The deer hunter
(DVD-R) 

Screenplay, Deric Washburn ; music, Stanley Myers; cinematography, Vilmos Zsigmond.

Robert De Niro (Michael), John Cazale (Stan), John Savage (Steven), Meryl Streep (Linda), Christopher Walken (Nick), George Dzundza (John), Shirley Stoler (Steven's mother), Chuck Aspegren (Axel), Rutanya Alda (Angela).

Originally produced as a motion picture in 1978.

Five friends, Michael, Nick, Steven, Stan, and Axel, who are from a small town in middle America, work in the stifling heat and infernal din of a steel mill. They blow off steam after work at a neighborhood tavern. They go deer hunting every fall. One day late in 1968, Michael, Steven, and Nick leave for a tour of duty in Vietnam. Before they go, Steven marries the pregnant Angela; their wedding reception serves as the friend's farewell party. 30 years after it appeared, this film can still generate intense responses and controversy. Perhaps the best description of the subject was offered by film critic Roger Ebert, who said, "'The Deer Hunter' is said to be about many subjects: About male bonding, about mindless patriotism, about the dehumanizing effects of war, about Nixon's "silent majority." It is about any of those things that you choose, if you choose, but more than anything else, it is a heartbreakingly effective fictional machine that evokes the agony of the Vietnam time."

Rated: R; for strong graphic war violence, disturbing images, language and some nudity.

DVD; Region 1, NTSC; Dolby Digital 2.0; widescreen presentation, preserving the 2.35:1 aspect ratio of the original theatrical exhibition.

English soundtrack with English, Spanish & French subtitles; closed captioned.

Academy award, 1979: Best picture; Best supporting actor (Walken); Best director; Best film editing; Best sound.