Before Director Michael Cimino's 1978 film The Deer Hunter, the only cinematic treatment of the Vietnam War most Americans had seen was John Wayne's The Green Berets a decade earlier. By 1978, however, American audiences were finally ready to deal with the war on-screen. The Deer Hunter was popular with audiences and critics alike, nominated for nine Academy Awards and winning five, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor (Christopher Walken). The Deer Hunter broke the ground in the cinematic treatment of Vietnam, opening the door for films like Apocalypse Now a year later, Platoon (1986), and Full Metal Jacket (1987). All of these "Vietnam" films shared the same shattering emotional impact on audiences, but none was as moving as The Deer Hunter.

The Deer Hunter deals not only with Vietnam, but also foregrounds the contrast between the soldier's comparatively gentle life at home with the...