5. The Deer Hunter - 1978
Perhaps the most underrated of the Vietnam War movies. The Deer Hunter cleaned up in 1979 with nine nominations and five wins including: Best Picture, best director for Michael Cimino and supporting actor for Christopher Walken. The film played twofold, earlier scenes showing the friendship our three main characters enjoyed with one another. The film then shifts to the war with our heroes being captured and thrown into a prison camp. It's here where the film takes off onto another level. The abuse these men endured physical and psychological is enough to scare most level headed humans away from the thought of war. There's no glorification here. Our heroes are forced to play Russian roulette for the enjoyment of their captors and subsequently leads to one of the most iconic scenes in the history of war films. No other film that year could compare with the magnitude of what was on display in The Deer Hunter. A stacked cast, including: Robert DeNiro (nominated), Christopher Walken (nominated and won), Meryl Streep (nominated), and John Savage allowed the world Cimino was looking to create to come fully to life -- every devastating detail. There are other Vietnam War films that have received more press but few who's heart beat as loud.