'Deer Hunter' director Michael Cimino dead at 77

Washington  : Michael Cimino, who directed the Oscar-winning Vietnam War film "The Deer Hunter" but then saw his career fade with a big-money box office flop, died Saturday at the age of 77.

Besides his grim, moving tale of the Vietnam War, Cimino will be remembered for the budget-busting failure "Heaven's Gate" released not long thereafter in the 1980s.

Cimino's death, first reported by Cannes film festival director Thierry Fremaux and the New York Times, was confirmed by Lt. B. Kim of the Los Angeles County coroner's office.

Kim told AFP that Cimino was found dead in his Beverly Hills home and that the cause of death is pending.

The Times quoted the director's friend and former lawyer Eric Weissmann as saying Cimino's body was found at his home after friends were unable to reach him by telephone.

"The Deer Hunter", released in 1978, was a gut-wrenching tale of a group of American friends in Pennsylvania whose lives were scarred by the Vietnam War.

One of its most gripping scenes depicts characters played by Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken, held prisoner by the North Vietnamese army, playing Russian roulette against each other.

"The Deer Hunter" received nine Oscar nominations and won five, including best picture and best director.

At the time, the Times review called it "a big, awkward, crazily ambitious, sometimes breathtaking motion picture that comes as close to being a popular epic as any movie about this country since 'The Godfather.'"

In a statement Saturday De Niro said, "Our work together is something I will always remember. He will be missed."

But as much as "The Deer Hunter" was a success, Cimino's next film was widely panned as a disaster.