But without Nick, Michael feels incomplete, so he returns to Saigon in search of his lost buddy and in a bizarre, almost halucinatory reвЂђechoing of their experience in the prison camp, Michael discovers Nick participating voluntarily in a game of Russian roulette played by desperate men for great Only Michael fully retains his sanity and upon returning home, he is slowly drawn into a love affair with Linda.

Nick, half crazed by his experience as a prisoner of war, goes to work in a sleazy Saigon gambling palace. Steven eventually winds up in a veterans' hospital, minus his legs. Thanks to Michael's inner strength and ingenuity, the three manage to escape. All three are captured by the Vietcong and forced to participate in a psychologically tortuous game of Russian roulette. Nick's girl friend Linda (Meryl Streep) agrees to marry him upon his return.

Michael, Nick (Christopher Walken) and Steven (John Savage) leave for Vietnam almost immediately after Steven's wedding to Angela (Rutanya Alda). Gone are the Jittery, unpredictable, impulsively violent rhythms-the craziness, in other words-of characters like Johnny Boy in вЂњMean Streets,вЂќ Travis in вЂњTaxi DriverвЂќ and Jimmy Doyle in вЂњNew York, New York.вЂќ Set off by a thin, neatly trimmed beard, De NiroвЂќs eyes and face-this time around- exude intelligence, humility and calm The story of вЂњThe Deer HunterвЂќ could scarcely be labeled as escapist fare. As played by De Niro, Michael is a virtual study in self control, reliability and quiet determination. The qualities he displays while hunting- grace under pressure, and insistence on вЂњtaking the deer in one shotвЂќвЂђwill later help to save his life in Vietnam. WriterвЂђdirector Michael Cimino and his cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond consider the look and feel of late autumn to be absolutely essential to вЂњThe Deer Hunter,вЂќ and this explains why sweat is being meticulously mopped off of every actor's browДe Niro plays Michael Vronsky, whose passion for deer hunting provides a much needed release from the repetitious rigors of the steel mill. The answer to this question has more to do with вЂњreelвЂќ life than вЂњrealвЂќ life, for Mingo Junction is one of many small towns in the Ohio River Valley being employed as locations for вЂњThe Deer Hunter,вЂќ a film in which Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Savage and John Cazale play a group of steelworkers whose lives, one late autumn in the late 1960's, are radically transfigured when three of them leave Clairton to fight in Vietnam. Why, for example, are so many burly steelworkers, their faces glistening with sweat in the 90вЂђdegree heat, wearing flannel shirts, woolen caps and heavy parkas as they-excuse the expression-вЂњmillвЂќ around? And why do the trees outside the American Slovak Citizens Club lack leaves and any sign of greenery while the foliage in other parts of town appears to be benefitting healthily from the summer sun? Why, in other words, have sections of Mingo Junction been turned into вЂњClairtonвЂќ and why does вЂњClairtonвЂќ appear to be experiencing a late autumn chill, while Mingo seeks relief from the long, hot summer? And farther on down the street is the Clairton Chapter of The American Legion.Д¬learly, something is amiss in the town of Mingo. But just a few blocks away, on the main drag of this tiny steelproducing community in southeastern Ohio, there is another sign, reading Clairton National Bank. MINGO JUNCTION, Ohio The sign outside town says Mingo Junction.

Where was the deer hunter filmed