene for a half hour). *A lot of repetition of the Vietnamese word 'Mao' (and slapping) *An unrealistic firefight. *Survivor guilt *Lots more survivor guilt *A bit of amnesia and one of the characters who couldn't get enough of the Vietnamese word 'Mao' in the first place. It might seem unfair to sum up a movie like this - but the fact that the movie believes its irrelevance is portentous makes it merely pretentious. Besides some very good acting from De Nero and co. the film in reality has very little to say apart from the overarching theme of "f**k it". It does not look at America in any real way, and certainly makes a determined effort to not look at all at Vietnam. It comes in at the very tail end of the Vietnam conflict, makes some overarching gesture saying: well war makes you go mad, and then stands back at a distance marveling at the tragedy of it all. If you are going to have irrational characters, at least give their irrationality due cause. If you are going to make a film, hire an editor at some stage. If you are going to write a story about war, attempt to the utmost of your ability to feature that war. If you are going to make a film about deer-hunting, make a film about hunting deer. Do not give it an hour of screen time just to facilitate some tenuous symbolic meaning.… Expand
  15. DoubleFeature
    Sep 25, 2011
    8
    Terribly rated, also the metascore not accurate, this film deep and so aualitive about true friendship, the best story about Vietnam how the cinema reviewers dare to give it 50 points?! or 60 looks a lot of people don't even finish to watch, in my matter of taste very strong film with fantastic casting / acting and direction. My Rate: 8 and half out of 10
  16. jeannie
    Feb 15, 2012
    10
    The Deer Hunter is a masterpiece. It is the most powerful film to ever be created, PERIOD. The acting of DeNiro and Walken, and Streep is flawless. I am so grateful this movie was made, and I have it to enjoy throughout my lifetime.
  17. MrKnowitAll
    Feb 17, 2012
    2
    Because the Russian roulette image is even on the poster, verisimilitude has to be a major consideration -- even more important than the film's basic entertainment value. Near as I can tell from shallow research, there is no credible record of the Vietnamese cruelly forcing American POWs to play Russian roulette for fun and profit. That kind of made-up accusation in a movie made for popular release is just propaganda plain and tall. And it was used as propaganda by others to beat the war drum for Vietnam, though Cimino swears he never had a clue as this outcome. You might enjoy a movie that has big scenes showing French resistant fighters killing Nazis with a guillotine, or one featuring Napoleon's soldiers squeezing Austrians through a laundry wringer, but when the big scene is just made up, perhaps out of ignorance, the film can't be considered good. It's pointless to claim that the Russian roulette bits were not intended as criticism of the Vietnamese soldiers or that the portrayal of NVAs as grinning fiends was unintentional: That's what is on the film that millions of people saw. And, sadly, millions of American believed it -- still do. Look, Leni Riefenstahl was at first praised in Hollywood for her Nazi propaganda films. And there may be some cinematic merit in them. But you'd have to at least share some of her sympathies to arrive at the opinion that her 'Victory of Faith' was worth four stars.… Expand
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Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
73 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 7 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Rosenbaum
    50
    While the results are far from unprofessional--the cast is uniformly good, including a characteristically slapped-around Meryl Streep...The male self-pity is so overwhelming that you'll probably stagger out of this mumbling something about Tolstoy (as many critics did when the film first came out in 1978) if you aren't as nauseated as I was.
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  2. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Gene Siskel
    100
    What distinguishes The Deer Hunter most is its many rich characters and the size of its vision. This is a big film, dealing with big issues, made on a grand scale. Much of it, including some casting decisions, suggest inspiration by "The Godfather." [9 Mar 1979]
  3. Dallas Observer
    Reviewed by: Luke Y. Thompson
    70
    Overlong, but with moments of greatness.
See all critic reviews »