New Season Online
For our August film we’ve chosen The Deer Hunter, Michael Cimino’s 1978 thoroughly researched epic meditation on patriotism, male bonding, the horrors of war and disillusionment of the American people with their values and ideals, all set during and in the immediate aftermath of the Vietnam war. Although some critics thought the film flawed in places, it nevertheless remains a classic of 70s cinema so, with it being available for just 18 more days, we thought it opportune to revisit it for this month’s viewing.
As before, we’ve produced a Programme Note for the film which is attached to this Newsletter, with August 26th at 7.30pm being set for a Zoom meeting to exchange your impressions of it. If you wish to partake in this event, please access the link in the Programme Note for the meeting particulars. (You will of course need to have the Zoom ‘app’ installed on your computer.)
For those who wish to send in reactions individually, please Email info@abfilms.org.uk with your score (A → E) and comments. These reactions and comments will be published on the ABCD Website (https://abfilms.org.uk) and/or included in the Zoom discussion relevant to the film. You will also find the comments for July’s film The Angels’ Share on the Website.
Interviewed in 2005, Cimino said “I’m proud ot say there are no special effects in this movie. When you see 9000 refugees in the night in […] burning Saigon, that is 9000 people in the night – for real. When you see […] actors jumping out of a helicopter, that’s really the actors. Everything I asked of [them] they gave.”
The film is available to stream now on BBC iPlayer.