Winner '78:
First Saw It:		 The Deer Hunter
July 13, 1999, on VHS
Bridesmaids: Coming Home, Heaven Can Wait, Midnight Express, An Unmarried Woman
My Vote: The Deer Hunter, though Coming Home makes a complementary case
Overlooked: Days of Heaven, and several movies I haven't seen in a while, or at all


The Deer Hunter
First screened in July 1999 / Most recently screened in July 2016
Director: Michael Cimino. Cast: Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Savage, John Cazale, Meryl Streep, George Dzundza, Chuck Aspegren, Rutanya Alda, Pierre Segui, Vitoon Winwitoon, Somsak Sengvilai, Charan Nusvanon, Po Pao Pee, Jiam Gongtongsmoot, Shirley Stoler, Richard Kuss, John F. Buchmelter III, Victoria Karnafel, Mary Ann Haenel, Mady Kaplan, Amy Wright. Screenplay: Deric Washburn (based on an original screen story by Michael Cimino & Deric Washburn and Louis Garfinkle & Quinn K. Redeker).

 Twitter Capsule: Brave, jarring shift from rustic-Visconti epic naturalism to exaggerated war nightmare. Polarizing but powerful.

VOR: ⑤  Important debates still engage the film's imputed racism, sensationalistic treatment of war, and stylistic excess, though the latter two also make it an intimidating, influential event.


Photo © 1978 Universal Pictures/EMI Films

Not yet reviewed in full. Grade: B+

(in July 1999: A–)
Academy Award Nominations and Winners:
★Best Picture
★Best Director: Michael Cimino
Best Actor: Robert De Niro
Best Supporting Actress: Meryl Streep
★Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Walken
Best Original Screenplay: Deric Washburn, Michael Cimino, Louis Garfinkle, and Quinn K. Redeker
Best Cinematography: Vilmos Zsigmond
★Best Film Editing: Peter Zinner
★Best Sound: Richard Portman, William L. McCaughey, Aaron Rochin, and C. Darin Knight

Golden Globe Nominations and Winners:
Best Picture (Drama)
★Best Director: Michael Cimino
Best Actor (Drama): Robert De Niro
Best Supporting Actress: Meryl Streep
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Walken
Best Screenplay: Deric Washburn

Other Awards:
Directors Guild of America: Best Director
New York Film Critics Circle: Best Picture; Best Supporting Actor (Walken)
Los Angeles Film Critics Association: Best Director
National Society of Film Critics: Best Supporting Actress (Streep)
British Academy Awards (BAFTAs): Best Cinematography; Best Film Editing
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