GREAT CINEMAMASTER LIST
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Search 713 spoiler-free recommendations from 1916 to 2026. Filter by the night you want—not the list you’re supposed to finish.

Direct film viewShowing master rank #363 on its own—not above the ranking.
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Artwork
DirectorAll directors

Most represented · 6+ films

More recurring directors · 3–5 films54
All directors · surname A–Z438
ActorAll actors

Most represented actors

Big Three membership
Major award winners

1 selected film

Master Rank balances Greatness, Engagement, and Ease. Sort by Greatness for the artistic-canon view.

Director:
Cast:
View The Deer Hunter film page
Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List

Spoiler-free premise

Friends from a Pennsylvania steel town prepare for military service in Vietnam.

Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free

Pennsylvania steelworkers Michael, Nick, and Steven celebrate Steven's wedding before deploying to Vietnam. Their hometown rituals of factory work, bars, hunting, friendship, and marriage frame experiences that alter each man's capacity to return.

Why it belongs

Michael Cimino gives friendship epic duration, contrasting steel-town ritual and mountain space with war's abrupt, intimate damage.

Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case

De Niro, Walken, and Savage make trauma divide men who once shared a cadence. The long wedding, steel mill, bar songs, deer hunt, helicopter transitions, and Michael Cimino's patient group observation establish community before rupture.

Major award record

Metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20
Academy Awards5 wins1979 · official ceremony record ↗
Best Picture1979 · Barry Spikings, Michael Deeley, Michael Cimino and John Peverall, Producersofficial ceremony record ↗Directing1979 · Michael Ciminoofficial ceremony record ↗Actor in a Supporting Role1979 · Christopher Walkenofficial ceremony record ↗

Plus 2 additional wins

Golden Globes1 win1979 · official film record ↗
Best Director - Motion Picture1979 · Michael Ciminoofficial film record ↗
BAFTA2 wins1980 · official BAFTA 1980 Film Awards results ↗

Plus 2 additional wins

No headline-category win to name

Totals include every recorded competitive win. Only Picture or top-film honors, Direction, Screenplay, and lead or supporting performances are named.

Good for
Film Club
Descriptive guidance derived from rating, genre, runtime, mood, and GCML scores.

Institutional reference ranks

Sight & Sound211IMDb Top 250215AFI 10053
Reference metadata only · not part of the 40/40/20 score

Great Cinema Master List scores

Greatness9.2
Engagement8.9
Ease7.2

English · R
Narrative Feature
Mood: Serious & Intense