The Deer Hunter is a 1978 American epic war drama film co-written and directed by Michael Cimino about a trio of Russian-American steelworkers whose lives are upended by fighting in the Vietnam War. The soldiers are played by Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken and John Savage, with John Cazale (in his final role), Meryl Streep, and George Dzundza in supporting roles. The story takes place in Clairton, Pennsylvania (a working-class town on the Monongahela River south of Pittsburgh) and in Vietnam.

Plot

Three Russian-American friends in Clairton, PennsylvaniaMike, Steven, and Nickwork in a steel mill and hunt deer with co-workers Stan and Axel, and bartender friend John. Mike, Steven, and Nick have enlisted for the Vietnam War. Steven is marrying Angela, pregnant by another man. The stoic Mike and amiable Nick are close friends and roommates; Nick dates Linda, with whom Mike is secretly infatuated. With Mike’s approval, Nick allows Linda to stay in their house while they are away to escape her abusive alcoholic father. After catching the bouquet at Steven and Angela's wedding at a veterans hall, Linda accepts Nick's spontaneous marriage proposal. At the bar, Mike, Steven, and Nick meet a traumatized Green Beret, who curtly dismisses their attempt to ask about Vietnam. Later, after a drunken run through the neighborhood, Nick implores Mike to promise never to leave him stranded in Vietnam. The next day, the group goes on a final hunting trip where Mike kills a deer with "one shot," a code he proudly lives by.

Awards