The Deer Hunter

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Cimino directs. Vilmos Zsigmond behind the camera. Stanley Myers scores. Peter Zinner cuts. A long sit — settle in. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English, French, Russian, Vietnamese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1At 183 minutes, this is a three-hour-plus commitment — longer than 95% of films ever made.
• 2Made its money back 3.3× over at the box office.
• 348 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
• 4Dialogue crosses 4 languages: English, French, Russian, Vietnamese.
• 5International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
• 6Directed by Michael Cimino, shot by Vilmos Zsigmond. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 7Original score by Stanley Myers. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 8Editor Peter Zinner shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 9Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken and John Cazale carry the top of the cast.
• 10Marketing tagline: "One of the most important and powerful films of all time!".
• 11IMDB entry: tt0077416 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 12Classified under 23 themes, including "vietnam war", "vietnam veteran", "small town", "suicide".

The technical file

Cinematography

Vilmos Zsigmond

Original score

Stanley Myers

Editing

Peter Zinner

Makeup / hair

Mary Keats

Sound

William L. McCaughey

Stunt coordinator

Buddy Van Horn

Runtime

183 min · 3h 3m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$15,000,000

Box office

$49,000,000

Return

327% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

The Deer Hunter (1978) ↗

Also by

Michael Cimino

• 
  Year of the Dragon

  1985 · ★ 6.8
• 
  Thunderbolt and Lightfoot

  1974 · ★ 6.8
• 
  Heaven's Gate

  1980 · ★ 6.7
• 
  To Each His Own Cinema

  2007 · ★ 6.4
• 
  The Sunchaser

  1996 · ★ 6.3
• 
  Desperate Hours

  1990 · ★ 5.4

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

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Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Meryl Streep on her character Linda in THE DEER HUNTER

  Featurette · Official
• 

  ▶
  Official Trailer

  Trailer · Official
• 

  ▶
  What Robert De Niro did for The Deer Hunter | BFI

  Featurette · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Andres Gomez2014-10-10
  ★ 6/10

  Slow pace movie which nicely depicts the life of worker class Russian inmigrants in USA and the impact that its young generation receives from Vietnam's war. The actual shock cause being the crazy game of the Russian roulette only helps from the artistic point of view of the film but it is well blended into the actual story.

  Read full review ↓
• talisencrw2016-07-19
  ★ 10/10

  With director Cimino's recent death and his reputation in tatters since the debacle of 'Heaven's Gate', I decided to visit 'The Deer Hunter'. Though over three hours long, it's astonishing, paced so achingly right and I can see why he rightfully earned the 'carte blanche' that would unfortunately lead to his downfall (as well as an entire studio's) as soon as he made his next film. But to reach such heights and to have such ambition--as well as undeniable talent--is a victory in and of itself. Just armed with the main five actors alone, at the zenith of their craft, a fine script (really the first interesting and well-deliberated Vietnam film to hit the big screen) and Vilmos Zsigmond behind the camera meant that this would prove something special. Scenes that will haunt you forever. My favourite shot is the incredible 360-degree pan shot around Linda's bedroom when she realizes she's given up on Nick and is going to declare her love to Michael--extraordinary stuff. What's YOURS? Many film lovers who despise Cimino's work instantly clam up when 'The Deer Hunter' is mentioned...and there's a reason for that. It's deservedly considered one of the finest American films of the 70's--a decade that was chock-full of great ones.

  Read full review ↓
• JPV8522020-06-06
  ★ 9/10

  The Deer Hunter (1978) — Excellent character war drama that showcases some great performances, mainly De Niro and Walken. Directed by Michael Cimino, this 3-hour film takes its time developing these characters and shows the psychological side of the horrors of Vietnam, and war in general. Probably makes a good companion film with Apocalypse Now, released only seven months later (in the U.S.). 4.5/5

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Universal Pictures

  US

• 

  EMI Films

  GB

Key crew

• EditorPeter Zinner
• CastingCis Corman
• Art DirectionRon Hobbs
• Art DirectionKim Swados
• GreensmanGus Basso
• LeadmanHarold McConnell
• Construction CoordinatorGeorge Stokes
• Construction CoordinatorMickey Woods
• Boom OperatorDonald A. Bolger
• Supervising Sound Effects EditorJames J. Klinger
• Dolby ConsultantStephen Katz
• Stunt CoordinatorBuddy Van Horn
• Stunt CoordinatorCarey Loftin
• Costume SupervisorEric Seelig
• Transportation CoordinatorFrank 'Cat' Ballou
• Transportation CoordinatorArthur Dunne
• Location ManagerFrank Ernst
• Script SupervisorJune Samson
• Location ManagerM.R. Boonyalak Sukawasdi
• HairstylistMary Keats
• Makeup ArtistDel Acevedo
• Makeup ArtistEdwin Butterworth
• Production ManagerClaude Binyon Jr.
• Sound EditorTeri E. Dorman

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• vietnam war
• vietnam veteran
• small town
• suicide
• vietnam
• post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd)
• escape
• pennsylvania, usa
• saigon
• friends
• russian roulette
• wedding
• deer hunting
• steel worker
• anti war
• revolver
• drunkenness
• viet cong
• romantic triangle
• complex
• friends love same woman
• prisoner of war camp
• slavic american

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical (limited)1978-12-08R· New York City, New York / Los Angeles, California
• Theatrical1979-02-23R
• Physical1998-03-31R· DVD
• Physical2005-09-05R· DVD (Universal Legacy Series)
• Physical2020-05-26R· 4K Ultra HD (Shout Select)

Also known as

International titles

• The Man Who Came to PlayUS
• Vanatorul de CerbiRO
• 사슴 사냥꾼KR
• Łowca JeleniPL
• KauriinmetsästäjäFI
• O Franco AtiradorBR
• 獵鹿者HK
• The Deer HunterUS