It was a big scandal. When The Deer Hunter premièred at the 1979 Berlin Film Festival, the Soviet Union and naturally the communist bloc countries - except for Romania - withdrew their films from the programme. We could only guess at the true reason. And we had to wait a few more years before we could see the film on (not entirely legal) video cassette. It received five Oscars and a Golden Globe, and was nominated in several categories at the BAFTAs, winning the prize for cinematograp...her Vilmos Zsigmond. The film's then almost unknown director, Michael Cimino, received both a cold and warm reception - understandably, since the United States' war in Vietnam had only ended in 1975. It was a fresh and painful topic.
What this film is actually about is another question. Is it about war, the American macho ideal, West Pennsylvanian steel workers, Russian-Americans, friendship, or insanity? Everyone had, or has, their own interpretation. Debate has long raged, for example, over whether the Viet Cong would have been familiar with Russian roulette. But there are also critics who paid attention to the unique visual elements of The Deer Hunter: the contrasts - and parallels - between the landscapes, the portrayal of the characters, the steel mill and the war.
The years have gone by and The Deer Hunter has become a cult movie, in which everyone has a favourite scene or character. At Müpa Cinema we will now try to evoke the one-time reception and interpretations of this film and - naturally - also talk about what it means to us now, attempting to discover how Zsigmond constructed its unique visual world.
The series is made possible with the support of the Hungarian National Film Fund.
Presented by: Müpa Budapest
Parking information
We wish to inform you that in the event that Müpa Budapest's underground garage and outdoor car park are operating at full capacity, it is advisable to plan for increased waiting times when you arrive. In order to avoid this, we recommend that you depart for our events in time, so that you you can find the ideal parking spot quickly and smoothly and arrive for our performance in comfort. The Müpa Budapest underground garage gates will be operated by an automatic number plate recognition system. Parking is free of charge for visitors with tickets to any of our paid performances on that given day. The detailed parking policy of Müpa Budapest is available here.
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