Genre: Drama / War Director(s): Michael Cimino Release Date: 08 December 1978 Movie rating: 8.2

A Vietnam war epic divided into three acts examines the effects of war on ordinary people. Mike Vronsky (Robert De Niro), Nick Chevotarevich (Christopher Walken) and Steven Pushkov (John Savage) are three best friends living in a Pennsylvania small town. All three of them are getting ready to ship off to Vietnam, and spend their last days home hunting and drinking. In the second act the three friends are briefly reunited in Vietnam before being taken prisoner by the communist army. The guards make the prisoners play Russian roulette, and when Nick and Mike are supposed to play against one another, Mike convinces the guards to let them play with three bullets in the barrel, which allows him to kill the guards and make an escape. By this time Steven’s legs are crippled, and Nick is psychologically damaged from the war trauma. The third act finds Mike back home, having problems with readjusting to the civil life. He visits Steven, who is confined to a wheelchair, in a veteran hospital. Steven tells him he’s been getting large amounts of money sent to him from Saigon, and they both believe it’s Nick sending the money. Mike goes to Vietnam to trace Nick and finds him playing Russian roulette. Mike sits across from him, but Nick doesn’t seem to recognize him. Finally Mike manages to break through and Nick recognizes him, pulling the trigger at the same time and killing himself. In the epilogue we see Mike and Steven at nick’s funeral, and afterwards singing “God Bless America” in a local bar.

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