The Deer Hunter (1978)

The critic deems it tense and moving despite being overlong, praising its depiction of male bonding and the dehumanising effects of war. The Russian roulette scenes and strong performances, especially by Walken and Streep, are highlighted.

The critic calls it one of the few great films of the Seventies and a gruelling test of moral and political conscience. It singles out the central male love affair and its Nietzschean undertones for particular note.

The critic finds the film a gruelling but enduring classic whose epic ambitions largely succeed. The prolonged wedding sequence stands out as the highlight for its realistic portrayal of working-class life.

The critic describes the film as a gruelling yet beautiful epic treatise on endurance and the American male spirit, highlighting its audacious contrasts, terrifying Russian roulette sequence, and strong performances, especially De Niro's.

Derek Malcolm calls the film extraordinarily powerful and compares it to classic anti-war works for its view of how conflict breaks minds. He praises its intensity, feeling, and superb performances, especially from De Niro and Walken, while noting it functions more as romantic melodrama than strict realism.

The critic declares it the great American film of 1978 for its timely, important, and uncompromising take on the Vietnam War and its effects. He singles out De Niro's performance and Cimino's direction, story, and production work for particular praise.

The critic finds the film a big, awkward, crazily ambitious motion picture that comes close to being a popular epic. He praises the genuine feelings for time, place and blue-collar people along with the vision of an original major new filmmaker, while noting issues with narrative manipulation and melodrama.

The review calls the film intense, powerful and fascinating for more than three hours, highlighting outstanding action, Walken's marvelous performance and first-rate technical credits. It notes the ambitious screenplay may be too dense for wide audiences but succeeds on multiple levels.

The film is long and roughly edited with a dragging realism that still divides audiences. Cimino's stark vision contrasts everyday beauty with the horrors of Vietnam, highlighted by the roulette scene and strong performances from De Niro and Walken.