<Tr> <Th> Budget </Th> <Td> $15 million </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $49 million </Td> </Tr> <P> The Deer Hunter is a 1978 American epic war drama film co-written and directed by Michael Cimino about a trio of Russian American steelworkers whose lives are changed forever after they fight in the Vietnam War . The three soldiers are played by Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, and John Savage, with John Cazale (in his final role), Meryl Streep, and George Dzundza playing supporting roles . The story takes place in Clairton, Pennsylvania, a small working class town on the Monongahela River south of Pittsburgh, and in Vietnam . </P> <P> The film was based in part on an unproduced screenplay called The Man Who Came to Play by Louis Garfinkle and Quinn K. Redeker, about Las Vegas and Russian roulette . Producer Michael Deeley, who bought the script, hired writer / director Michael Cimino who, with Deric Washburn, rewrote the script, taking the Russian roulette element and placing it in the Vietnam War . The film went over-budget and over-schedule, and ended up costing $15 million . The scenes depicting Russian roulette were highly controversial after the film's release . </P>

Who played the green beret in the deer hunter