Michael Cimino’s multi Oscar winner reveals the tight bonds but also traumatic effects of the Vietnam War on a group of blue-collar steel workers in Pennsylvania. Robert de Niro, Christopher Walken, John Cazale (in his last role) and Meryl Streep are the friends whose lives are profoundly changed by the war. Theintensity of the scenes involving Russian Roulette are a shattering experience to watch. Michael Cimino trained as a painter at Yale before going to Hollywood to initially write scripts (including Magnum Force and Silent Running) before he became a filmmaker. The Deer Hunter was only his second film.