MOVIEmeter
Top 5000
Up 27 this week

The Deer Hunter (1978)

R  |   |  Drama, War  |  23 February 1979 (USA)
8.2
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 8.2/10 from 213,943 users   Metascore: 73/100
Reviews: 991 user | 132 critic | 7 from Metacritic.com

An in-depth examination of the ways in which the U.S. Vietnam war impacts and disrupts the lives of people in a small industrial town in Pennsylvania.

Director:

Writers:

(story), (story), 3 more credits »
Watch Trailer
0Check in
0Share...

On Disc

at Amazon

Celebrate IMDb's 25th Anniversary with Photos We Love

IMDb turns 25 on October 17! To celebrate, we put together a gallery of some of our favorite movie, TV, and event photos from the last 25 years.

See the Photos We Love

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 26 titles
created 08 Feb 2013
 
a list of 24 titles
created 9 months ago
 
War
a list of 45 titles
created 5 months ago
 
a list of 25 titles
created 2 weeks ago
 
a list of 30 titles
created 1 week ago
 

Related Items

Search for "The Deer Hunter" on Amazon.com

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: The Deer Hunter (1978)

The Deer Hunter (1978) on IMDb 8.2/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of The Deer Hunter.

User Polls

Top 250 Movies #150 | Won 5 Oscars. Another 16 wins & 26 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Platoon (1986)
Drama | War
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.1/10 X  

A young recruit in Vietnam faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and the duality of man.

Director: Oliver Stone
Stars: Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe
Unforgiven (1992)
Western
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.3/10 X  

Retired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner and a young man.

Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman
Drama | War
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.5/10 X  

During the Vietnam War, Captain Willard is sent on a dangerous mission into Cambodia to assassinate a renegade colonel who has set himself up as a god among a local tribe.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall
Raging Bull (1980)
Biography | Drama | Sport
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.3/10 X  

An emotionally self-destructive boxer's journey through life, as the violence and temper that leads him to the top in the ring, destroys his life outside it.

Director: Martin Scorsese
Stars: Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci
Casino (1995)
Biography | Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.2/10 X  

Greed, deception, money, power, and murder occur between two mobster best friends and a trophy wife over a gambling empire.

Director: Martin Scorsese
Stars: Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci
Taxi Driver (1976)
Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.4/10 X  

A mentally unstable Vietnam war veteran works as a night-time taxi driver in New York City where the perceived decadence and sleaze feeds his urge for violent action, attempting to save a preadolescent prostitute in the process.

Director: Martin Scorsese
Stars: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd
Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.4/10 X  

A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan over thirty years later, where he once again must confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.

Director: Sergio Leone
Stars: Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern
Adventure | Drama | War
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.2/10 X  

After settling his differences with a Japanese PoW camp commander, a British colonel co-operates to oversee his men's construction of a railway bridge for their captors - while oblivious to a plan by the Allies to destroy it.

Director: David Lean
Stars: William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins
Heat (1995)
Action | Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.3/10 X  

A group of professional bank robbers start to feel the heat from police when they unknowingly leave a clue at their latest heist.

Director: Michael Mann
Stars: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer
Drama | War
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.3/10 X  

A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the U.S.-Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Stars: Matthew Modine, R. Lee Ermey, Vincent D'Onofrio
The Sting (1973)
Comedy | Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.3/10 X  

In Chicago in September 1936, a young con man seeking revenge for his murdered partner teams up with a master of the big con to win a fortune from a criminal banker.

Director: George Roy Hill
Stars: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.7/10 X  

Upon admittance to a mental institution, a brash rebel rallies the patients to take on the oppressive head nurse.

Director: Milos Forman
Stars: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Michael Berryman
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
...
...
...
...
Chuck Aspegren ...
Shirley Stoler ...
...
Pierre Segui ...
Mady Kaplan ...
...
Mary Ann Haenel ...
Richard Kuss ...
...
Edit

Storyline

Michael, Steven and Nick are young factory workers from Pennsylvania who enlist into the Army to fight in Vietnam. Before they go, Steven marries the pregnant Angela, and their wedding party also serves as the men's farewell party. After some time and many horrors, the three friends fall in the hands of the Vietcong and are brought to a prison camp in which they are forced to play Russian roulette against each other. Michael makes it possible for them to escape, but they soon get separated again. Written by Leon Wolters <wolters@strw.LeidenUniv.nl>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

One of the most important and powerful films of all time! See more »

Genres:

Drama | War

Certificate:

R | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Country:

|

Language:

| | |

Release Date:

23 February 1979 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

The Man Who Came to Play  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

SEK 10,994,967 (Sweden)
 »

Company Credits

Production Co:

,  »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(70 mm prints)| (35 mm prints)

Color:

(Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Michael Cimino convinced Christopher Walken to spit in Michael's face. When Walken actually did it, Robert De Niro was completely shocked, as evidenced by his reaction. In fact, De Niro was so furious about it he nearly left the set. Cimino later said of Walken, "He's got courage!" See more »

Goofs

When Linda goes to Mike and Nick's trailer for the first time, the trailers hitch as well as the tail lights can be seen. The wires from the tail lights are seen running into the windows above the hitch. The tail lights should be on the rear while the hitch is on the front. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Michael: Hey, watch out, Axel. We'll be calling him old fireballs after tonight.
Axel: Fuckin' A.
Michael: Not bad.
See more »

Crazy Credits

We gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of our Thai crew in the production of "The Deer Hunter" See more »

Connections

Referenced in Father's Day (2011) See more »

Soundtracks

God Bless America
(1918) (uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin
Sung by all in the final scene
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
How far would you go for a friend?
12 December 2005 | by (Chicago, Illinois) – See all my reviews

This is one of the best adaptions of the Vietnam War on film that I have seen. We have also "Platoon" that represented somewhat of the same thing that "The Deer Hunter" did as well, but this one came first and was a great version. It showed the intense horror and ultimate change effect on the men that fought in Vietnam. At first, I admit, I was a little bored because the beginning is a little long and felt unnecessary, but then I realized later in the film how much that developed the characters and understood their friendships and how they relate.

Robert De Niro seems to be the strongest one of the group, his name is Mike. He has a lot of guts, but he also seems to care mostly about himself, he later on proves that after finally just letting go with his kept up emotions, he must take care of his friends as well. Christopher Walken, he's a baby in here! He's such a terrific actor and he did so well by portraying innocence in his role and the ultimate insanity of his character. He and Robert were amazing, they were just so believable and worked so well together.

This was the best picture of 1978, so far I cannot really judge one wither or not it deserved the reward. But it is an awesome movie and I would highly recommend it for anyone. The lines are just F****** A! :D I mean memorable! This does deserve to be on the top 250, good job to other IMDb users!

10/10


62 of 110 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Analysis of the first hour - great or terrible? nielw
Where do the boots end up? pshute-147-286550
Apparently Underrated Filler_Killer
Question about Stan faulknerfan123
GI in wedding scene khmanno
Response from a Vietnamese decoyleknox
Discuss The Deer Hunter (1978) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page