The defence The Prestige Tourist
“Ambition earns the room.”
The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.
Back to trending 
The Deer Hunter
Drama · War · 1978
Three steelworkers enlist in the army and are sent to Vietnam, one leaving behind a rushed marriage, the others a shared love. What they encounter during the war changes their lives forever.
Movie details
The Deer Hunter
“One of the most important and powerful films of all time!”
1978 Drama · War 3h 3m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
8.0 / 10
Community rating
Three steelworkers enlist in the army and are sent to Vietnam, one leaving behind a rushed marriage, the others a shared love. What they encounter during the war changes their lives forever.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Deer Hunter?
For the defence
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Born on the Fourth of July
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Casualties of War
Drama · 1989
During the Vietnam War, a soldier finds himself the outsider of his own squad when they unnecessarily kidnap a female villager.
Men in War
War · 1957
In Korea, on 6 September 1950, Lieutenant Benson's platoon finds itself isolated in enemy-held territory after a retreat. Soon they are joined by Sergeant Montana, whose overriding concern is caring for his catatonic colonel. Benson and Montana can't stand each other, but together they must get the survivors to Hill 465, where they hope the division is waiting. It's a long, harrowing march, fraught with all the dangers the elusive enemy can summon.
The Grey Zone
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The story of Auschwitz's twelfth Sonderkommando — one of the thirteen consecutive "Special Squads" of Jewish prisoners placed by the Nazis in the excruciating moral dilemma of assisting in the extermination of fellow Jews in exchange for a few more months of life.
Stop-Loss
Drama · 2008
A veteran soldier returns from his completed tour of duty in Iraq, only to find his life turned upside down when he is arbitrarily ordered to return to field duty by the Army.
Requiem for a Dream
Drama · 2000
The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island residents are shattered when their addictions run deep.
Shame
Drama · 2011
Brandon, a thirty-something man living in New York, eludes intimacy with women but feeds his deepest desires with a compulsive addiction to sex. When his younger sister temporarily moves into his apartment, stirring up bitter memories of their shared painful past, Brandon's life, like his fragile mind, gets out of control.
Trafficked
Drama · 2017
In this story inspired by real characters, three girls from America, Nigeria and India are trafficked through an elaborate global network and enslaved in a Texas brothel, and must together attempt a daring escape to reclaim their freedom.
Unthinkable
Drama · 2010
The government gets wind of a plot to destroy America involving a trio of nuclear weapons for which the whereabouts are unknown. It's up to a seasoned interrogator and an FBI agent to find out exactly where the nukes are.
Dead Man's Shoes
Drama · 2004
A soldier returns to his small town and exacts a deadly revenge on the thugs who tormented his disabled brother while he was away.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Michael Cimino
Written by
Deric Washburn · Louis Garfinkle · Quinn K. Redeker · Michael Cimino
Robert De Niro
Michael Vronsky
Christopher Walken
Nikanor "Nick" Chevotarevich
John Cazale
Stan
John Savage
Steven Pushkov
Meryl Streep
Linda
George Dzundza
John
Rutanya Alda
Angela
Court is in session
Put The Deer Hunter on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Importance has entered the chat.”
The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.