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Who has not seen the movie, "The Deer Hunter"?

One of the best movies of all time? I think so. Made a big impression at the time [1978], winning Academy awards for Best Picture and Best Director. Had an outstanding cast, De Niro, Walken, Streep!

A war movie, but MUCH MORE than a war movie!

And established Michael Cimino as a director of repute.

The career of Cimino - - after "The Deer Hunter" - - never seemed to go anywhere! For whatever combination of reasons - - after "Deer Hunter" - - nothing more of consequence from the man.

Cimino did seem to have all the right credentials to work as a director of the highest repute. An artiste' with the right background and qualifications!

"He graduated from Yale University, receiving his undergraduate degree in 1961 and his master's in 1963."

AND TOO, A MAN PERHAPS UNIQUELY QUALIFIED TO DIRECT A FILM DEALING WITH THE VIETNAM WAR!! SO IT WAS PRESENTED BY THE MAN HIMSELF!!

From the wiki entry regarding the military service of Michael Cimino:

"Military service"

"During the production of The Deer Hunter, Cimino had given co-workers . . . the vague impression that much of the storyline was biographical, somehow related to the director’s own experience and based on the experiences of men he had known during his service in Vietnam. Just as the film was about to open, Cimino gave an interview to The New York Times in which he claimed that he had been 'attached to a Green Beret medical unit' at the time of the Tet Offensive of 1968."

BUT, PERHAPS, NOT EXACTLY SO!?

This claim of Cimino resulted in some acerbic comments being made by certain cinematic moguls:

* "Universal Studios president Thom Mount commented at the time that 'I know this guy. He was no more a medic in the Green Berets than I’m a rutabaga.'”

[it is worth noting that allegedly Cimino DID NOT claim he was a medic in the Green Berets. He did say [?] that he was a medic attached to a unit of Green Berets.]

Further more:

* [a reporter was able to] "corroborate that Cimino had done a stint as an Army medic, but also discovered that the director had never been attached to the Green Berets, and that his active service – just six months in 1962 – had been as a reservist who never deployed to Vietnam"

Michael Cimino - - was a fully qualified and trained combat medic? BUT DID NOT SERVE WITH THE GREEN BERETS IN VIETNAM! Cimino was an army reservist during the whole time of the Vietnam War, and strictly that, NOT serving in-country, as they say? Perhaps, trained with Special Forces designated personnel who were beginning the initial stages of becoming qualified as a Green Beret medic. At the time, to become a Special Forces medic, you first had to complete the army basic combat medic course.

To that extent, Cimino served with Green Berets and was attached to the same unit? That 1962 date would fit in well with the period between graduations for baccalaureate and masters degree!

[thanks to Rich J., a Green Beret medic from the period for the clarification on the details regarding medic training!]

More than a little embellishment on the part of Cimino? You decide!

coolbert.