MovieChat Forums > The Deer Hunter (1979) Discussion > Reading the posts here made me realize s...

Reading the posts here made me realize something about contemporary cinema

posted 8 years ago by !!!deleted!!! (63057267)
10 replies | jump to latest

I was wrong-headedly blaming the movie studios for serving up the shallow, hyper-kinetic popcorn movies that dominate the theater today; I should have been blaming the escapism-craving, easily bored dolts who prefer such dreck over thoughtful, deliberately paced masterworks like THE DEER HUNTER.

Having revisited this great film last night I came here to interact with fellow admirers of the movie but was shocked and disappointed to find a legion of idiots bonding with one another about their shared belief that it's unwatchable slow. All the posts about the first hour (the wedding sequence) being unforgivably dull were infuriating to read, not just because I love the first act but because it's evidence that we'll likely never see that type of cinema storytelling come out of Hollywood again as the public simply won't tolerate it.

Also, the film's annoyingly vocal detractors are quick to call the film's defenders "fanboys" and other disrespectful things. I say it's time to attack them in return. Don't be afraid to cite the A.D.D. dimwits who couldn't handle the pacing of the movie as being what they are, which is incapable of immersing themselves in a film's narrative because they'd rather be playing video games.

[–] JKDahl 8 years ago

They probably grew up with the Lego Movie, so let's give them a break. Compared to the pacing in that garbage The Deer Hunter must seem like two years long.

[–] !!!deleted!!! (63057267) 8 years ago

I hear you, and I've been giving such people a break for years, but they're becoming progressively hostile toward those who appreciate quality cinema. They've taken to citing great films - and those who understand/enjoy them - as "pretentious", despite the fact that most of them don't understand the meaning of the word, let alone the themes of the films they're attempting to ridicule. I'd leave them to wallow in the waste that spew from their mouths, but they're the ones destroying cinema, and I'm growing to hate them at an alarmingly rapid rate.

[–] sofkat 8 years ago

Rather than hate them, you should probably pity them. They are simply a product of the modern world, and the so called 'progress' of human beings. The tragic irony of this 'progress' is that people are actually devolving mentally and creatively, relying almost totally on the media to guide them.
Be that as it may, i totally understand your anger and frustration.

[–] gary_w_trott 8 years ago

I was disappointed when I first saw it in the theatre. Based upon the newspaper ads I was expecting a war movie, and when the film started I thought that I had come into the wrong theatre because it was all about a wedding in some small town. When I watched it a second time on TV my opinion changed. I knew what to expect and really got into how the characters were developed and really enjoyed it a lot. I would have enjoyed it the first time if I'd known what to expect.

[–] mormor_Did_it 8 years ago

It's a great movie. There will always be whiney people voicing their opinions.

[–] Edward_de_Vere 8 years ago

I was wrong-headedly blaming the movie studios for serving up the shallow, hyper-kinetic popcorn movies that dominate the theater today; I should have been blaming the escapism-craving, easily bored dolts who prefer such dreck over thoughtful, deliberately paced masterworks like THE DEER HUNTER.

I never understood why people would blame the movie studios to begin with. The major studios/production companies don't have some grand conspiracy to dumb down the population, they just want to make money. If the public as a whole wanted to see adaptations of Eugene O'Neill and Tennessee Williams plays, the major studios would produce films based on Tennessee Williams and Eugene O'Neill's plays. Instead, the public as a whole wants to see movies based on children's comic books and video games, and the studios produce what sells.

The entertainment industry is like politics - you get what consumers/voters (collectively) want and deserve. They're no better and no worse than the society they cater to.

[–] jaseace 8 years ago

The younger generations have a hard time appreciating great dialogue because to them it's just talking. Too much talky ,more explody. Alot of people expect every movie to be something they are not. Alot of times they don't understand what type of movie they're about to watch. People have short attention spans and are incapable of paying attention and not looking at their phone or talking through much of what's happening. I think you need to also be in a certain mood or mindset to appreciate something like this. Know that it's serious and real and the dialogue is important . Alot of mainstream movies you don't really even need to watch every moment to get what's happening and enjoy it. Pretty sure I can leave the room for awhile or something if transformers is on, come back and still be aware of the plot.
Not too many great, unique realistic movies that exist like the deer hunter. It takes alot to get a 10 rating from me , this is one of the few.

[–] pretentiousanderson 8 years ago

Well said.

Though I think the studios and today's audiences are equally to blame, as they both create a type of self-perpetuating, symbiotic, negative-feedback loop with the demands of one feeding the actions and tastes of the other.

The audience's bad taste inspires poor films, which in turn reinforces bad taste, ad infinitum...

[–] MrDeltoid77 7 years ago

While I do agree with most of these posts (Deer Hunter is a masterpiece in my opinion) I must take exception to the dissing of The Lego Movie.

While it was no Deer Hunter, it was a very clever, remarkably smart satire and very entertaining.

I think any of the Transformer Movies or Fast and Furious movies would be a better comparison.

I love the first hour of the movie. A story about true friendship in a small quintessentially American steel town in the late 60s and the young men torn between Patriotism and the horrors of war.

For me, this is DeNiro's most wonderfully realized performance, full of subtlety and nuance and deeply heartfelt. And the rest of cast is terrific too. John Cazale is amazing in anything he does.

Without the first hour, the rest of the movie would not have the impact that it did.

I love movies... I am a TCM junkie. There are still exceptional films being made today, but they are fewer and fewer, lost in the miasma of popcorn trash, cgi and fart jokes.

For the record... I also enjoy enjoy popcorn trash, cgi and fart jokes.

[–] lnoft97 7 years ago

I agree with everything. I saw this movie when it first came out, so I am way old. But I can see how annoyed some people get with that loooooong wedding. It is SO overdone, it's ridiculous. Every scene is hyperactive. Dance! Sing! Laugh! Talk! Ratchet it up, higher! More!...lol.