The Deer Hunter (Special Edition) DVD, 1978

Three friends from a Pennsylvanian steelworks, Michael (Robert De Niro), Steven (John Savage) and Nick (Christopher Walken), volunteer for service in Vietnam. Over the course of the war the trio are captured by the Vietcong and forced to play Russian Roulette for their captors' entertainment. Michael and Steven manage to escape, and the latter is shipped home, disabled and bitter. When Michael also returns, to a hero's welcome, he discovers that Nick has remained in Vietnam, sending money to Steven without any explanation. With Saigon about to fall at any moment, Michael decides to return to Vietnam to bring his friend back.

Few films have ever found a more dramatic, incisive and ultimately iconic metaphor for the experience of men in war than the famous Russian roulette scene. Touching on many themes - individuals and communities shattered and scarred by the horrors of war, rite-of-passage myths, chance and destiny, blue collar America's loss of innocence, The Deer Hunter remains above all an intensely detailed and touching portrayal of individuals - their friendships, and the trials that not all are able to endure. It won five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director.