Factual error: The boys go deer hunting somewhere in the Appalachians, but the geology is all wrong. That scene is in North Cascades National Park in Washington State. In addition, the "deer" they are hunting is a Red Stag. Not typically found in the Appalachians.
The Deer Hunter (1978)
Directed by: Michael Cimino
Starring: Christopher Walken, John Cazale, John Savage, Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro
Factual error: When Michael Vronsky gets back from his tour he has a full grown beard. The only branch of the service that allows a beard is the Navy, and he was an Army Green Beret. The beard would only have been tolerated if Mike was either not in his Class A uniform or actively performing on a mission, neither of which are the case here. In addition, he's wearing a Black Beret, but his left shoulder patch is the 101st airborne, not Special Forces. Finally, he has six or seven hash marks on his right sleeve. Each hashtag is for 3 years of active duty service.
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Suggested correction: Right sleeve hash marks are for 6 month tours of duty, left are for 3 years' service.
The hash marks on his right sleeve are overseas bars, each bar represents 6 months of service in a combat or hostile fire zone. The hash mark on his left sleeve represents 4 years of enlisted service. Obviously, nobody cared about the uniform in 1976.
Each hash mark on the left sleeve is 3 years' service.
It's 3 years per left bar. The 101st patch should be on the right upper arm (correct placement for former combat unit) where the blue SF patch is and the blue SF patch should have been where the 101st patch was on the left shoulder (correct placement for current unit). This would make sense if the 3 buddies enlisted and went to Vietnam together, likely in the same outfit - the 101st. Steve and Nicki are still in the 101st when they find Mike in the ville, but we can assume that at some point down the line Mike applied for transfer to SF. The film ends in 1975 with Mike showing a bar for 3 years service just before returning to Saigon to retrieve Nicki. So the action can't have taken place any earlier than 1971-72 even allowing for the fact he might have been home for 6-12 months before returning to get Nicki. I never noticed the beret being black in the later scenes but this seems to be an error - once the green beret had been earned I would have thought that trumps all other achievements including Ranger School.
The black beret was worn by US Army rangers who were assigned to a ranger unit, in the 1960's and 70's.
Continuity mistake: During the long wedding scene, while Michael watches Linda on the dance floor, the level of the beer in his glass goes up and down several times.
Trivia: To acquire the withdrawn, hollowed-out look of his character, Christopher Walken ate nothing but bananas and rice.
Trivia: During the helicopter stunt, the runners caught on the ropes of the suspension bridge and as the helicopter rose, it threatened to seriously injure both Robert De Niro and John Savage. The actors gestured and yelled furiously to the crew in the helicopter to warn them. Footage of this is included in the film.
Trivia: The scene where Nick spits in Michael's face when they play each other at Russian Roulette towards the end of the movie was improvised by Christopher Walken. Director Michael Cimino convinced Walken to do this, and Robert De Niro was completely surprised by this, as evidenced in his reaction. In fact, De Niro was so furious about the unscripted improvisation that he almost quit the production.
Michael: You wanna play games? All right, I'll play your fucking games.
Michael: Stanley, see this? This is this. This ain't something else. This is this. From now on, you're on your own.
Question: What does "mao" mean?
Chosen answer: The whole phrase is "di di mao", which basically mean go now, or hurry up.
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