Film Forum

U.S., 1978
Directed by Michael Cimino
Starring Christopher Walken, John Cazale, Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep
WINNER Academy Awards® – Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Christopher Walken), Best Film Editing, Best Sound, 1979
Approx. 184 min. 35mm.

“It is a progression from a wedding to a funeral. It is the story of a group of friends. It is the record of how the war in Vietnam entered several lives and altered them terribly forever. It is not an anti-war film. It is not a pro-war film. It is one of the most emotionally shattering films ever made. It begins with men at work, in the furnace of the steel mills in a town somewhere in Pennsylvania. The klaxon sounds, the shift is over, the men go down the road to a saloon for a beer. They sing “I Love You Bay-bee” along with the jukebox. It is still morning on the last day of their lives that will belong to them before Vietnam.” – Roger Ebert

Reviews

“This is Cimino's masterpiece.”
 – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

“Talent and intent in every frame.”
 – Richard Corliss

“Robert De Niro reclaims his title as our finest young dramatic male star in a devastating anti-war epic.”
 – LIFE Magazine

“One of the boldest and most brilliant films.”
 – Wall Street Journal

“A film of great courage and overwhelming emotional power. A fiercely loving embrace of life.”
– Jack Kroll, Newsweek