{"id":23399,"date":"2020-06-08T22:48:32","date_gmt":"2020-06-09T05:48:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=23399"},"modified":"2021-02-01T18:03:43","modified_gmt":"2021-02-02T02:03:43","slug":"review-deer-hunter-4k-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2020\/06\/review-deer-hunter-4k-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"The Deer Hunter: Collector’s Edition (Shout Select) 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Deer Hunter\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>makes its debut on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray through Shout Factory’s well done presentation including several new interviews and previously released commentary track. The film features great performances from Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken.<\/p>\n

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The Deer Hunter
\n<\/span>\u2014 Collector’s Edition | Shout Select \u2014<\/span>
\n(1978)<\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Genre(s): <\/strong>Drama, War<\/span>
\nShout Factory | R \u2013 183 min. \u2013 $34.93 | May 26, 2020<\/span><\/p>\n

Date Published:<\/strong> 06\/08\/2020 | Author:<\/strong> The Movieman<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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MOVIE INFO:
\n<\/u><\/strong>Directed by: <\/strong>Michael Cimino
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Michael Cimino & Deric Washburn and Louis Garfinkle & Quinn K. Redeker (story), Deric Washburn (screenplay)
\nCast: <\/strong>Robert De Niro, John Cazale, John Savage, Meryl Streep, Christopher Walken<\/span><\/p>\n
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DISC INFO:
\n<\/u><\/strong>Features: <\/strong>Commentary, Interviews, Deleted\/Extended Scenes, Gallery, Theatrical Trailer
\nSlip Cover: <\/strong>Yes
\nDigital Copy: <\/strong>No
\nFormats Included: <\/strong>4K, Blu-ray
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>2<\/span><\/p>\n
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Audio: (4K\/BD) <\/strong>English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), English (DTS-HD MA 2.0)
\nVideo (4K): <\/strong>2160p\/Widescreen 2.35
\nVideo (BD): <\/strong>1080p\/Widescreen 2.35
\nDynamic Range: <\/strong>HDR10, Dolby Vision
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English SDH, French, Spanish
\nCodecs: <\/strong>HEVC \/ H.265 (4K), MPEG-4 AVC (BD)
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A, B, C<\/span><\/p>\n
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Shout Factory provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe opinions I share are my own.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Note:\u00a0The screen captures were taken from the Blu-ray disc and\u00a0do not<\/span> represent the 4K Ultra HD transfer.<\/span><\/p>\n

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THE MOVIE \u2014 4.05\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Plot Synopsis: <\/strong>In 1968, Michael (ROBERT DE NIRO), Nick (CHRISTOPHER WALKEN) and Steven (JOHN SAVAGE), lifelong friends from a working-class Pennsylvania steel town, prepare to ship out overseas following Steven’s elaborate wedding and one final group hunting trip. In Vietnam, their dreams of military honor are quickly shattered by the inhumanities of war; even those who survive are haunted by the experience, as is Nick’s hometown sweetheart, Linda (MERYL STREEP).<\/p>\n

Quick Hit Review: <\/strong>I\u2019m not overly familiar with director Michael Cimino\u2019s work (only directed seven features) save for some analysis on his 3.5 hour epic of 1980\u2019s Heaven\u2019s Gate<\/em> and, of course, his most noted work, The Deer Hunter<\/em><\/strong>, a three hour character-driven war-drama \u2014 and Best Picture winner \u2014 that doesn\u2019t quite have the flash of other Vietnam-era films like an Apocalypse Now<\/em> (released only six months later). While The Deer Hunter<\/em><\/strong> isn\u2019t as briskly paced as Apocalypse Now<\/em>, the three-hour running time never felt overly long.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also another film to come out of what is arguably the best decade in cinema, the 1970s, one with little interference by the studio, where today some studio executive would\u2019ve trimmed out the wedding and post-wedding scenes, for me I found them to be good for developing these characters, both big and small. It\u2019s a statement for the time that The Deer Hunter<\/em><\/strong> is perhaps the bottom of my list for the era, behind Apocalypse Now<\/em>, The Godfather I & II<\/em>, The Conversation<\/em>, The French Connection<\/em> and Star Wars<\/em>, not to mention Superman: The Movie<\/em>, though I place TDH<\/em><\/strong> above it…<\/p>\n

The film also features one of the more intense scenes which even those who\u2019ve never seen this know of, the Russian-roulette sequence between De Niro and Walken, the latter who took home the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. And for his part, De Niro gives his usual intense and also understated performances for which he received a Leading Actor nomination, along with Meryl Streep for Best Supporting Actress, where her character shows the costs of war in the homeland.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 4.0\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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This release comes with a matted slip cover<\/strong> and the inner cover is reversible.<\/p>\n

Audio Commentary<\/u><\/strong> \u2014 Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigond and Journalist Bob Fisher break down the film with stories on the set; Fisher serves as a moderator. Nothing extraordinary but flows fairly well considering the film\u2019s running time. Track also available on the 4K UHD disc.<\/p>\n

Interviews:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  • We Don\u2019t Belong Here (8:26)<\/u><\/strong> \u2014 Actor John Savage<\/li>\n
  • The War at Home (11:28)<\/u><\/strong> \u2014 Actress Rutanya Alda<\/li>\n
  • A National Anthem (13:50)<\/u><\/strong> \u2014 Producer Michael Deeley<\/li>\n
  • This is Not About War (12:54)<\/u><\/strong> \u2014 Post Supervisor Katy Haber and Universal Publicity Willette Klausner<\/li>\n
  • Film Critic David Thomson (24:03)<\/u><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Good selection of interviews here, getting both sides of the camera and with Thomson, the critical perspective. A shame they couldn\u2019t get Christopher Walken, though I would think that would a wild interview…<\/p>\n

    Deleted and Extended Footage (39:53)<\/u><\/strong> \u2014 A massive 21 scenes presented from the best source available, makes for an interesting watch, but the movie already being three hours and not much here adding to the characters, were rightfully removed.<\/p>\n

    Also included is the Theatrical Trailer (2:47)<\/u><\/strong>, Radio Spots (1:53)<\/u><\/strong> and a Still Gallery (1:51)<\/u><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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    4K VIDEO \u2013 4.75\/5, BD VIDEO \u2013 4.5\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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    If I\u2019m not mistaken, this is the first time The Deer Hunter<\/em><\/strong> has been released on Blu-ray (it did have an HD-DVD release) and courtesy of Shout Factory, also makes its debut on 4K Ultra HD. The movie is presented in its original 2.35 widescreen aspect ratio and with a 2160p high-definition resolution on the 4K disc and 1080p on the Blu-ray. There\u2019s no mention of a new transfer on the back cover or on Shout\u2019s website, so presumably this was given by Universal. As such, this picture does look incredible on both formats, with maybe a bit more detail in 4K. There\u2019s some good contrast going on from some of the brighter daytime scenes during the friends\u2019 hunting trip compared to the murky, muddy and bloody sequences in Asia. Black levels are well balanced with no obvious or apparent signs of aliasing or artifacting present.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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    AUDIO \u2013 4.5\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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    Both formats come with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which is fairly expansive showing off the clear dialogue from the center channel and the others throws you right in the middle of the action during Vietnam, including in the cramped streets and bars. There is some modest depth with a couple explosions but as I said in the movie review portion, this is very much a character drama so not too many battle scenes. Was still an impressive lossless track with no discernible pops, hisses or other flaws, which shouldn\u2019t be a surprise as presumably this is similar to what was on the HD-DVD.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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    OVERALL \u2013 4.5\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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    Overall, The Deer Hunter<\/em><\/strong> is not so much a haunting portrayal of the Vietnam War compared to an Apocalypse Now<\/em> as it\u2019s a expansive look at the costs of the war both overseas and abroad, and features more than a few brutal scenes (Russian roulette particularly) alongside great performances by Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken and Meryl Streep. This 4K Ultra HD\/Blu-ray combo pack from Shout Factory has a good selection of bonus features and great video\/audio transfers.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The Deer Hunter\u00a0makes its debut on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray through Shout Factory’s well done presentation including several new interviews and previously released commentary track. The film features great performances from Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4581,3],"tags":[1103,6722,248,25,2462,4937],"class_list":["post-23399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-4k-uhd-reviews","category-blurayreviews","tag-christopher-walken","tag-john-savage","tag-meryl-streep","tag-robert-de-niro","tag-shout-factory","tag-shout-select"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23399"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23399\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25403,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23399\/revisions\/25403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}