Michael Cimino, director of “The Deer Hunter,” dies at 77

Michael Cimino, who won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director for The Deer Hunter (1978), has died, media reports said. He was 77.

Cimino’s body was found on Saturday at his Los Angeles home, but the cause of death is not known, Variety reported.

“Our work together is something I will always remember. He will be missed,” Robert De Niro, who starred in “The Deer Hunter,” said in a statement.

Cimino followed up “The Deer Hunter,” considered one of the best films made about the Vietnam War, with “Heaven’s Gate” (1980), a huge commercial flop that nearly bankrupted United Artists and changed the way studios made films.

“Heaven’s Gate” cost $35.1 million to make and earned just $3.4 million at the box office in the United States.

Cimino’s other credits include “Thunderbolt and Lightfoot” (1974), which starred Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges, who was nominated for an Oscar, “Year of the Dragon” (1985), “The Sicilian” (1987), “Desperate Hours” (1990), “The Sunchaser” (1996) and a segment of “To Each His Own Cinema” (2007).

Cimino got his start in Hollywood writing the screenplays for “Silent Running” (1972) and “Magnum Force” (1973), the film that introduced him to Eastwood.