The Deer Hunter - WTF?!?!?

Ferret Lady

Ferret Lady

Well-known member
ok, The Deer Hunter. saw it for the first time the other night.

I DON'T GET IT!! like, really, i think this movie is messed up. there's a bunch of guys in this town, and one guy gets married, and they spend like 30 friggin minutes just showing the wedding ( i went out for a cigarrette and was shocked that the wedding scene was still going on when i came back inside ), then they go and shoot a deer in the forest, then the three guys go to war in vietnam and play some messed up game where they play russian roullette on themselves.. then one guy stays cuz his mind is like all warped and he plays that game for money.. and they go deer hunting again.

there's a bit more to it which i won't talk about cuz if you've seen the movie, you know what happens to christopher walken which is totally messed up.. i know this movie has won a lot of awards but like what am i missing here?


does anyone agree with me or am i about to get torn to shreds? heh.
 
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It's not so much the length of those wedding scenes, it's that they aren't even structured to make any point. Things just happen in front of the camera and the shots are edited together in a sort of random, unconnected manner. I admire the film for its ambition and scope, but I can't say I like it. The performances are all great, though, and Meryl Streep was never more gorgeous. Yes, she was hot a long time ago.
 
Batutta said:
It's not so much the length of those wedding scenes, it's that they aren't even structured to make any point. Things just happen in front of the camera and the shots are edited together in a sort of random, unconnected manner. I admire the film for its ambition and scope, but I can't say I like it. The performances are all great, though, and Meryl Streep was never more gorgeous. Yes, she was hot a long time ago.
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yes, that's it exactly. they don't make any point. that's why i was left feeling like i didnt get it.

funny thing is, the guy that got married wasnt even one of the MAIN characters.. that is, if you consider the three guys that went to vietnam as the main characters ... i was like, man, why do i even care about this guys wedding?

is this movie about a guy that hunts deer? cuz really he only kills one deer in the entire film. i dont even get the title.. they should have called it "Before and After Vietnam" or something like that...
 
btw, HorseFilms, i just realized that your avatar of the horse running follows the beat of Fantastic Voyage by Coolio PERFECTLY. u should check it out.. i'm mesmerized.. hahahahha..
 
I liked the film.

Sure, the wedding scene was a bit uneventful, but I think it serves the film as a whole pretty well.

Think about their lives before and after...

Also, no offense, but how can you properly review a film if you step out for a smoke during the middle of it?
 
Drew Ott said:
I liked the film.

Sure, the wedding scene was a bit uneventful, but I think it serves the film as a whole pretty well.

Think about their lives before and after...

Also, no offense, but how can you properly review a film if you step out for a smoke during the middle of it?
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yeah i know, it's about how the war changed them right? but it's called the deer hunter? heh.

thats ok that you like it, i'm just saying i didnt get it... but i only stepped out during the wedding scene and that was for like 7 minutes max... i don't think i missed much ;)
 
I guess the Vietnam War was a little more fresh in people's minds when THE DEER HUNTER was released. To me, it was a look at the lives of this close group of friends, and how their lives were directly affected by the war. I thought it was a very powerful and moving film (this is one that definitely had me crying at the end). I went to see it twice.
 
KMR said:
I guess the Vietnam War was a little more fresh in people's minds when THE DEER HUNTER was released. To me, it was a look at the lives of this close group of friends, and how their lives were directly affected by the war. I thought it was a very powerful and moving film (this is one that definitely had me crying at the end). I went to see it twice.
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ya, that could be part of it... but i have been affected emotionally by many war movies in the past.. this one was just so sporadic with the events and stuff... i dont think connected well... deer hunting, super long wedding, war stuff, deer hunting again.. i dunno.
 
The Deer Hunter is that group of people's film who want to sound more cutting edge than the people who pick more obvious favorite films like The Godfather and Apocalypse Now. This movie had one good scene (the russian roulette scene) and that's about it. Granted, this movie was made back in a day where people actually had patience, but to make the opening scene as long as it was (and it was realllly long) - it was clearly less about the story and more about, "I'm going to do this because I can."
 
The Deer Hunter is a brilliant film.

The wedding scene to long ? It lets us get to know the friends and their lives. I think it only added to the depth of the film. Looking metaphorically deeper into it, it starts with this wedding and ends with the funeral with Vietnam being the catalyst of change for each of these people.

Too many films cut to the chase too quickly but this film is so deliberate. It isn't a war film, it's a human drama!

This film is a true piece of art and the cinemotography from Vilmos is stunning.

You don't like it ? Bah ! Madness !

I wish more filmmakers had the courage to stay on scenes and shots and let the audience become absorbed.
 
It's been a long time since I've seen The Deer Hunter so I've forgotten much of the film, but I still remember when the credits rolled I said to myself, "Wow. That's a heavy movie."


-A
 
i guess you need more patience than i have to enjoy this movie.

well, i DID enjoy it actually... i'm not trying to say i didnt like the movie. meryl streep was awesome, and deniro and walken too. just got bored a few times and found the scenes didnt connect well.
 
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