‘Deer Hunter’ director Michael Cimino dies at 77



LOS ANGELES: -- Michael Cimino, the American award-winning filmmaker best known for his Vietnam War classic “The Deer Hunter,” has died at the age of 77.

He passed away on Saturday (July 2) at his home in Los Angeles. The cause of his death was not immediately known.

Cimino won two Academy awards for his 1978 masterpiece “The Deer Hunter” – the story of three Pennsylvania steelworkers who go off to fight in the Vietnam War, starring Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken and John Savage.

But Cimino’s career took a hit just two years later with “Heaven’s Gate,” a Western that went wildly out of budget, was a huge commercial flop and became a cautionary tale for giving directors too much power.

-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2016-07-04

Sad to hear. That was a very memorable film.

Actually, Heaven's Gate was a very good film, if you saw the original cut, which used to play on premium cable back in the 1980s. And Year of the Dragon was pretty good, too. Great talent caught up in the Hollywood meat grinder.

I remember being around while they were filming Deer Hunter. Things sure have changed since then.

Edited July 4, 201610 yr by villagefarang