Review of The Deer Hunter (1978) by Thewaffle — 28 Sep 2017

A long slog in need of a good editor. There's a great movie in here about friendship, war, and the wounds that soldiers carry long after the battle is over. But The Deer Hunter spends a huge stretch on an overlong wedding scene at the beginning and then gives short shrift to critical dramatic moments.

The war elements feel like vague flashbacks, we never see the characters' transformation through the war, just a kind of before and after. Hard video cuts also rob several dramatic moments of their tension.

I feel that a good editor could make this film much better.