THE DEER HUNTER

When I first saw "The Deer Hunter" I positively hated it, dismissing it as nothing more that a piece of right-wing, macho posturing much preferring Cimino's follow-up "Heaven's Gate", still perhaps the most underrated film of all time. However, I'm always willing to give every movie a second chance even if, in this case, it has taken over 30 years. It's still macho and it's still, if not exactly right-wing, then very Republican in its outlook, but now I can appreciate it for the near-masterpiece it almost certainly is. I still don't 'like' it exactly but then liking this picture has never really been an option. Here is a film that looks into the heart of darkness that was Vietnam as well as being an authentic piece of Americana in much the same way as "Nashville".

The film's lengthy opening of an orthodox wedding and the deer hunt that follows is as masterly as, and may owe a lot to the opening of "The Godfather", just as this film presents an equally haunting portrait of the immigrant experience while the Vietnam sequence represents the most powerful vision yet of that particular conflict. It is also magnificently acted; De Niro, Walken, Savage, Streep and Cazale are all superb in a remarkable ensemble in which no-one puts a foot wrong. Of course, it remains a difficult and deeply unpleasant film and I am sure it will continue to divide audiences even after three decades. Nevertheless, if like me you condemned it first time round, I would urge you to give it another chance.