THE DEER HUNTER was released 47 years ago today. Winner of 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture, and an unflinching look at the impact of the Vietnam War on small-town America, the story of how it was made is proof that the wounds of war run deep... 1/48 - ThreadSky

alltherightmovies.com • 1 day ago

THE DEER HUNTER was released 47 years ago today. Winner of 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture, and an unflinching look at the impact of the Vietnam War on small-town America, the story of how it was made is proof that the wounds of war run deep...

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alltherightmovies.com•1 day ago

In 1968, record company EMI formed a film division headed by producers Barry Spikings and Michael Deeley. Deeley purchased a spec script called "The Man Who Came to Play" for $19,000, about people who travel to Las Vegas to play Russian roulette.

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alltherightmovies.com•1 day ago

After asking around Hollywood looking for a suitable director, Deeley found Cimino and was impressed by his crime film Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974). Cimino was interested in the script, but said it needed major changes.

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alltherightmovies.com•1 day ago

In 1972, Cimino had written Silent Running with screenwriter Deric Washburn and brought him in to work on this project. They kept the Russian roulette element and crafted a new story about working class men and the Vietnam War, with stronger language and more violence.

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alltherightmovies.com•1 day ago

Vietnam was still a taboo subject with major Hollywood studios in the mid-1970s. It was EMI (headed by Sir Bernard Delfont) who initially arranged financing. Universal Pictures got involved, but at a much later stage.

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alltherightmovies.com•1 day ago

Many believe Cimino fabricated elements of his own military background to gain authenticity. He claimed to have enlisted in 1968 and been attached to Special Forces, but records showed he'd joined six years earlier and never served with the Green Berets.

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alltherightmovies.com•1 day ago

Producer Michael Deeley knew he needed star power in the lead of Staff Sergeant Mikhail Vronsky, later saying "We had to get millions out of a major studio. I needed someone with the caliber of Robert De Niro." As such, Roy Scheider was hired to play Michael.

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lsablue.bsky.social•1 day ago

Thunderbolt and Lightfoot very very frightening

lizlemonparty.bsky.social•1 day ago

📌

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