'The Deer Hunter'

Everyone remembers the horrific Russian roulette sequences, but this Vietnam epic is more about the war's devastating effect on an American community. Several of a small town's favorite sons go off to fight; one (Robert De Niro) returns physically unscathed but haunted by survivor's guilt. Another (John Savage) comes back legless and full of self-pity, while another (Christopher Walken, in his Oscar-winning role) doesn't come back at all, but remains in Saigon, doomed to replay the horror of his captivity over and over. The Oscar-winning Best Picture not only made the painful topic of Vietnam a safe one for the movies, but it's also credited with inspiring the drive to build the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C.