A moving picture about courage, hope, and friendship When I first viewed The Deer Hunter I was blown away by its brilliant performances. Not only do I think that this is a perfect war picture, its the perfect movie about courage, hope, and friendship. De Niro leads this brilliant cast into one of the greatest war epics on film ever. Who could ask for a better cast? This film is defintely on of my favorites. Brilliant direction by Michael Cimino. Brilliant acting by Robert De Niro, John Cazale, Meryl Streep, and Christopher Walken along with John Savage. Just a good, all around, moving film.