Review of The Deer Hunter (53)

Plot
A group of working-class friends decides to enlist in the Army during the Vietnam War and finds it to be hellish chaos -- not the noble venture they imagined.

Crystal's Thoughts
Before I start in on my thoughts, I have to be honest. It's been months since I watched this movie. I was just not inspired at all to write a review on it (nor did I have the time) - with dear husband though, I've not been left with much choice and need to write it so that we can move on in our list of movies (are we ever going to get to Gone With the Wind?).

That being said, you have likely already guessed, I didn't care for this movie much. My issue with it was the length of the movie, and its lack of an actual connection to Vietnam. And I don't mind long movies... as long as they are good and don't "feel" long. This movie, unfortunately, felt super long and as if it was never going to end. There were countless scenes I felt were unnecessary and adding to the length of the movie. I want to add here though that I am going to try to be like my good friend Jason Kuntz and try to make better connections in movies and look at them on a deeper level. I didn't make that commitment though until after I had watched this film. Sorry, man. Back to the length of the film. First, I did not understand the relevance of the wedding scene. It dragged on forever, and I was simply left wondering how on earth it fit into the film. Other scenes that I didn't grasp fitting were all of the ones about hunting. Yes, I know this film is called The Deer Hunter, and those scenes are meant to be ties, but I just didn't feel it. All I felt was it adding to dragging out the movie further and that I was watching a movie about hunting.

Part of me did wonder if my expectations of the movie were too high. My dad fought in Vietnam, and I've never really gotten much from him about it (understandable). I was hoping this film would shed some light on it, but it didn't. The acting wasn't the greatest, and if this movie was ever edited, well, I think that process should be revisited.

I then try to consider the year this film was made, and with that in mind, perhaps back then it was a gutsy movie about Vietnam. I don't know though, as I felt it showed more about Vietnam making those who served in it crazy (my dad is perfectly sane, I must add), not that there was much in it about Vietnam itself. It didn't do much for me though in 2012. I continue to wait to see a great movie based on Vietnam.

Jason's Thoughts
I was looking forward to seeing this movie for quite some time. I had seen parts of it in the past and am a fan of both Christopher Walken and Robert Di Niro. Watching this entire epic for the first time, though, left a lot to be desired and didn't live up to what I thought it would be in my mind.

I remember my mom watching this movie when I was younger and catching parts of the Russian roulette scenes. I can honestly say that even though I knew the outcome, those particular scenes in The Deer Hunter are still intense to watch. It is unfortunate, however, that the intensity and suspense from those scenes don't carry over to the rest of the movie, which is the majority of the three hour movie.

It seemed at times that The Deer Hunter was working without a script or any direction whatsoever. The first hour of the film, which mostly covers a wedding, seems to take forever to finish yet leaves you with the feeling that nothing was accomplished. Scenes are shown of just people dancing and having a good time - something you'd be more likely to see during a home video of one of your friends wedding reception, not in a movie that is held in such high regard.

Once you are done seeing people dancing and singing in bars, you are immediately transferred over to the middle of a battle in Vietnam. From there you are suddenly jolted over to prisoner camp, where the three main characters find themselves in. It is this disjointedness that I feel brings The Deer Hunter down. Too much time is spent on filler while there are too many things that are left unsaid yet are implied. To me, that is unacceptable for a three hour movie.

Due to the length and all of the unnecessary filler throughout The Deer Hunter, I kept on finding my mind wander and constantly checking the clock on the DVD player to find out how much of the movie was left. I also found myself reading about The Deer Hunter online to fill in the gaps I had that I either missed or didn't catch as it was just assumed.

I don't mind watching long movies, if they are good and can hold my attention the entire run time will pass without me thinking much of it. The Deer Hunter, unfortunately, didn't do that for me. Had the excess been cut out and it was trimmed down a bit, I feel that it could have been a better movie. It definitely had the acting for it, but much of the movie should have been left on the cutting room floor.

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