The Deer Hunter
One of the most important and powerful films of all time!
The Deer Hunter (1978)
Production
Budget
$15 000 000
Revenue
$49 000 000
Director
Scenario
Deric Washburn
Author
Composer
Stanley Myers
Producer
Michael Deeley
Actors
Robert De Niro
Michael Vronsky
Christopher Walken
Nikanor "Nick" Chevotarevich
John Cazale
Stan
John Savage
Steven Pushkov
Meryl Streep
Linda
George Dzundza
John
Rutanya Alda
Angela
Pierre Segui
Julien
Short description
Three friends working in a Pennsylvania steel mill enlist in the army and are deployed to Vietnam. Before leaving, the men navigate personal struggles involving a rushed marriage and a shared romantic interest. The conflict shifts from their industrial hometown to the hardships of war, where the group faces capture by the Vietcong and is forced to participate in a brutal game of Russian roulette. The experience fundamentally alters each man as they deal with the physical and psychological aftermath of the conflict upon their return.
Directed by Michael Cimino, this was his second feature following Thunderbolt and Lightfoot. The production was a collaboration between Universal Pictures and EMI Films, featuring a cast that includes Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep, John Savage, and John Cazale. With a budget of 15 million USD, the film earned 49 million USD at the worldwide box office.
The movie has been well received by both general audiences and professionals. It holds an 8.1/10 rating on IMDb from 385,000 votes and an 8/10 on TMDB based on 4,393 votes. These scores are complemented by a higher rating from film critics, who gave the movie an 8.8/10 across 129 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- Michael returns from Vietnam in uniform and with a beard. According to the uniform regulations in effect for U.S. military personnel, as outlined in Army Regulation AR 670-1, he would not have been allowed to wear it without a proper haircut and a clean-shaven beard.
- Before filming the wedding scene, the director and producers asked Russian emigrants involved in the crowd scenes to prepare and bring “wedding gifts” to the set. The idea was to save money and time on creating props. Furthermore, the directors believed that such “gifts” would look more natural and authentic to the Russian community. After filming, someone in the crew noticed that the prop boxes seemed suspiciously heavy. Those who opened them were astonished to discover that they contained genuine wedding gifts – from Chinese trinkets to silver cutlery.
- Before Nick's funeral, a supermarket appears in the frame, displaying the exact same price tags as at the beginning of the film, even though they should have changed after a year and a half.
- Michael returns from Vietnam with the rank of staff sergeant and numerous awards on his chest. In reality, he would never have been able to reach this rank and receive so many medals in just one year of service. Furthermore, he has 6 patches on his sleeve, each of which represents 3 years of service.
- Nick, who was AWOL, shot himself on the last day of American presence in Saigon. Yet, Michael somehow managed to deliver his friend's body across the entire city to the American compound, get him out of the city, load him onto a plane, and return him home for burial. In the actual chaos that prevailed, it would likely have been impossible to do all of this.
- By the start of filming, John Cazale was already incurably ill and felt extremely weak. Each shooting day was a struggle for him. For this reason, all scenes with his participation were filmed first. Director Michael Cimino knew about the actor's terrible diagnosis, but the studio executives did not. When the secret became known, the film's leaders began to consider options for replacing the actor. When Meryl Streep learned of these intentions, she stated that she would leave the set along with Cazale. One of the arguments for dispensing with the actor's services was the increase in insurance payments for him. As a result, Cazale's insurance was fully paid for personally by Robert De Niro. Cazale died shortly after filming was completed. He never saw the finished film.
- As Angela tries on her wedding dress in front of the mirror, a microphone is visible in the reflection above her head.
- The deer that Michael kills on the hunt and the deer tied to the hood of the Cadillac when the friends return to town belong to different species.
- When the friends return from deer hunting, they sing Bobby Bare’s song “Drop Kick Me Jesus” in a bar, which was written in 1976, after the Vietnam War had ended. The film is set in 1967.
- The wedding scene for Steve and Angela was filmed at the St. Theodosius of Chernigov Cathedral in Cleveland. The cathedral is the oldest Orthodox church in the state of Ohio. The church was consecrated in 1896. At the time of its founding, most of the parishioners were Rusyns, and a small parish building stood on the site of the present church. The foundation for a stone church was laid in 1911. Russian Emperor Nicholas II was one of the donors to its construction. After the filming of “The Deer Hunter,” the cathedral gained worldwide fame.
- Michael Cimino and Derick Washburn wrote the film's script in 6 months.
- The film was shot entirely on location. No scenes were filmed in a studio.
- During the film's screening at the 1979 Berlin Film Festival, the Soviet delegation demonstratively left the cinema. Delegations from East Germany, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Cuba, and several other countries followed suit. Subsequently, the Soviet press sharply criticized the film for the topic of Russian emigration it raised, as well as for its depiction of Vietnamese partisans as cruel sadists.
- The part of the film where the main characters are captured by the Viet Cong was filmed in Thailand, in the province of Kanchanaburi on the River Kwai.
- It is believed that a number of deaths in the United States in the 1980s were caused by the famous 'Russian roulette' scene in the film. The 'Russian roulette' episode gained widespread notoriety. However, there is no convincing evidence that such cases actually occurred during the Vietnam War.
- Roy Scheider was originally slated to play the role of Michael Vronsky in the film. The actor was approved by the studio but withdrew from the project for personal reasons. The studio was furious and replaced him with Robert De Niro. Later, Scheider admitted that he considered this his most regrettable career mistake.
- Robert De Niro and John Savage performed all the stunts themselves. It took 15 takes to film the ten-meter fall over 3 days. In the take that made it into the film, the assistants pulled on a rope and nearly killed Savage and De Niro. Both of them are seen shouting to people in the helicopter to be careful.
- The wedding scene in the church was filmed over 5 days. A real priest and a church choir, which performed more than 50 chants, were involved in the filming.
- Chuck Espregren (Axel) is not a professional actor, but a steel mill worker from Pennsylvania. His colorful figure so impressed Michael Cimino that he was invited to the film without an audition and was the second actor to be cast after De Niro.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
