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Finally... Vietnam veteran Jan Scruggs conceived the idea for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial after seeing The Deer Hunter in 1979. He established and operated the memorial fund that paid for what is now one of America's most visited and moving monuments.
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The controversy didn't stop the film winning Best Picture, though. The award was presented by John Wayne in his final public appearance before his death in June 1979. It was a hit at the box office too, taking $49m from its $15m production budget.
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At the Oscars, protestors from the Vietnam Veterans Against the War demonstrated outside the ceremony. They waved placards reading "No Oscars for racism" and "The Deer Hunter a bloody lie," and Deric Washburn said his limo was pelted with stones.
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At the Berlin Film Festival, the Soviet delegation walked out in protest against the film's portrayal of Vietnamese people. De Niro was so anxious about the controversy he asked the Academy if he could wait backstage at the Oscars. When they refused, he stayed home.
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The Russian Roulette scenes sparked controversy, with critics claiming such activity never occurred during the Vietnam War. Cimino anticipated the controversy and simply stated that no one could be certain of the historical accuracy. (There is no evidence for it, though).
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The Deer Hunter pioneered "Oscar baiting." The film was given a limited two-theatre release for critics and Academy members, then pulled. When the film received critical acclaim and nine Oscar nominations, this strategy became standard practice in Hollywood.
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The famous film poster shows De Niro with a red bandana, but this is artistic license. In the film, Michael never wears the ritualistic red bandana - Nick does. The poster's image is actually from the first Russian roulette scene, coloured red for dramatic effect.
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Editor Peter Zinner faced the monumental task of cutting 600,000 feet of film down to 18,000 feet. Cimino later fired him when he discovered Zinner was editing down the wedding scenes against Cimino's wishes. Zinner still won an Oscar for Best Editing, though.
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In the original script, the roles of Mike and Nick were reversed in the film's second half. Nick would return home to Linda, while Mike would remain in Vietnam, send money home for Steven, and meet his tragic fate at the roulette table. It was changed during filming.
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De Niro later explained that the scene where Michael visits Steven in the hospital was the most emotional scene he'd ever filmed in his career. He broke down discussing it years later at his AFI Life Achievement Award ceremony.
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The accident got even worse. The helicopter suddenly went up, pulling the bridge upside down. De Niro and Savage flipped over and were hanging beneath the helicopter. The actors did the only thing they could: jump into the river below. They escaped uninjured.
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During the helicopter stunt, De Niro and Savage faced genuine danger when the runners caught on ropes. As the helicopter rose, it threatened to seriously injure them. Their frantic gestures to the crew weren't acting—they were fighting for their lives.
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Filming the helicopter rescue scene, De Niro and John Savage performed their own stunts for the 30-foot fall into the river, filming the sequence 15 times over two days. No stunt doubles, no CGI—just old-school filmmaking commitment.
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During the scene in the water-based cell, Steven yells "Michael, there's rats in here" wasn't scripted—it was actual terror. John Savage was genuinely panicking about rats infesting the river area and was yelling at director Michael Cimino.
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Cimino also convinced Walken to spit in De Niro's face during filming. When he actually did it, De Niro was completely shocked and furious, nearly walking off set. Cimino later said admiringly of Walken, "He's got balls!"
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According to legend, De Niro requested a live cartridge be put into the revolver to add genuine jeopardy to the scene. Walken apparently agreed but obsessively checked the gun before each take to ensure safety.
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Walken later said that when he performed the Russian Roulette scenes, he channeled childhood memories of being sent to summer camp, which he hated. He focused on feelings of betrayal, ostracism, and abandonment to inform his character's emotional state.
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Casting for the vicious Thai game-runner proved difficult. The first actor hired couldn't bring himself to slap De Niro, so they found a local with a particular dislike of Americans called Somsak Sengvilai. He was happy to dish out some slaps.
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Perhaps the most famous moments are the Russian roulette scenes. The slapping in those scenes Roulette sequences was 100% authentic. The Thai actors were instructed by Cimino to genuinely slap the stars, and their agitation added to the realism.
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The bar scenes were filmed in a specially constructed set in an empty storefront in Mingo Junction, Ohio, built for $25,000. It later became a real saloon for local steel mill workers. Life imitating art imitating life.
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U.S. Steel allowed filming inside its Cleveland mill, including placing actors around the dangerous furnace floor—but only after the production secured a whopping $5 million insurance policy. Health and safety concerns were slightly different in the 1970s...
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The hunting scenes weren't filmed in Pennsylvania, but at Mount Baker in Washington State. While Pennsylvania is scenic, Cimino wanted something breathtaking to contrast with the characters' industrial lives. Those mountains you see? Mount Shuksan and Mount Baker.
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George Dzundza (John Welsh) genuinely flubbed his toast line when the group arrives in the mountains, and his reaction is legitimate. Watch closely and you can see some of the other actors laughing in response—a rare moment of unplanned levity.
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Cimino asked the Russian immigrant extras to bring gift-wrapped boxes as wedding presents. Not only did this save money, but it made the gifts look authentic. After filming, they discovered the boxes weren't empty but filled with real china and silverware.
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According to Rutanya Alda, Cimino obsessed over capturing the moment when wine spills during her character's wedding ceremony. After nearly a day trying to achieve it, Cimino himself climbed a ladder just out of frame and dropped wine on Alda's dress from above.
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To achieve the fall setting for the summer-shot wedding, leaves were removed from trees, painted orange, and then reattached. Serious commitment to detail. (Though perhaps not to environmental conservation...)
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