Nick Clement brings us this review of The Deer Hunter Blu Ray now available to purchase!
The Deer Hunter is a film of overwhelming magnitude and staggering directorial force, and Shout! Factory’s recent Blu-ray release is absolutely incredible, retaining the oh-so-special 1970’s celluloid flavor that has become all but lost in today’s digitally-smoothed landscape.
Easily one of the most cumulatively powerful films ever crafted, legendary and obsessively detailed director Michael Cimino (Heaven’s Gate, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, The Year of the Dragon, The Sicilian, Desperate Hours, The Sunchaser) was on another level here with his magnum opus, while the richly textured screenplay, which was written by Deric Washburn from a story by Washburn, Cimino, Louis Garfinkle, and Quinn Redeke, is pointed, observant, ruthless, and heartfelt. There have been many films that have explored the Vietnam War but none have ever come close to how The Deer Hunter was achieved.
Vilmos Zsigmond’s supernal widescreen cinematography is still extraordinary to behold; tough and vital, this is a piece of massive canvass filmmaking that challenges the viewer at nearly every turn.
The film conveys so many emotions in so many instances that it has the potential to be “too much” for some viewers; others will be wholly enthralled by the epic yet intimate style in which this Oscar-winning effort was crafted. It’s the only film that I can remember my father saying: “I can’t watch that one again.” And I can see why. He introduced me to this movie at a young age (probably when I was 12 or 13) and the impact it made on me can never be fully explained.
In fact, I have a distinct memory of my father renting the double VHS from Blockbuster, and then NOT watching it with me – I watched it alone in the basement of our family home, with one hand clasped over an eye during certain scenes. I can still remember how the musical score by Stanley Myers hit aural notes that I’ve still never felt in any other movie, and everything concerning the audio and visual presentation by Shout! for this Blu-ray release is sharp as a tack.
The first hour is magisterial, showing a gargantuan Russian Orthodox wedding ceremony in a gritty, working-class, Pennsylvania steel-mill town, with the evocative art direction and production design by Rob Hobbs and Kim Swados, going above and beyond in order to create an all-consuming sense of place and atmosphere.
This extended opening act then graduates into a literal and thematic hell-hole for the characters while they experience the atrocities of the Vietnam War, before the chance for catharsis and redemption can be achieved in the most harrowing of ways.
The final moments sting with a wounded authenticity that could never be replicated. The searing performances are beyond compare; everyone was electric, with Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken delivering some of their absolute finest work.
John Savage is utterly heartbreaking, and John Cazale was pure wounded innocence. Meryl Streep received the first of her many Oscar nominations for her caring and sensitive work; the combined force of the performances contained in this film galvanizes you while watching it. The film is a masterpiece.
The Deer Hunter Blu Ray review by Nick Clement
Special Features:
DISC ONE: 4K UHD
Audio Commentary With Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond And Journalist Bob Fisher
DISC TWO: Blu-ray
NEW We Don’t Belong Here – An Interview With Actor John Savage
NEW The War At Home – An Interview With Actress Rutanya Alda
NEW A National Anthem – An Interview With Producer Michael Deeley
NEW This Is Not About War – Interview With Post Production Supervisor Katy Haber And Universal Marketing Executive Willette Klausner
Audio Commentary With Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond And Journalist Bob Fisher
Interview With Film Critic David Thomson
Deleted And Extended Scenes
Theatrical Trailer
Radio Spots
Still Gallery
Our Rating
Summary
Simply put. This film is a masterpiece.
