Movies Like The Deer Hunter (1978)

The Deer Hunter is a 1978 drama, war film from Michael Cimino with a MovieMagicScore of 8.0/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Born on the Fourth of July and Who'll Stop the Rain.

Drama War

Born on the Fourth of July

1989

Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, Ron Kovic becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country he fought for.

7.0

MagicScore

Who'll Stop the Rain

1978

John, a disillusioned Vietnam War journalist, turns to heroin smuggling. He cons Ray, an equally burnt out veteran into delivering the drugs stateside to his wife. Everything soon falls apart and Ray ends up on the run with John's wife trying to evade crooked narcotics agents.

6.5

MagicScore

Uncommon Valor

1983

A group of Vietnam War veterans re-unite to rescue one of their own left behind and taken prisoner by the Vietnamese.

6.2

MagicScore

Full Metal Jacket

1987

A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the U.S.-Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.

8.1

MagicScore

First Blood

1982

When former Green Beret John Rambo is harassed by local law enforcement and arrested for vagrancy, he is forced to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers.

7.5

MagicScore

Good Morning, Vietnam

1987

A disk jockey goes to Vietnam to work for the Armed Forces Radio Service. While he becomes popular among the troops, his superiors disapprove of his humor.

7.3

MagicScore

Heaven & Earth

1993

In a small Vietnamese village torn apart by war, a young woman faces unimaginable horrors before deciding to escape to the city. There, she encounters a compassionate Marine who offers her hope and a chance at a new life, igniting the possibility of a future together.

6.7

MagicScore

Bullet in the Head

1990

Three childhood friends from the slums of Hong Kong flee to war-time Saigon after accidentally murdering a gang leader, but their troubles only escalate.

7.6

MagicScore

Apocalypse Now

1979

At the height of the Vietnam war, Captain Benjamin Willard is sent on a dangerous mission that, officially, "does not exist, nor will it ever exist." His goal is to locate - and eliminate - a mysterious Green Beret Colonel named Walter Kurtz, who has been leading his personal army on illegal guerrilla missions into enemy territory.

8.3

MagicScore

#10

Da 5 Bloods

2020

Four African-American Vietnam veterans return to Vietnam. They are in search of the remains of their fallen squad leader and the promise of buried treasure. These heroes battle forces of humanity and nature while confronted by the lasting ravages of the immorality of the Vietnam War.

6.5

MagicScore

#11

Missing in Action

1984

American servicemen are still being held captive in Vietnam and it's up to one man to bring them home in this blistering, fast-paced action/adventure starring martial arts superstar Chuck Norris. Following a daring escape from a Vietnamese POW camp, Special Forces Colonel James Braddock (Norris) is on a mission to locate and save remaining MIAs.

5.8

MagicScore

#12

Coming Home

1978

In 1968 California, a Marine officer's wife falls in love with a former high school classmate who suffered a paralyzing combat injury in the war.

7.0

MagicScore

#13

Hearts and Minds

1974

Many times during his presidency, Lyndon B. Johnson said that ultimate victory in the Vietnam War depended upon the U.S. military winning the "hearts and minds" of the Vietnamese people. Filmmaker Peter Davis uses Johnson's phrase in an ironic context in this anti-war documentary, filmed and released while the Vietnam War was still under way, juxtaposing interviews with military figures like U.S. Army Chief of Staff William C. Westmoreland with shocking scenes of violence and brutality.

7.6

MagicScore

#14

Rambo: First Blood Part II

1985

John Rambo is released from prison by the government for a top-secret covert mission to the last place on Earth he'd want to return - the jungles of Vietnam.

6.7

MagicScore

#15

The '60s

1999

The Herlihys are a working class family from Chicago whose three children take wildly divergent paths: Brian joins the Marines right out of High School and goes to Vietnam, Michael becomes involved in the civil rights movement and after campaigning for Bobby Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy becomes involved in radical politics, and Katie gets pregnant, moves to San Francisco and joins a hippie commune. Meanwhile, the Taylors are an African-American family living in the deep South. When Willie Taylor, a minister and civil rights organizer, is shot to death, his son Emmet moves to the city and eventually joins the Black Panthers, serving as a bodyguard for Fred Hampton.

6.0

MagicScore

#16

The Visitors

1972

Bill, Martha and their little child Hal are spending a quiet winter Sunday in their cosy house when they get an unexpected visit from Mike Nickerson and Tony Rodriguez. Mike and Tony are old acquaintances of Bill; a few years back, in Vietnam, they were in the same platoon. They also became opposed parties in a court martial - for a reason that Bill never explained to Martha. What happened in Vietnam, and what is the reason for the presence of Mike and Tony ?

6.0

MagicScore

#17

Forrest Gump

1994

A man with a low IQ has accomplished great things in his life and been present during significant historic events—in each case, far exceeding what anyone imagined he could do. But despite all he has achieved, his one true love eludes him.

8.5

MagicScore

#18

Missing in Action 2: The Beginning

1985

Prequel to the first Missing In Action, set in the early 1980s it shows the capture of Colonel Braddock during the Vietnam war in the 1970s, and his captivity with other American POWs in a brutal prison camp, and his plans to escape.

5.8

MagicScore

#19

13

2010

A naive young man assumes a dead man's identity and finds himself embroiled in an underground world of power, violence, and chance where men gamble behind closed doors on the lives of other men.

5.8

MagicScore

#20

The Quiet American

2002

Cynical British journalist Fowler falls in love with a young Vietnamese woman but is dismayed when a naïve U.S. official also begins vying for her attention. In retaliation, Fowler informs the communists that the American is selling arms to their enemy.

6.5

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Deer Hunter?

The top films similar to The Deer Hunter by MovieMagicScore are Born on the Fourth of July (7.0), Who'll Stop the Rain (6.5), Uncommon Valor (6.2). Each shares drama/war themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Deer Hunter worth watching?

The Deer Hunter holds a MovieMagicScore of 8.0/10 from 4,063 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is The Deer Hunter?

The Deer Hunter (1978) is a drama, war film directed by Michael Cimino, starring Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Cazale.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Deer Hunter?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more drama recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Born on the Fourth of July Movies like Who'll Stop the Rain Movies like Uncommon Valor Movies like Full Metal Jacket Movies like First Blood Movies like Good Morning, Vietnam

About movies like The Deer Hunter

This ranked list pairs The Deer Hunter (1978), a drama and war film from Michael Cimino, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Robert De Niro take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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