Pure rage, hatred and emotion are the words I alluded use to describe this scene. It contains one of the most convincing acting displays I’ve seen in any movie ever. Deer Hunter is a Vietnam war move that follows Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken, two of my favorite actors ever. They are both capable of making very convincing performances, but this is on a whole new level.

In this scene, De Niro and Walkers characters have been captured by Vietcong warriors and are in a bamboo shack. They are sitting at a table where soldiers are throwing money on the table. They are both bloodied and dirtied, and it gives the scene an authentic, grimey feel. The head honcho of the Vietcong soldiers takes out a revolver, puts a bullet in it and spins the chamber. The protagonists begin to understand what’s happening, and tension begins to build. The soldier spins the gun on the table, and it stops, pointing at De Niro. This scene is filled with a Hitchcock amount of suspense, and it makes the scene incredible.

The protagonists understand what’s happening, and the guns pointing in their faces make them understand they don’t have a choice. This scene is a incredible example of “show not tell” as there is basically no English spoken until the end of the scene. The scene is directed entirely through yelling in Vietnamese, waving of guns and screams of rage and fear.

The first turn of Russian Roulette, De Niro, laughs at the Vietnamese and they laugh back, then he screams in the face of the leader and pulls the trigger. It demonstrates his current mind state and begins to break down the guards of the Vietnamese soldiers, making them think this is funny. The chamber is empty and the Vietcong leader seems angry that De Niro isn’t scared of him. Walkers character is obviously terrified and acts incredibly, making one of the most scary actors look like a cowering man. He gets slapped repeatedly and De Niro punches the leader before being shoved back down into his seat, and Walken pulls the trigger, breaking down into tears as he does it. The chamber is empty.

The gun then goes back to De Niro. Everyone in the room knows that the bullet is in the chamber, and De Niro knows too. He starts laughing in the face of the Vietcong leader, and the guards around him start laughing too. They all think that the US soldiers are powerless, and have relaxed. De Niro puts the gun to his head still laughing demonically, and then lunges upwards, shoving the guards gun out of his face and shooting the leader in between the eyes. The close up shows shock as the Vietcong Leader dies. This scene is so satisfying because all of the tension is released in seconds after minutes of intense suspense as De Niro guns down all of the soldiers. He grabs Walken, who is still petrified, and forces him out of the hut, ending this ultra suspenseful scene. I think it’s awesome how this is one of the greatest cinematic scenes ever, and it all took place at one table.