History Film / TheDeerHunter

* AnArmAndALeg: [[spoiler:Steven loses both his legs in the evacuation from the river.]]

* TheAce: Michael seems to be skilled at everything he does, however small - from bagging a deer every season with one shot to having the magic touch with opening the trunk of his car with a gentle kick. He goes on to serve bravely and honorably as an Army Ranger, and the [[spoiler: only one among the three friends to come back with his mind and body mostly intact]].

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: The film got some flak for its portrayal of the Vietnamese as exceedingly cruel and callous. In particular, the famous Russian roulette scenes were criticized as an invention of the cinema (which is true), but they work as a metaphor for the central theme of the film, that WarIsHell and no one is immune from its effects. [[note]]: (in addition, while there's no record of the VC committing this specific atrocity, they were certainly not averse to committing [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viet_Cong_and_People%27s_Army_of_Vietnam_use_of_terror_in_the_Vietnam_War others. ]])[[/note]]
* BilingualBonus: When Mike looks for Nick, you got [[GratuitousFrench the French gambler in Saigon cursing]] :

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Mike and Steven survive the war, but not all in one piece, physically or mentally. Nick dies, but Michael brings his body home and has his funeral in America like he promised.]]

* WretchedHive: Saigon, of course.

Sixth and last film for John Cazale, who looks as gaunt as he does in the film because he was dying of cancer, and in fact didn't live to see its premiere.

In the late 1960s, three Slavic-American friends from a Pennsylvania steel town – Nick (Walken), Michael (Creator/RobertDeNiro), and Steven (Creator/JohnSavage) – are enlisted to fight in [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar Vietnam]] just as Steven weds his girlfriend. Nick and Michael, who both love the same woman, Linda (Creator/MerylStreep), celebrate their last days of freedom by going deer hunting with another friend, Stan (Creator/JohnCazale). When the trio do go to war, the experience is very much a nightmare; eventually, they are imprisoned by the Viet Cong and forced to play Russian Roulette against each other. While they are able to escape their captors, they can't escape the consequences of the war.

[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/deerhunter.jpg]]

In the late 1960s, three Slavic-American friends from a Pennsylvania steel town – Nick (Walken), Michael (Creator/RobertDeNiro), and Steven (Creator/JohnSavage) – are enlisted to fight in [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar Vietnam]] just as Steven weds his girlfriend. Nick and Michael, who both love the same woman, Linda (Creator/MerylStreep), celebrate their last days of freedom by going deer hunting. When they do go to war, the experience is very much a nightmare; they are eventually imprisoned by the Viet Cong and forced to play Russian Roulette against each other. The trio escape their captors, but they don't escape the consequences of the war.

Sixth and last film for Creator/JohnCazale, who looks as gaunt as he does in the film because he was dying of cancer, and in fact didn't live to see its premiere.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/deerhunter.jpg]]

''The Deer Hunter'' is a 1978 film directed, co-written, and co-produced by Creator/{{Michael Cimino|Director}}, his second film as director and his last film [[FollowUpFailure before the infamous disaster]] ''Film/HeavensGate''. It won five Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and for Christopher Walken as Best Supporting Actor.

In the 1960s, three friends from a Pennsylvania steel town -- Nick (Creator/ChristopherWalken), Michael (Creator/RobertDeNiro), and Steven (Creator/JohnSavage) -- are enlisted to fight in [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar Vietnam]] just as Steven weds his girlfriend, Angela. Nick and Michael, who both love the same woman, Linda (Creator/MerylStreep), celebrate their last days of freedom by going deer hunting. When they do go to war, the experience is very much a nightmare; eventually, they are imprisoned by the Viet Cong and are forced to play Russian Roulette against each other. The trio escape their captors, but they don't escape the consequences of the war.

Sixth and last film for Creator/JohnCazale, who looks as gaunt as he does in the film because he was dying of cancer, and in fact didn't live to see the film premiere.

* LifeImitatesArt: cases of people killed playing Russian Roulette soared after the release of this film.

''The Deer Hunter'' is a 1978 film directed, co-written, and co-produced by Creator/MichaelCimino, his second film as director and his last film [[FollowUpFailure before the infamous disaster]] ''Film/HeavensGate''. It won five Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and for Christopher Walken as Best Supporting Actor.

* ButNotTooForeign: The protagonists are Rusyn-Americans.

* ButNotTooForeign: The protagonists are Russian-Americans.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: The film got some flak for its portrayal of the Vietnamese as exceedingly cruel and callous. In particular, the famous Russian roulette scenes were criticized as an invention of the cinema (which is true), but they work as a metaphor for the central theme of the film, that WarIsHell and no one is immune from its effects.

* MisplacedWildlife: The deer shown in the stock footage hunting scenes are European red deer, not the whitetail deer that one would see in Pennsylvania. The boreal spruce forest is almost equally out of place in Pennsylvania, qualifying as MisplacedVegetation.

* TropeMaker: For OscarBait tactics. It was limited to a short screening in New York and LA when the audience was mostly critics and Academy members, giving the film hype for its award nominations to draw in audiences. Similar moves were later used for other films striving for both the awards and the public's money.

* ShotgunWedding: Steven and Angela's.

Sixth and last film for John Cazale, who looks as gaunt as he does in the film because he was dying of cancer, and in fact didn't live to see the film premiere.

* SelfHarm: It is implied that Nick engages in this, with [[DeathSeeker suicidal intent]], when Mike grabs hold of his arms, revealing scars and wounds all over his wrists.

* DeathSeeker: Nick.

* ObligatoryWarCrimeScene: In the first war scene, a Viet Cong soldier slaughters a bunker full of Vietnamese civilians and then [[WouldHurtAChild shoots a pregnant woman and her child.]] Michael avenges her [[KillItWithFire by burning him alive with a flamethrower.]]

In the 1960s, three friends from a Pennsylvania steel town -- Nick (Creator/ChristopherWalken), Michael (Creator/RobertDeNiro), and Steven (John Savage) -- are enlisted to fight in [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar Vietnam]] just as Steven weds his girlfriend, Angela. Nick and Michael, who both love the same woman, Linda (Creator/MerylStreep), celebrate their last days of freedom by going deer hunting. When they do go to war, the experience is very much a nightmare; eventually, they are imprisoned by the Viet Cong and are forced to play Russian Roulette against each other. The trio escape their captors, but they don't escape the consequences of the war.