History Trivia / TheDeerHunter

* NoStuntDouble: Creator/RobertDeNiro and John Savage performed their own stunts for the fall into the river, filming the thirty foot drop fifteen times in two days.

** The HeroicBloodshed movie ''Film/BulletInTheHead'' is a WholePlotReference to ''The Deer Hunter'', revolving around three friends taking an illegal job that sends them to Vietnam, only for the outbreak of war to screw over their plans. Both films contains instances where protagonists are forced to play Russian Roulette on each other as well.

* DoingItForTheArt: The studio wanted to replace Creator/JohnCazale when he was ruled un-insurable. Creator/RobertDeNiro reportedly put up the money for the insurance. Cazale died shortly after filming was completed.

* CaliforniaDoubling: Although the famous deer hunting scene was supposed to take place in western Pennsylvania, it was shot on Mt. Baker in Washington State.

* DawsonCasting: There was some controversy as the actors were too old for their characters who are supposed to be in their late teens or early twenties.

** Also with ''Film/ApocalypseNow'', as competing edgy, artistic epics set in Vietnam, made by a [[ThePerfectionist Perfectionist]] director. Since ''The Deer Hunter'' came out while Creator/FrancisFordCoppola was in the Troubled Post-Production phase of the fabled TroubledProduction of ''Apocalypse Now'', it managed to steal some of its thunder, but the two movies were still often linked in the public eye. One ''New York Times'' profile of Creator/MichaelCimino had him bragging that Coppola came to visit him and told him "You beat me, baby!", and Cimino also pointedly declared in the piece that "Vietnam was not the ''apocalypse''".

** At Creator/MichaelCimino's request, Creator/ChristopherWalken spat in Creator/RobertDeNiro's face during [[spoiler:Nick and Michael's last encounter]]. Needless to say, [=DeNiro=] wasn't prepared for that. Also, the slapping during the Russian Roulette scenes was real.

* MidDevelopmentGenreShift: ''The Deer Hunter'' had one of the most tortured development phases of any Best Picture winner. It began life as ''The Man Who Came to Play'', a spec script by writer Louis Garfinkle and prolific character actor (and SoapOpera mainstay) Quinn Redeker. It was about two men, Merle and Keys, who conducted rigged RussianRoulette games, with Merle being more of an unstable, but gutsy, military vet than a ShellShockedVeteran. Still, the tone was more like a lighthearted BuddyPicture a la ''Film/ButchCassidyAndTheSundanceKid'' or ''Film/TheSting''. The initial draft was set in UsefulNotes/LasVegas, but by the time EMI Pictures got ahold of the script, Garfinkle and Redeker had changed the setting to Vietnam. Offered the script to direct, Creator/MichaelCimino and his occasional collaborator, playwright Deric Washburn, dropped everything but the Russian roulette and Vietnam elements, and constructed a whole new dramatic story about working class men and UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar. Then Cimino did a toughened-up rewrite with stronger language and more violence.

* WordOfGod: It is generally believed that Steven is not the father of Angela's baby, due to his remark that he "never really did it with Angela"; he was apparently the only one who offered to marry her, to save her the indignity of becoming an unmarried mother. In the DVDCommentary for the Special Edition DVD release, Creator/MichaelCimino revealed that Nick was the father. This was a highly debated issue by fans of the film that was, until then, a mystery.

* DoingItForTheArt: The studio wanted to replace John Cazale when he was ruled un-insurable. Creator/RobertDeNiro put up the money for the insurance. Cazale died shortly after filming was completed.

** The original spec script, entitled ''The Man Who Came to Play'', was about people who go to Las Vegas to play RussianRoulette.
** The protagonist in the original script, Merle, was an individual who sustained a bad injury in active service and was damaged psychologically by his violent experiences, but was nevertheless a tough character with strong nerves and guts.

** Creator/RoyScheider was originally cast as Michael, but withdrew from the production two weeks before the start of filming, due to "CreativeDifferences".
** Creator/JeffBridges was considered for Nick, while Creator/BradDourif was considered for Steven. Creator/GerardDepardieu was considered for Julien.

** Angela being warned about bumping her head off the doorway while being carried out? Rutanya Aldi accidentally hit her head while being carried on the first take.
** George Dzundza completely blows the toast line when the group arrives in the mountains the first time. His reaction is legitimate, and a few of the other actors can be seen laughing in response.

* ReferencedBy: At one point in ''Literature/{{Shtum}}'', Ben screams in his head the way Creator/RobertDeNiro screams while [[spoiler:trying to plug the bullet hole in Creator/ChristopherWalken's temple]].

** Christopher Walken won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor and didn't look back afterwards.
** Meryl Streep had been a OneSceneWonder in the film ''Film/{{Julia}}'', but her Oscar-nominated turn in this movie brought her to immediate attention.