Michael Cimino interview: The Deer Hunter

[ReyAce00]

Why would you not include the rest of the interview... lame

[MrLebowski1980]

why would you even upload it unfinished.just bizzare

[abluecarrot1]

Can't tell if he's a badass or a weirdo.

[bobdy9988]

@abluecarrot1 Know what you mean.

[martin84125]

Sheesh, did the video have to run out in the middle of a thrilling De Niro anecdote?

[puccini007]

He looks like Yoko Ono now

[johnnyratazana]

he's not nuts, he's not egomaniacal, he's not a woman, he's not a pulp writer who bloasts 85 minute movies to 3 hours.

he's the best american filmmaker since ford. and heaven's gate is an absolute masterpiece.

[willywillyization]

@johnnyratazana EXACTLY! BRILLIANT, GENIUS WORK!

[fede018]

@johnnyratazana hahahahha he is all that you said except that HG isn't a masterpiece, is a pretentious piece of CRAP!

[88mphsss]

Someone post Cimino's win on YouTube! Was he at the ceremony? I've honestly never heard.

[AimForMyHead81]

he/she would go on to make one of the worst movies ever made- heavens gate

[thedrmat]

The Deer Hunter is a very particular movie which requires a very special level of patience and understanding to be able to get it. It is not your typical, shoot-em-up Viet Nam-related movie. And then, there was Heaven's Gate, which, although a bit overbloated, could have been a great Western classic. But it had too much going against it, and that's why it's come down as notorious as it is. I think of it as a good movie done wrong.

[jksonny]

Cimino reminds me of Phil Spector, very talented but egomaniacal and nuts.

[monk22yrs]

@jksonny spector was a crazy genius....cimino a pulp writer who bloats 85 minute movies to 3 hours.

[rawkus1167]

Heaven's gate is the most underrated American movie of the 70's-80's. Personally I'm a fan of most his work - I even love Year of The Dragon and The Sicillian, I don't know why, LOL

[jngr1]

Makes one wish Universal put something like this on the US DVD.

[LokiBrehm]

Producer Michael Deeley has a totally different take on the making of the Deer Hunter. He describes it pretty well in his book BladeRunners, Deer Hunters & Blowing the Doors Off.

[ahaaaaaaaaah]

Where's the fucking rest... This is a fucking spoiler!

[Arska6]

Michael Cimino and Vilmos Zsigmond. Great Cinemascopes, like old russians Sovscopes.

[amartinjoe]

and then.......HEAVEN'S GATE happened.

[krakenwave]

Looks like a tranny-in-training.

The bloke made a fucking excellent movie, though. And the way he stood up for John Casale was so honourable - being the director, he knew his threat to walk off the picture would give EMI no choice but to give in. He did rearrange the shooting schedule to film all Casale's scenes first, which is why they had to famously make alterations to the trees etc on location as they were shooting in the height of summer instead of in the late fall (as per the script).

[krakenwave]

Looks like a tranny-in-training.

The bloke made a fucking excellent movie, though.

[RussianAssassin21]

Holy shit Mike, ash that fucking thing.

[Quintfly]

Hey, I love this video is great and I find Michael Cimino and also SUPER underrated. Is it okay if you post the second part of this interview?

[Stranglehold432]

He looks Asian

[mink61]

Cimino knows who he values, because he doesn’t mention it here it means nothing...are you film critics are something? This is one of your most creative directors, what’s wrong with you; people today value nothing, they just want visual blancmange...it’s the same with the music industry. Great interview, shame the end is missing.....I can’t believe the asinine remarks people are making; actually I can, it’s the reason that everything has gone to hell in a hand-basket.

[Filmdude2001]

Notice how Cimino never even mentions Deric Washburn by name as he talks about the writer he worked with, nor does he even acknowledge Louis Garfinkle or Quinn K. Redeker, the other credited writers.

[ar4216]

@Filmdude2001 Yeah, I had to look it up to see who he was talking about. I wish someone had the balls to ask him about all the animals that were abused to make Heaven's Gate.

[Doom2012Today]

he´s so different

[everton1941]

I've long wondered where the sex change rumours came from. Now I know! Aha. Holy shit, where's Pt.2???

"So I cobbled together some absolute(ly) dreadful piece of shit..."

[everton1941]

I've long wondered where the sex change rumours came from. Now I know! Aha.

[HowdyThere88]

Please post the conclusion of this interview, if you can.

Is it from the non-US version of the DVD ?

Thanks !!

[Modano1973]

@HowdyThere88 Yes, this interview was included on the R2 2 disc Special Edition DVD that was released in the UK.

[HowdyThere88]

@Modano1973 That was my guess. If you have the rest, please do post it. But if not, thank you for the section you did make available. Its very interesting.

DVDs are great when they provide this type of background information and commentary. Completely captivating really.

[johnnyratazana]

WHERE'S THE REST??????????????????????????­??

[creeg84]

Regardless of how creepy he looks, Deer Hunter is an excellent movie! His first movie, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot is also very good. Great perfomances by Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges.

[Satchel334]

What the hell? Cimino looks like Phil Spector now!!!

[ridlazz921]

why the fuck did you cut the interview there !!!!!!!

[SuperGlup]

The guy is a Genius! VI(ntelligent)P

His movies Rule!!! and is one of the greatest American filmmaker

[deligh13lah]

What is wrong with you, people? Why is it important the way Michael looks? Why looks became sooo important lately? Let's remember that the Deer Hunter is one of the best, integral and honest stories of all times and not because of the Academy Awards. Who cares about the Academy Awards? The most important is that this movie still touches one to the bottom of one's heart and bone, even if one has no idea what the Vitnam war is and what it meant for several generations of people. Thank you Michael!

[belowthepovertyline]

@deligh13lah 1) Looks are and always have been important. It's part of evolution.

2) Ask Michael Cimino why looks are important, as he seems very concerned about his.

[whiteycorngood]

I need closure on that anecdote!

[ritter89]

@whiteycorngood lol, great comment

[QuietGiantProduction]

its too bad mihcael cimino doesn't make movies anymore. days of heaven and his ego ruined his career. still a great film

[cripplehawk]

@QuietGiantProduction DAys of Heaven was made by Terrance Malik.

Cimino made Heaven's Gate that destroyed him (and let the bean counters take full charge)

Days of Heaven from what I heard is a very good movie

[QuietGiantProduction]

@cripplehawk whups, your right. my mistake

[jongreek]

@cripplehawk watch movie, then comment on it, good or bad.

[Marty01Mcfly]

i dont understand. where's michael cimino?? who's the woman in drag smoking the cigarette??

[coralvac]

@Marty01Mcfly The woman with cigarette is Michael Cimino, after he changed sex and moved to Paris where he/she lives with a new name, Elizabeth Cimino, and this new look...

[monk22yrs]

@coralvac maybe...he denied it years ago.

THE MATRIX director tho is....really...messed up, with a dominatrix for a girlfriend.

kim kardasian's step father, bruce jenner, looks just as weird.

[LiimLsan]

@coralvac

He didn't change his sex, the rumors started because of his alarming changes in appearance. However, anyone who works in postproduction can tell you that during the editing process you sit in a chair all day and night eating pizza and donuts by the box; and that when you direct again you have so much physical movement necessary (if you're a good director) that you lose it again.

Hollywood magazines don't pick up now that we stopped caring about directors T^T

[TheMightyHartley]

@LiimLsan Oh, come on, you just paraphrased that from Wikipedia, lol! Look, I don't think he's had a sex change, but he HAS had a huge amount of facial surgery - he looks completely, utterly different nowadays. His drastic change in appearance has absolutely nothing at all to do with weight fluctuations.

[stonewolf1886]

what the hell happened to michael cimino

[dan21099]

Tell me please! in a film protagonists Russian or rusyns ? Who knows? Help me!!!

[Vidhole]

who is this 40 year old japanese lesbian

[zachromero]

this guy is such a goddamn liar. read Blade Runners, Deer Hunters & Blowing the Bloody Doors Off for the real story of how the deer hunter was made. For gods sake, he keeps calling it a 3 hour and 45 minute movie in multiple interviews. He's a pathological liar.

[Darkez982]

@zachromero

It's original cut was probably 3:45, Heaven's Gate was 220 hours of film and ended up as a rough cut 5 hour film. Cimino always had a problem with the length of his pictures.

[blue32ism]

Michael, Michael, you're a genius, but what's up with that hair?

[hibob418]

Don't get me wrong, I love The Deer Hunter, and even have a soft spot for Heaven's Gate, but here, Cimino looks like the love child of Jon Lovitz and Phil Spector...

[tayloredone1]

Where is the rest of this interview...knowing Michael personally, this is one of the most relaxed and honest interviews I have ever seen him give. We dated for about a year and stayed friends for over 30 years... I would love to see the entire interview if anyone knows where to locate it or even who did the interview. For you naysayers, until you write and direct a motion picture that wins Academy Awards then as we say in France...Ferme le Bouche...

[PaulVonHindenberg]

@tayloredone1

No offense, but just because you win an oscar doesn't mean that a movie has to be good. Titanic won Best Picture, that doesn't exactly made it a fantastic movie.

People have opinions, get over it.

[allytron]

@tayloredone1

wtf r u hot?

[Modano1973]

@tayloredone1 The interview, which runs 15 minutes, was included on the Region 2, 2 Disc Special Edition DVD, which was released in the UK.

[zenmachinefilms]

Thanks for posting this. Cimino sure looks bizarre, but he definitely still has all his mental faculties.

I still think the Deer Hunter is one of the best films ever made.

[rampskater0102]

@zenmachinefilms i actually think its very overrated, its great but not one of the best movies ever like a lot of people say. I think thunderbolt and lightfoot is a lot better

[VitoPossilipo]

I didn´t know that he looks so strangely.

[QUEENAbsoluGREATEST]

CLASSIC!!! 

[HollywoodParadiseYes]

@QUEENAbsoluGREATEST YEAH!!! :) 

[YouzTube99]

If you're bothered by how he looks, I'd suggest just listening.  Like most directors, he's a good raconteur.

FWIW, I too can't find the additional part(s) of this interview. Anyone?

[bootylover827]

He looks like a woman. WTF

[TheGregski]

Fascinating insight into one of the greatest films ever made.

[steveN111333]

THAT'S Michael Cimino !?!?!?! HOLY SHIT !!!!

[jocksmen]

@steveN111333 YEA 1 SMART SOB

A TRUE MASTER CRAFTSMAN.!!!!

[steveN111333]

@jocksmen

He was good yeah, but Heavens Gate was a huge fuck up !

The first cut was 5 HOURS AND 25 MINUTES LONG !!!!! How he could have thought anyone could sit through that !?!?!?!

[foamyjesus]

Meryl Streep has let herself go a bit.

[Swampgift]

Well, that was an addicting watch. I started and could not stop.

[cinemavirtualis]

Kris Kristofferson claimed years ago that Cimino went off and got a sex change. Im not sure if he went that far, but he's a fan of cross dressing at the very least. He looks like Lina Wertmuller, lol.

[frtw4428]

Nice to see Cimino giving an interview (pretty rare). Where is Part 2?

[sychmusic]

Thanks for uploading this. The Deer Hunter is a masterpiece.

[1917redstar]

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. Unless you are Michael Cimino.

[dirkbogarde44]

Talk about midlife breakdown.

[Verd1m5]

@dirkbogarde44 uh.....i dont think he's midlife anymore.

[kantil17]

HEY HEY HEY WHERE'S THE REST OF THIS GODAMN INTERVIEW!????

By the way, what happened with Cimino? In his early pictures he seemed normal, now he looks like an alien... he had surgery or something? And what's with the glasses?

[jbdream3]

The thing about The Deer Hunter a love is even though the Vietnam war was in it, it was not a political movie, because usually if Vietnam is involved in a film, it's strictly about war and politics. The Deer Hunter was mainly about friendship, love and bravery, although the war in Vietnam was in the movie. That's what makes The Deer Hunter unique and that's why I enjoy it so much.

[jbdream3]

I own The Deer Hunter DVD and although it's a long and depressing movie, it's one of my favorite movies in the genre of drama.

[stonewolf1886]

What the fuck happened to him?

[Ninosestelares]

"Some absolute dreadful piece of shit" HAHAHAHAHAHA

8:27

[196177]

Manilow meets Lovitz meets Phil Spector

[LilyPhoenix333]

What a godawful movie. And could he take his sunglasses off???

[RMcKee17]

I don't care what he looks like or how the critics have hammered him......"Deer Hunter" is a phenomenal movie and this guy is one of the great underappreciated talents of our time - in ANY medium.

[stonewolf1886]

holy fuck i seriously thought that was a chick

[phillydisco]

It's definitely him. If you see his old pictures on IMDB, he looks like Jon Lovitz there. Here he looks like Barry Manilow meets David Gest.

[bfdhvcnvvbjdn]

He looks like Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan in 'Im Not There'.....or Polly dressed up as a bedridden Cybil in that episode of Fawlty Towers.

[PXR05]

Brilliant - that`s a top-class observation..on both counts. Extensive plastic surgery there, methinks.

[Vesters1]

My theory is that Michael Cimino doesn't exist. Who is this man? When was he born? It's just fucking unreliable!

[rubix7k]

From what I understand, he keeps away from the spotlight now. Many think its due to the very negitive response over the whole Heavens Gate thing.....thats a long story but there is a whole 8 part documentary about it. He did make some other films after that movie but none were a success like The Deer Hunter. and the past 14 years or so he has not really been heard from.

[clouds88]

tremendous, yes...who the f*** is this?

[DoubleTalkingJive]

@Vesters1 Nope, it's him. If you watch or listen to old interviews (when he still looked like a man), the voice is exactly the same. He's had that same druggy New York voice his whole career.

[connaught2008]

anybody know the end of that story about the live round in the gun???

[adamzanzie]

Can't believe the American DVD has nothing on it except the trailer and a crummy commentary track by Vilmos Zigmond or whatever his name is... how did neither Cimino nor the actors end up on the DVD?

[xHighallTimesx]

yes please post this .. this is my favorite movie of all time .. you have to post it in parts youtube cuts it after 10 mins , i beg you man please , i love this movie witha passion .

[loudepalma]

wheres the end of that story dammit

[41jimmyp]

are you shittin' me? the big guy wasn't even an actor until this? his part was incredible!

[41jimmyp]

have you ever dreamed of a movie where every scene and every line rings true? Well here it is movie fans...

[detriplea]

Listened to his commentary last night on on The Deer Hunter and thought it was FUCKING AWESOME.

[trulysarcastic]

I'd love to hear it, unfortunately they don't sell the dvd with the Cimino commentary for U.S. dvd players

[xHighallTimesx]

the Blu ray dvd is region free but i dont know if it has this interview on it ,

[Czotie]

I'm Serbian, the wedding was way accurate!!

[diuga1]

How about the other writers credited, Signore Cimino? You made it sound you were the sole scribe on it...

[diuga1]

Damn...he's looking like Bett Midler with a tan...

[thegreeninferno]

This guy used to look like Jon Lovitz & somehow he is now starting to look like Martin Short!

[scorsese86]

3 hrs 45? What?

[Coyotegoth]

Would it be possible to rip the second half o f this?

[gold95]

Please post all if it .. thanks

[gold95]

Where is the rest of the interview???

[menthol1984]

what did dinero say about the live round

[diuga1]

Bad spelling, Mental Mentho.

[SparklingMarshall]

It's hard to look cool when you're smoking 8 inch Capris, but I think he pulls it off.

[zprodigy]

There's a guy who let a Hollywood career go to his head. My god.

He almost went overbudget on Footloose until they fired him. Overbudget! Again!! On FOOTLOOSE!!

[egobraind1]

@zprodigy hes just high as hell on heroin...

[dilmao]

@zprodigy Yeah, thank God for Michael Bay and Brett Ratner who spend hundreds of millions on stuff you clean off a toilet bowl. Cimino wrote and directed The Deer Hutner and is in this clip seen doing an honest, endearing, coherent interview about it. What a scumbag.... I take it you picked up on the irony?

[thepuppetstv]

@dilmao nice one, bro...idiots knocking an artist based on appearance or sexual orientation...what are we europe? this is fucking america....we should be over this petty fuckery, and be whoever we area and not be ashamed of that.

[dilmao]

@thepuppetstv Since when are europeans more prejudice than Americans? I agree with what you said, but I'm european, and Norwegian at that, and no disrespect, but when it comes to this particular matter, I have to say we are slightly more advanced than you.

[thepuppetstv]

@dilmao definitely not...u guys hide behind a veil of supposed tolerance...look at all your various hooligans across europe...how about mr. merkel's 'multikulti' is a fail comment? Or france's banning of the burqa? ..yeah, you guys are real tolerant...not! Ive been all over europe...i see the inflexible train og thought throughout. that is all! ahhh sooo!™

[sirdoug3]

Fascinating interview with M. Cimino - he looks like a cross between Andy Warhol, & Mickey Rourke! - mostly about 'The Deer Hunter' - but has he made any films since the 'Year Of the Dragon' - also great! - but got bad reviews at the time, & I think that devastated this great director & Mickey Rourke - sad, eh - hollywood for ya'! - build 'em up, tear 'em down!!!!

[CrazyDave746]

i loved the deer hunter. the only thing i didn't like about it was the long ass wedding. i do understand that it places character development but the could have edited it a little.

[LickMyCuntMoFo]

WHAT IN THE HELL did Micheal Cimino do to himself?

He looks like Tom Petty and Cybill Shepard had a love child!

[EricAKATheBelgianGuy]

@CrazyDave746 That, in essence, was his problem, and the problem with a lot of "auteur" directors- they were so devoted, so obsessed with the technical perfection of it, that they forgot to take a step back every once in a while. Don't get me wrong, I admire dedication to the craft, but there is such a thing as pushing it too far.

[thegreeninferno]

Is it a good thing or a bad thing to say that Michael Cimino single handedly changed the industry forever.

[DoubleTalkingJive]

No worries. This is the closest us Americans will get to seeing this interview anyway. None of the American DVD's for the "Deer Hunter" have this special feature. Only the Brit version, which is coded Region 2, and incompatible with American DVD players.

[sgtpeppper]

Yeah I hate it when good movies have no special features :(

[ken131]

VLC media player on computers play any region

[Fawksian21]

According to John Milius, Cimino got hair extensions in the '80's and there was a rumor going around for a while that he was so reclusive because he'd had a sex change, so you're not the only one apparently.

[DoubleTalkingJive]

No it's only half the interview. I've seen the Region 2 DVD. After the 10-minute mark he talks about filming the rescue sequence on the River Kwai, and (if I remember correctly) winning the Oscar and how the movie spawned the creation of the Vietnam Wall in D.C. My memory's a bit hazy, but that's what I remember.

[Fawksian21]

Cimino comes off as a very pretentious ass sometimes. In some interviews, he seems to want you to believe that he did everything on 'Deer Hunter' himself and is the sole person responsible for it being a great film.

Still, I'd love to see him make another movie, if only to see what it's like.

[DoubleTalkingJive]

Yea he's pretty much full of shit in this interview. He didn't do a presentation to EMI. They presented HIM with a script by Garfinkle/Redeker about guys who go to Vegas to play Russian Roulette. Cimino took that idea and came up with the Deer Hunter. And Cimino did fire Derek Washburn after 6 weeks, but Washburn got sole "Screenplay By" credit on the film. So it's disingenuous of Cimino to say he wrote the whole thing himself. There's FOUR guys total that were credited on the film.

[cecelianchris]

Thanks So Much !!! I would really appreciate it if you can upload the rest of this Great interview