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Deliverance (1972) Online

Deliverance (1972) Online
Original Title :
Deliverance
Genre :
Movie / Adventure / Drama / Thriller
Year :
1972
Directror :
John Boorman
Cast :
Jon Voight,Burt Reynolds,Ned Beatty
Writer :
James Dickey,James Dickey
Budget :
$2,000,000
Type :
Movie
Time :
1h 49min
Rating :
7.7/10

Intent on seeing the Cahulawassee River before it's dammed and turned into a lake, outdoor fanatic Lewis Medlock takes his friends on a canoeing trip they'll never forget into the dangerous American back-country.

Deliverance (1972) Online

The Cahulawassee River valley in Northern Georgia is one of the last natural pristine areas of the state, which will soon change with the imminent building of a dam on the river, which in turn will flood much of the surrounding land. As such, four Atlanta city dwellers, alpha male Lewis Medlock, Ed Gentry, Bobby Trippe, and Drew Ballinger, decide to take a multi-day canoe trip on the river, with only Lewis and Ed having experience in outdoor life. They know going in that the area is isolated. Their relatively peaceful trip takes a turn for the worse when half way through with river rapids and unwelcoming locals. The four battle need to their way out of the valley and are asked to do things they never thought possible within themselves.
Cast overview, first billed only:
Jon Voight Jon Voight - Ed
Burt Reynolds Burt Reynolds - Lewis
Ned Beatty Ned Beatty - Bobby
Ronny Cox Ronny Cox - Drew
Ed Ramey Ed Ramey - Old Man
Billy Redden Billy Redden - Lonnie
Seamon Glass Seamon Glass - First Griner
Randall Deal Randall Deal - Second Griner
Bill McKinney Bill McKinney - Mountain Man
Herbert 'Cowboy' Coward Herbert 'Cowboy' Coward - Toothless Man
Lewis Crone Lewis Crone - First Deputy
Ken Keener Ken Keener - Second Deputy
Johnny Popwell Johnny Popwell - Ambulance Driver
John Fowler John Fowler - Doctor
Kathy Rickman Kathy Rickman - Nurse

Burt Reynolds broke his coccyx (tailbone) while going down the rapids when the canoe capsized. Originally, a cloth dummy was used, but it looked too fake, like a dummy going over a waterfall. While Reynolds recovered, he asked, "How did it look?" Director John Boorman replied, "Like a dummy going over a waterfall."

To minimize costs, the production wasn't insured, and the actors did their own stunts. Jon Voight climbed the cliff.

According to Director John Boorman, the gas station attendant's jig during "Dueling Banjos" was unscripted and spontaneous.

To save costs and add to the realism, local residents were cast in the roles of the hill people.

While filming the white water canoeing scene, Ned Beatty was thrown overboard and was sucked under by a whirlpool. A production assistant dove in to save him, but he didn't surface for thirty seconds. John Boorman asked Beatty, "How did you feel?", and Beatty responded, "I thought I was going to drown, and the first thought was, how will John finish the film without me? And my second thought was, I bet the bastard will find a way!"

"Dueling Banjos" was the first scene shot. The rest of the movie was almost entirely shot in sequence.

Much of the film had to have its color desaturated because the river looked too pretty.

Even though his character was very clumsy and uncoordinated, Ned Beatty was the only one of the four main actors with any experience in a canoe prior to shooting.

Much of the dialogue was taken almost verbatim from the source novel.

Billy Redden, the boy with the banjo, liked Ronny Cox and hated Ned Beatty. At the end of the duelling banjos scene, the script called for Billy to harden his expression towards Cox's character, but Billy couldn't pretend to hate Cox. To solve the problem, they got Beatty to step towards Billy at the close of the shot. As Beatty approached, Billy hardened his expression and looked away.

Billy Redden didn't know how to play banjo. To simulate realistic chord playing during "Duelling Banjos", another boy, a skilled banjo player, played the chords with his arm reaching around Redden's side while Redden picked. Musicians Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell played on the soundtrack.

The cliff climbing scene was shot during the day, and underexposed with a bluish tint added in post-production. "Day for night" shooting was common until the late 1970s because of slow film stocks and anamorphic lenses that didn't let in as much light as spherical lenses, requiring a lot of lights.

Burt Reynolds breakthrough role, transforming him from a TV / B-movie actor to a film superstar.

Author James Dickey would only address the actors by calling them by their character names.

John Boorman wanted Vilmos Zsigmond as Director of Photography because he'd famously filmed the 1956 Soviet invasion of Hungary. Boorman reckoned that anyone who had filmed under the threat of Russian tanks and guns would be ideally suited to an intensive and grueling shoot, which this movie promised to be.

Donald Sutherland turned down the role of Ed because he objected to the violence in the script. He later said he regretted that decision.

According to Turner Classic Movies, John Boorman wanted Lee Marvin and Marlon Brando to play Ed and Lewis, respectively. After reading the script, Marvin said he and Brando were too old and would be unable to handle the physically difficult river scenes, and suggested that Boorman use younger actors instead. Boorman agreed, and cast Jon Voight and Burt Reynolds.

Ned Beatty's film debut. His voice laughing is the first human sound on the soundtrack.

Following the film, tourism increased to Rabun County by the tens of thousands. By 2012, tourism was the largest source of revenue in the county. Jon Voight's stunt double for this film, Claude Terry, later purchased equipment used in the movie from Warner Brothers. He founded what is now the oldest whitewater rafting adventure company on the Chattooga River, Southeastern Expeditions. By 2012, rafting had developed as a twenty million dollar industry in the region.

Jack Nicholson agreed to play Ed as long as Marlon Brando played Lewis. However, the actors' combined fees added up to more than one million dollars, half the movie's budget, forcing John Boorman to cast cheaper actors.

During the filming of the canoe scene, author James Dickey showed up inebriated and got into a bitter argument with John Boorman, who had re-written Dickey's script. They had a brief fistfight in which Boorman's nose was broken and four of his teeth shattered. Dickey was thrown off the set, but no charges were filed against him. The two reconciled and became good friends, and Boorman gave Dickey a cameo role as the Sheriff at the end of the film.

When John Boorman first tapped Jon Voight to appear in the film, the actor was at a low point. His previous film, The All-American Boy (1973), was deemed an unsalvageable mess. Convinced his career was over, Voight credited Boorman with saving his life, then spending the next few months trying to kill him with extreme stunts during filming.

When John Boorman was looking for an actor to play the toothless hillbilly, Burt Reynolds suggested Herbert "Cowboy" Coward, who had no front teeth, was illiterate, and stuttered. Reynolds had previously worked with Coward in a Wild West show in Maggie Valley, North Carolina.

Author James Dickey gave Burt Reynolds a few days of bow and arrow lessons. By the end, Reynolds was quite proficient.

Regarding the courage of the four main actors in the movie doing their own stunts without insurance protection, James Dickey was quoted as saying all of them "had more guts than a burglar". In a nod to their stunt-performing audacity, early in the movie Lewis says, "Insurance? I've never been insured in my life. I don't believe in insurance. There's no risk."

The movie doesn't explain the title, but the book states that what the city boys are trying to find in the backwoods is deliverance from the stress of modern life.

John Boorman's gold record for the "Duelling Banjos" hit single was stolen from his house by Dublin gangster Martin Cahill. Boorman depicted the crime in his film about Cahill, The General (1998).

The dream sequence at the end became the inspiration for the end of Kere (1976), and then countless horror films after that.

The movie was shot primarily on the Chattooga River, which divides South Carolina and Georgia. Additional scenes were shot on the Tallulah Gorge in Georgia, Salem, South Carolina, and Sylva, North Carolina. Shots of the town which did not call for the actors to be present were shot in Monaca, Pennsylvania.

John Boorman discovered Ronny Cox and Ned Beatty working in theater.

Burt Reynolds later called this "the best film I've ever been in."

Burt Reynolds described James Dickey as "a guy who when he's had a couple of martinis you want to drop a grenade down his throat."

Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand were married during filming.

John Boorman and writer James Dickey argued constantly. Boorman later referred to making the film as "going fifteen rounds with a heavyweight".

Burt Reynolds believed that his nude centerfold in Cosmopolitan Magazine cost the film a Best Picture Oscar.

Sam Peckinpah wanted to direct the movie. When John Boorman secured the rights, Peckinpah directed Straw Dogs (1971) instead.

When the Sundance Film Festival first kicked off in Salt Lake City, Utah, in August 1978, this was one of the first selections screened.

John Boorman's son, Charley, appeared near the end of the movie as Ed's little boy.

During filming, rocks destroyed five wooden canoes and dented the aluminum one severely.

The inspiration for the Cahulawassee River was the Coosawattee River, which was dammed in the 1970s and contained several dangerous whitewater rapids before being flooded by Carters Lake.

Henry Fonda turned down the role of Lewis. James Stewart was also considered for the role.

Don Wayne Reno and Arthur Smith are credited with the first recording of "Duelling Banjos" (also known as "Feudin' Banjos" and "The Battle Of The Banjos"). Prior to this movie, both parts were played with banjos, at the same speed all the way through. Almost all modern bluegrass bands play this movie's version in the key of G. In the movie, the guitarist and banjo players play it in the key of A.

Gene Hackman was offered the role of Ed. He wanted to play Lewis, but was turned down.

Bobby is the only one of the four leads whose occupation is revealed (an insurance salesman). The book reveals that Ed is a graphic designer, Lewis is a landlord, and Drew is a soft drink executive.

Though "Duelling Banjos" won a Grammy Award for Best Original Song, it was written back in 1955 by Arthur Smith and had been used in an October 1963 episode of The Andy Griffith Show (1960).

The first time Jon Voight watched the finished cut was at Warner Brothers in their screening room, and present were Clint Eastwood, Jack Nicholson, and Jon's father.

The canoes used in the film are displayed at the Burt Reynolds Museum, located at 100 North U.S. Highway 1, in Jupiter, Florida. One of the canoes used and signed by Ronny Cox is on display in the Tallulah Falls Railroad Museum, Dillard, Georgia.

Contrary to popular belief, the deputy at the hospital was played by Lewis Crone, not Ed O'Neill.

Emory University Chemistry professor Claude Terry consulted on the canoe trip and navigating the Chatooga and other rivers. After the movie's release, Claude founded Southeastern Expeditions, which provided raft trips with trained guides on whitewater rivers. Rafting the Chatooga, the Ocoee River in Tennessee, and other whitewater rivers has become very popular, especially in the summer. Claude is now retired.

Ed's wife was portrayed by Belinda Beatty, who was married to Ned Beatty, who played Bobby.

"Squeal like a pig" has become an iconic piece of american culture. So has the "Dueling Banjos."

The aluminum canoe has the blue and white logo of Grumman, the aircraft company that built the F-14 Tomcat and the Apollo Lunar Module.

Despite its title, "Duelling Banjos" features a banjo and a guitar.

In his memoirs, Charlton Heston said he declined the role of Lewis due to his commitment to Antony and Cleopatra (1972).

Bill McKinney first auditioned for the role of Lewis Medlock before being cast as the Mountain Man.

No credit was given for the film score. The film has several sparse, brooding passages of music scattered throughout, including several played on a synthesizer. Some prints of the movie omit much of this extra music.

Ronny Cox was the first actor cast.

The only Best Picture Oscar nominee that year not to be nominated in either of the lead acting categories, or in any acting category.

The only Best Picture Oscar nominee that year not to be nominated in any of the writing categories.

Sales of camping equipment plummeted and the Appalachian camping industry was nearly bankrupted following the film's release.

Warner Brothers wanted Steve McQueen to play Lewis. He passed on it.

It's been claimed that a real banjo player performed the fretting from behind actor Billy Redden in the dueling banjo sequence. However, any real player can tell you that the fingering seen on screen is not even remotely realistic, regardless of who actually performed it.

Film debut of Ronny Cox.

Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.

The guitar that Drew uses is an Epiphone. He also uses a capo, set a whole-step up the neck, which allows a guitarist to play "Dueling Banjos" using the easier position of "G", while rendering the song in the slightly more difficult key of "A".

Included among the American Film Institute's 1998 list of the four hundred movies nominated for the Top 100 Greatest American Movies.

In early 1971, Los Angeles Times columnist Joyce Haber announced Jack Nicholson as one of the leads.

The film aired on the Sky Network in New Zealand as tribute to Burt Reynolds after he passed away.

Amazingly, this seedy Gothic set in the backwoods of the American south was directed by Englishman John Boorman.

Jon Voight's character asks "Are there any snakes?" One of his most famous roles was in Anaconda (1997).

The director first considered Reynolds for the part of Lewis after seeing him guest host The Tonight Show the previous year.

James Dickey: The Sheriff at the end of the film.

The rape scene was filmed in one take, largely because Ned Beatty didn't want to film it repeatedly.

For his death scene, Bill McKinney trained himself to hold his breath and not blink for two minutes.

Ronny Cox has hyper mobility (in layman's terms, he is "double-jointed"). He suggested to John Boorman that his arm appear twisted around his neck when his body was discovered. No prosthetic was used.

The rape scene as originally scripted, consisted mainly of swearing. The "squeal like a pig" phrase was an attempt to "clean up" the scene for later television broadcast viewing. John Boorman liked the "cleaner" version better and instead used it in the film.

John Boorman was under great pressure to cut most of Bill McKinney's death scene. After an argument, he only deleted six frames.

The infamous "squeal like a pig" rape scene was somewhat improvised. The novel and original screenplay detailed the rape with no porcine lines. Ned Beatty later claimed credit for the pig idea. However, Christopher Dickey, son of author James Dickey, stated in his book "Summer of Deliverance" that a crewman suggested the line.

An alternate ending was shot, but cut from the final version. It takes place a few weeks, perhaps months, after the main events. It appeared in James Dickey's original script as part of the final dream sequence, but not as the story's literal conclusion. Lewis walks with a crutch (in Dickey's screenplay, his leg is amputated below the knee). Ed, Lewis, and Bobby meet with Sheriff Bullard near the dam in Aintry. The Sheriff directs them to a body on a stretcher, then uncovers it so they can look at its face. No identifiable details of the body are shown, a deliberate choice to make the audience uncertain whether the dead man is Drew, Don Job, or the Toothless Man. The body was played by Christopher Dickey, James Dickey's son, who writes about the scene in his memoir, "Summer of Deliverance", and even he doesn't know whose body it was supposed to be. In the screenplay, Ed awakens from the dream, terrified, just before the corpse's face is revealed.

Bill McKinney became so closely identified with his role as the Mountain Man that he adopted www.squeallikeapig.com as the name of his official website. Since his death, the domain name is available for purchase.

The broken bone jutting from Burt Reynolds' leg is a broken lamb bone.

The original UK cinema version suffered minor BBFC censor cuts to secure an X certificate which includes the removal of two lines of dialogue said by the toothless man when threatening Ed after the rape scene, "He got a real pretty mouth, ain't he?" and "You got to do some praying for me boy, you better pray real good." And the death of the Mountain Man where he is seen struggling with the arrow through his chest was reduced. All later home UK video releases are uncut with an 18 certificate.

The squeal like a pig sequence was the subject of countless gay parodies, on Saturday Night Live (1975) and elsewhere.

Towards the end of the movie, and in the scenes leading up to visiting Lewis in the hospital, Ed and Bobby wear the same shirts (cut, print and style).


User reviews

Moogura

Moogura

SPOILERS! My review is mostly meant for examination by those who have already seen the movie!

As others have said this is a truly chilling and sinister film, many so called scary films lose their edge over the years by becoming dated, but this film feels sinister from the beginning and becomes almost unbearably oppressive to watch. Probably what makes it so chilling is the terrible events are entirely plausible.

One reviewer here said that this film was about how violence (real violence) affects people, I won't repeat his review because he explains it more eloquently than I, but I totally agree.

But interestingly enough as a woman it seemed to me that this movie was also examining masculinity but none of the male reviewers here have mentioned that, so I may be wrong. But I feel this way because it is noticeable to me how differently the men react, compared to women, to trauma. After the male rape not only is it never mentioned again but even initially when Ned is rescued it is not mentioned. I feel women would at least have a cry and hug each other first, but I may be wrong, because shock can manifest in different ways. However all of the men react in the same seemingly unemotional way, of course it is obvious that the men are traumatised by the event but their reaction is to protect their friend and fix the problem. And their way of fixing the problem is by not talking about it. Of course, part of the reason this event can't be discussed is because it is so emasculating. But their caring is obvious in little vignettes, for instance when Jon Voight helps Ned dress after the rape.

Why men suppress emotions is something I have not always understood and at times has annoyed me, but this movie was such an insight for me, as I finally got it. We women know how to let out emotion safely, but men are so trained to suppress it that when it does happen it is often like a dam bursting then they can't control it, so it's safer to bottle it up.

But the sad thing is though that their suppression will have terrible effects on them, this is one of the reasons therapists often say people shouldn't "bury" their problem (never was a metaphor so apt as in this film), however letting it out will make them crack, so they can't win, if they talk about it or suppress it, either way it will affect their sanity.

Mind you even as a woman I could understand that many women would want to bottle up an event as traumatic as this one.

Depressingly enough most movies when women get raped there is often something still "sexy" about the way it is shot but the male rape scene here is so sudden and so chilling you feel their helplessness and you know that if they aren't rescued that they will be killed and horribly, and you know they know this. Often rape reports deal with the violation but this scene really brings home to you the thought of not just the violation but the sheer terror that victims must feel, so I think this scene would be equally illustrative of what both men and women would experience.

Even before the rape, it is obvious to me that all these men feel inadequate as men. Macho Lewis is over compensating, whiny Ned boasts about sexual conquests because he knows how unmanly he seems.

So they want adventure (ie violence) so to transform themselves into real men, but ironically they don't understand that real violence isn't an adventure.

Weirdly enough what should be considered emasculating, the horrible rape Ned experiences, is actually what transforms him into a real man, one who is scared but determined to survive and help his friends.

Lewis almost does the opposite he goes from being the strong survivalist (though who undoubtedly saves them) to being terrified and in visible distress from his injury and helplessness.

But I don't think the movie is saying that he is a coward. I think the movie shows them all as true human beings, they all show great courage at times but are also reduced to absolute terror at other times as anyone experiencing such horrors would. But that's part of the point is that you can not have true courage without real fear.

So unlike the comic book heroes that they wanted to emulate, true heroism evolves from enduring terrible trauma.

And it makes me wonder if perhaps one of the reasons that war veterans do not speak of war isn't just because of the horrors they saw but perhaps they are also ashamed of the times that they showed fear, no matter how courageous they may have been, deep down they may feel like cowards.

The sad thing is that I think that the characters here will be forever traumatised and feel emasculated by what happened to them but the events were also the making of them as courageous heroes but they probably won't see it that way, but I had no doubt that Ned would go away being stronger, kinder and less brash to others and that Lewis would become more humble and that Jon Voight would appreciate his family more.

This is one of the few movies I've seen adult male rape in, and society rarely mentions it too. I think issues such as this should be explored more in cinema, so that men who have experienced such terrible trauma can at least feel that the issue is being addressed in some way. Because let's face it part of the reason why Ned and the other characters can't speak about the rape is because society has deemed adult male rape to be an unspeakably shameful subject.
Qucid

Qucid

Unlike many other films, which are disturbing either by dint of their naked unpleasantness (Man Bites Dog) or their sheer violence (most Peckinpah films), Deliverance shocks by its plausibility. Certainly, the buggery scene is pretty straightforward in its unpleasantness, but the film's effect derives far more from its slow build-up and the tangible sense of isolation surrounding the four leads, both before and after everything starts to go wrong. The moment when the canoes pass under the child on the bridge, who does not even acknowledge the men he had earlier played music with, let alone show any sign of human affection towards them, is among the most sinister in modern film. The tension increases steadily throughout the canoe trip, and perseveres even after the final credits - the ending makes the significance of the characters' ordeals horrifically real. The movie's plausibility is greatly aided by the playing of the leads, particularly Ned Beatty and Jon Voight as the victim and reluctant hero respectively. Burt Reynolds, too, has never been better. The film's cultural influence is demonstrable by the number of people who will understand a reference to 'banjo territory' - perhaps only Get Carter has done such an effective hatchet-job on a region's tourist industry. I can think of only a handful of movies which put me into such a serious depression after they had finished - the oppressive atmosphere of Se7en is the best comparison I can think of. Although so much of it is excellent of itself, Deliverance is a classic above all because there are no adequate points of comparison with it - it is unique.
Kizshura

Kizshura

This is without a doubt one of the best movies I have ever seen; a chilling account of a doomed canoe trip that will haunt your memory for years to come. It is disheartening to read the number of negative reviews for this excellent film, which I can only attribute to the one-dimensional nature of today's uber-blockbusters. It seems that the finer subtleties of good filmmaking present in Deliverance are lost on today's generation of moviegoers whose cinematic palates have been cloyed with multi-million-dollar special effects, unimaginative dialogue, mindless violence and saccharine plots. Every aspect of this movie has been wonderfully choreographed and combine to create a film that goes well beyond mere entertainment, simultaneously shocking and challenging the audience.

Everything that occurs in this movie serves a poignant purpose; the creators focus on quality rather than quantity. The plot, which seems simple enough, gradually takes on an eerily disturbing nature. The dialogue is sparse, but screenwriters and director use it as a strength, allowing events and cinematography to speak volumes about the characters. The violence, though disturbing, also acts as an integral piece of the film. The scenery is spectacular and Deliverance makes some of the best use of foreshadowing and silence I've ever seen in a movie.

Few movies leave such an impression on the viewer. To this day, I can't hear "Dueling Banjos"--or just about any banjo music for that matter--without thinking of this movie. Nor can I help but feel this movie doomed Ned Beatty's acting career (after seeing this film, every time you see Ned Beatty in any other role, you can't help but remember the infamous riverbank scene). Even people who have never seen the movie know the ghastly meaning of the words "squeal like a pig".

It is truly worth taking the time to see this film. It is an excellent treatise of the human reaction when challenged with fear, danger and adventure.
Kulabandis

Kulabandis

John Boorman's "Deliverance" concerns four suburban Atlanta dwellers who take a ride down the swift waters of the Cahulawassee… The river is about to disappear for a dam construction and the flooding of the last untamed stretches of land…

The four friends emphasize different characters: a virile sports enthusiast who has never been insured in his life since there is no specific risk in it (Burt Reynolds); a passionate family man and a guitar player (Ronny Cox); an overweight bachelor insurance salesman (Ned Beatty); and a quiet, thoughtful married man with a son who loves to smoke his pipe (Jon Voight).

What follows is the men's nightmarish explorations against the hostile violence of nature…It is also an ideal code of moral principle about civilized men falling prey to the dark laws of the wilderness…

Superbly shot, this thrilling adult adventure certainly contains some genuinely gripping scenes…
Ann

Ann

I first saw this on a vhs in the 90s, then on a vcd in 2006 n finally on a blu-ray. It's an extremely disturbing film especially the scene with Ned Beatty. One of the best backwoods/survival film of all time. The film's awesome scenery, the sounds of birds, reptiles n insects n the gushing wild rivers combined with the absence of civilization are characters themselves. We get to see Jon Voight doing some daredevil rock climbing and Burt Reynolds in his sleeveless t shirt flaunting biceps. John Boorman has created one of the best movies based on James Dickey's novel. Indeed an influential movie. The banjo scene n the music is terrific.
Alsantrius

Alsantrius

In what is arguably the best outdoor adventure film of all time, four city guys confront nature's wrath, in a story of survival. The setting is backwoods Georgia, with its forests, mountains, and wild rivers.

The director, John Boorman, chose to use local people, not actors, to portray secondary characters. These locals imbue the film with a depth of characterization unequaled in film history. No central casting "actors" could ever come close to these people's remarkable faces, voices, or actions. I don't recall a film wherein the secondary characters are so realistic and colorful. As much as anything else, it is this gritty realism that makes this film so amazing.

Another strength is the film's theme. Nature, in the wild, can be violent. How appropriate that the setting should be the American South. Very few places in the U.S. are, or have been, as violent as redneck country. In a story about Darwinian survival of the fittest, the film conveys the idea that humans are part of nature, not separate from it.

"Deliverance" is very much a product of its time when, unlike today, Americans expressed concern over a vanishing wilderness. The film's magnificent scenery, the sounds of birds, frogs, crickets, and the roar of the river rapids, combined with the absence of civilization, all convey an environmental message. And that is another strength of the film.

At an entertainment level, the tension gradually escalates, as the plot proceeds. Not even half way into the film the tension becomes extreme, and then never lets up, not until the final credits roll. Very few films can sustain that level of intensity over such a long span of plot.

Finally, the film's technical quality is topnotch. Direction and editing are flawless. Cinematography is excellent. Dialogue is interesting. And the acting is terrific. Burt Reynolds has never been better. Ned Beatty is perfectly cast and does a fine job. And Jon Voight should have been nominated for an Oscar. If there is a weak link in the film, it is the music, which strikes me as timid.

Overall, "Deliverance" almost certainly will appeal to viewers who like outdoor adventure. Even for those who don't, the gritty characterizations, the acting, and the plot tension are reasons enough to watch this film, one of the finest in cinema history.
Galanjov

Galanjov

After having seen Deliverance, movies like Pulp Fiction don't seem so extreme. Maybe by today's blood and bullets standards it doesn't seem so edgy, but if you think that this was 1972 and that the movie has a truly sinister core then it makes you think differently.

When I started watching this movie nothing really seemed unusual until I got to the "Dueling Banjos" scene. In that scene the brutality and edge of this film is truly visible. As I watched Drew(Ronny Cox,Robocop)go head to head with a seemingly retarted young boy it really shows how edgy this movies can get. When you think that the kid has a small banjo, which he could of probably made by hand, compared to Drew's nice expensive guitar, you really figure out just how out of their territory the four men are.

As the plot goes it's very believable and never stretches past its limits. But what really distinguishes this film, about four business men who get more than they bargained for on a canoe trip, is that director John Boorman(Excalibur) breaks all the characters away from plain caricatures or stereotypes. So as the movie goes into full horror and suspense I really cared about all four men and what would happen to them.

The acting is universally excellent. With Jon Voight(Midnight Cowboy, Enemy of the State) and Burt Reynolds(Boogie Nights, Striptease) leading the great cast. Jon Voight does probably the hardest thing of all in this film and that is making his transformation from family man to warrior very believable. Unlike Reynolds whose character is a warrior from the start, Voight's character transforms over the course of the movie. Ned Beatty(Life) is also good in an extremely hard role, come on getting raped by a hillbilly, while Ronny Cox turns in a believable performance.

One thing that really made this movies powerful for me is that the villains were as terrifying as any I had ever seen. Bill Mckinney and Herbert "Cowboy" Coward were excellent and extremely frightening as the hillbilly's.

Overall Deliverance was excellent and I suggest it to anyone, except for people with weak stomachs and kids. 10/10. See this movie.
Coirad

Coirad

As Peckinpah did with STRAW DOGS, and Kubrick with A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, director John Boorman delivers an effective film about Man's violent side in DELIVERANCE, arguably a definitive horror film of the 1970s. Burt Reynolds, Jon Voight, Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox portray four Atlanta businessmen who decide to take a canoe trip down the wild Cahulawassee River in northern Georgia before it is dammed up into what Reynolds calls "one big, dead lake."

But the local mountain folk take a painfully obvious dim view of these "city boys" carousing through their woods. And the following day, continuing on down the river, Beatty and Voight are accosted and sexually assaulted (the film's infamous "SQUEAL!" sequence) by two vicious mountain men (Bill McKinney, Herbert "Cowboy" Coward). Thus, what started out as nothing more than a lark through the Appalachians has now turned into a nightmare in which our four protagonists come to see the thin line that exists between what we think of as civilization and what we think of as barbarism.

James Dickey adapted the screenplay from his own best-selling book, and the result is an often gripping and disturbing shocker. Often known for its "SQUEAL!" and "Dueling Banjos" sequences, DELIVERANCE is also quite a pulse-pounding ordeal, with the four leading men superb in their roles, and McKinney and Coward making for two of the most frightening villains of all times. A must-see film for those willing to take a chance.
Uste

Uste

To try and explain the greatness of Deliverance, you must first understand the impact this film had when it came. Most of us have probably seen a horror film about a gang in the woods that gets harassed and stalked by people. Deliverance is the father of these films and an original that stands really well to this day as one of the best films ever made in the genre. A gang of four guys ventures out in nature to paddle canoes along Cahulawassee River before it gets flooded into a lake. However their boat trip does not turn out the way they had hoped for when they suddenly gets stalked and harassed by the locals. Burt Reynolds plays the outdoor fanatic Lewis who brings his friends on the journey, Jon Voght, Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox. The film is directed by John Boorman from the novel by the same name from 1970.

What is it then that makes Deliverance so incredibly good. At the beginning of the film the gang is traveling by car, the mood is good and very typical for guys. After having a short break to fill up the cars with petrol and listening to the famous banjo duel "Dueling Banjos" between Ronny Cox's character and a local boy, they head for the river. What happens next out on the river is like a nightmare and also very psychologically demanding. Deliverance always feels so real and genuine that you truly become frightened. How would you yourself react in a similar situation so far away from civilization? After the gang starts to get harassed in the woods, the panic and fear increases. They all react differently, and rightly so, no human being is the other alike. That is just what makes it so good, the characters' different personalities. The film then sort of becomes a psychological mind game, perhaps mostly taking place in their heads. Are they being followed, how will they get out of the situation they are in and what will they say when they return?

Besides the psychological aspects of Deliverance, it is also incredibly beautiful to watch. It's completely filmed on location out in the woods with actors willing to perform the different stunts themselves. As I wrote when I reviewed The Revenant, this is also a man vs wild film. In the beginning we experience nature as incredibly beautiful and stunning but later it quickly turns to become your worst nightmare. Incredibly well done by the director. The absolute greatness in Deliverance lies according to me in the end and the summarization of the film. What really happened and what didn't happen. How do you react to these kinds of situations out in the middle of nowhere? Can we return with our senses intact and how do you change as a person after experiencing something like it? Without spoiling the story too much, I've here tried to review and explain what Deliverance is to me. I recommend everyone to watch it and it is very high up on my list of the best films ever made.

David Lindahl - www.filmografen.se
you secret

you secret

I think one of the words that most describes the events in this film to me is brutal. When I saw this as a young lad, I felt the isolation of the four characters, cut-off from the world they are used to and thrown into a brutal world where nature is harsh (the rocks and canyons along the river always scare me) and the local folk are a complete world away. The film still scares the sh*t out of me! I mean, what would YOU do if you were confronted by two hill-billies in a situation like that?

It's so easy to remain distant and see the film as "entertainment", but take a reality-check and immerse yourself in the story. It's a shame some just don't appreciate the film - guess we're used to adrenaline-pumping action from start to finish nowadays, but that's too easy - it doesn't require emotional involvement from the viewer unlike a film such as Deliverance...
Mot

Mot

40+ years after it was made, it still seems fresh. Horrible, thought-provoking, beautiful, exciting, well acted, and consistent. Truly a classic.

I saw this movie with my dad 29 years ago, because he had seen it some years previously, and wanted to see it again. I was 17 at the time, and thought the movie was "cool". Seeing it now, at the age of 46, and with half a (or a whole) lifetime behind me, the movie is still "cool". But it is so much more also. It's a comment on the pros and cons of "the system", the evolved society of man. It's presented through the ordeals of 4 men in the vanishing remains of wilderness in America.

No overacting, no simplifications, just honest storytelling. Loved it - again.
Stan

Stan

The late Mr. Dickey was 6'7" from what I've read. So when he appears in the adaptation of his own book as a sheriff, it isn't like some tiny, unintimidating author playing a part for a laugh.

"Deliverance" is as deadly serious a 70s hit as anything before or since. The fear factor, before that term invoked images of silly people eating insects on primetime TV, rises like the violent waters about to break a levee once and for all. The great John Boorman directed this. And to a large extent, Dickey was an unofficial (and unwanted) assistant to Boorman. Or rather, a competitor. I can only imagine how an author reacts to anyone taking their creation from the page to the screen and all the struggles involved with that.

Apparently, Dickey would address the four main actors by their character's name. Burt Reynolds says in his autobiography that he finally told Dickey off and the big man replied, "That's exactly what Lewis would say!" And later on during the shoot, before departing, he also said, "I understand my presence would be more efficacious in it's absence!"

The four men on this trip into the horrors of confronting dangers both in Mother Nature's and deranged human assailant form find out what real fear is all about. Life in the city didn't prepare most of them for the moment when they'd have to fight for their very lives.

Ned Beatty was probably the most visible of the rape survivors in film history, at least in North America (Sophia Loren in "Two Women" would be the international candidate for that, I guess). Certainly as a man attacked by another man, he tapped into an energy most males didn't want to acknowledge. But females watching him struggle know what that distress is really all about. Domination and a perverse, insidious display of power corruption in the human soul and society at large are the key components of sexual assaults.

Until Jodie Foster starred in "The Accused", Beatty stood almost alone in representing a person violated who found the courage to go on despite the trauma the attack unleashed. How many major stars would play this part, then or now, without wanting to compromise at least a little bit in the extent of the scene? Reynolds also said that during it's filming, the action went on to the point where he couldn't take it anymore and tackled Billy McKinney off Beatty and demanded of the director, "Why the hell did you let that go on so long?" To which Boorman replied, "Because I knew when you reached your breaking point, that's when the audience would reach their's!"
Ironfire

Ironfire

Perhaps there are other movies that so painfully, accurately portray savage violence and the impact it has on the individual but I don't think I've ever seen any. Deliverance is one of the most powerful movies I've seen, haunting me with its nightmarish imagery and forcing me to ask myself the question "How far would I go in a similar situation? And what effect would it have on me?" A rarity for a film, it does not soften the blow of the original story, its meaning nor the questions it raises for the viewer. People complain about violence in movies but that vast majority of violence is nothing more than glorified cartoonish fiction, a testosterone release for boys of all ages. It's false and one dimensionally clichéd, usually written by arm chair warriors who get their notions of violence from tall tales others have told them, usually in the form of more bad fictional violence they have seen in other movies, comic books, etc. For anyone who has experienced it or honestly evaluated it, real, brutal violence is not fun nor a cause for celebration for those that survive or "win". The swaggering, "good guy" hero may be fun to watch in the western movie, and I enjoy a good vicarious release film as much as the next guy, but these heroes don't really exist, certainly not as the brash, righteous hero they're colored as. Real, brutal violence is just that, real and brutal. There aren't any "winners" or "heroes" when it comes to savagery and killing, just survivors who are profoundly impacted, irrevocably changed in a harsh and painful way. If you're unsure of this fact, just ask anyone who really has experienced it, not the teller of tall tales as most are but the veteran who lives next door but came back strangely changed and won't discuss the nightmares he's living. Survivors of real, savage violence don't brag about it in bars and wear it as a badge of courage. They seldom or never discuss it, so unfortunately the naive think the liars who spin tales of false bravado are real. We need real violence in movies, the impact it has on the soul of a person. For once I'd like to see when someone gets hit on the head in the film hard enough to be knocked out that almost a third of them will die from their injuries and the remaining survivors will not jump up, perfectly fine when it's advantageous to the story but come to and pass out repeatedly, experiencing searing headaches unlike anything you can imagine, vomiting and unable to stand for hours sometimes days due to their severe cranial concussion. If there were more movies like Deliverence that deliver a real story, powerfully and unapologetically, violence in movies would become a powerful tool for education, very probably reducing its frequency by those who shockingly discover being involved is nothing to be proud or righteous about, a lesson learned way too late by so many walking wounded, often living right next to to you.

As a side note, I was told by a literary friend that James Dickey wrote this over the course of a manic weekend on a bet. He was a poet who at a cocktail party on a Friday argued with an acquaintance that writing fiction was much easier than poetry. He set out to prove it and the novel Deliverance was the result. Certainly, the novel follows the weekend time line exactly. Great story, but I have yet to be able to authenticate it.
Nagor

Nagor

This movie is one of the best movies I've seen. The acting is absolutely stellar -- the chemistry between Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox is incredible as four guys from wildly differing backgrounds, united by a common thread of humanity. The four city-slickers head out together for a white water canoe trip down a river in the hill country of northern Georgia. The film is packed to the brim with action, adventure, and the essence of survival. Adding to the intensity is that fact that almost all of the movie was shot on location, at an almost inaccessible river deep in the south. Director John Boorman had to use jeeps to truck in the equipment and the 4 lead actors were actually transported by canoe! Voight also performs a rock climbing feat that will leave you in awe (according to the "making of" documentary on the DVD, Voight declined to use a stuntman). The white-water cinematography and choreography is breathtaking, especially considering that this was shot in the early 1970s.

At first, from a quick glance, Deliverance appears to be a straightforward adventure story; however, the film goes down a deeply philosophical route as the four men race their vehicles into the back-country and then their canoes down the wilds of the river. The film explores our relationship with nature, conceptualization of morality, and the existentialism inherent in life. The backwoods hillbillies the four adventurers interact with in various ways paint an amazingly complex portrait which ties together the destruction of nature, man's "evolution" from his natural roots to the resigned life of "city dweller," and the tensions and prejudice inherent in humanity. This is done perfectly, without drawing on stereotypical "black vs. white" or "yankee vs. southerner" comparisons--all the characters in this film are southerners, although each character (major and minor), for all intensive purposes, transcends categorization.

The "Dueling Banjo" scene, in which guitar-slinging Ronny Cox battles a banjo-playing hillbilly kid (the actor, Billy Redden, was actually a resident of the backwoods region where this was shot) sharply complements the men's fight against the river, and the river's fight to remain wild. This film simultaneously explores the theme of duality from the confines of: (1) the individual's mind, (2) Reynolds' group of comrades, (3) all humanity as a whole, and (4) something much greater. The banjo music in this scene is awesome!!! If you enjoy the song "Dueling Banjos", I strongly suggest that you pick up the Deliverance soundtrack, which also includes 17 additional songs played by amazing banjo musician Eric Weissberg (I believe only "Deuling Banjos" and maybe one or two other songs were actually used in the film).

There are some disturbing scenes in this film, so it is not for the overly squeamish but, if you think you can handle the river, I encourage you to take this powerful, action-packed journey into the philosophical backwater of humanity!
Yellow Judge

Yellow Judge

"Deliverance", Rated "R" by the MPAA, Running Time 1hr & 49mn. **** (Out of ****) Content includes: Adult Situations, Profanity, Male Nudity, Rape and Some Bloody Violence (though not extreme).

'Deliverance' is a tale about four well-to-do Atlanta business men who decide to go on a weekend long canoe trip. All four men are friends with very different personalities. There's Lewis Medlock (Burt Reynolds) the survivalist and the authoritative leader of the group. Ed Gentry (Jon Voight) is the easy going family man. Bobby Tripp (Ned Beatty) is the sarcastic pampered insurance salesman. Drew Bollinger (Ronny Cox) is the banjo playing voice of reason and moral compass of the bunch.

The foursome decide to do their extended trip in a very remote part of rural Georgia. This will be the group's only time ever to enjoy the Cahulawassee River. Soon, a local power company will complete a dam for a power generator. It's only a matter of time before the river is gone and the forgotten community of Antry will be replaced by a lake. The town and it's residence will be re-located to higher ground.

The inhabitance of the rolling hills of the Cahulawassee are poor rural folk who've never seen civilization. They are highly mistrustful of outsiders and just as soon keep to themselves. These people are poverty stricken, have little to no education and many are the products of inbreeding. Truly, the people that time forgot.

There are subtle signs at the beginning of the expedition that the four river travelers may have been better off staying in Atlanta and playing golf. Nevertheless, they press on to their fateful trip. It starts off fun and adventurous enough. - Then the unthinkable happens. It's one of the most disturbing encounters in modern movies. After that, all bets are off . . .

'Deliverance' is skillfully directed by John Boorman. He creates wonderful characters, creates a sense of awe, tension and dread. This is a taunt drama about the worst camping nightmare come to life and how to deal with it. Boorman would later go on to direct 'Excalibur' (1981) and 'The Emerald Forest' (1985).

"Deliverance" is a great sociological commentary on cultural values and differences. It works on a very subtle level with many things to think about.

By today's standards, the pacing of "Deliverance" may be too slow for some people. I recommend it, but not to those who have the attention span of a flea.
Cordalas

Cordalas

Deliverance is the fascinating, haunting and sometimes even disturbing tale by James Dickey, turned into a brilliant movie by John Boorman. It's about four businessmen, driven by manhood and macho-behavior, who're spending a canoeing weekend high up in the mountains. Up there, they're faced with every darkest side of man and every worst form of human misery...poverty, buggery and even physical harassment! These four men intended to travel down the river for adventure and excitement but their trip soon changes into an odyssey through a violent and lurking mountain-land, completely estranged from all forms of civilisation. All these elements actually make Deliverance one of the most nightmarish films I've ever seen. Just about everything that happens to these men, you pray that you'll never find yourself to be in a similar situation. Pure talking cinema, Deliverance is a very important movie as well. John Boorman's best (closely followed by Zardoz and Excalibur) was - and still is - a very influential film and it contains several memorable scenes that already featured in numberless other movies. Just think about the terrific "Duelling banjos" musical score and, of course, the unforgettable homosexual "squeal like a pig" rape scene. All the actors deliver (haha) perfect acting performances. Especially Jon Voight. A must see motion picture!!
Ochach

Ochach

I watched this movie in the wee hours of the morning when I should have been asleep. This, in itself, was testimony that Deliverance was a spell-binding movie. I think Boorman did a wonderful job on directing this film. How expertly the early scene with the hill folk and the dueling banjos was done. It showed so well and early on how inherently reserved and simple the people of the area were. Case in point - near the end of the "duel", the banjo-playing boy was smiling (loved his banjo), but when Drew tried to shake the boy's hand after the "duel", the kid was too reserved to respond. The river trip never left you bored, for sure. The rape scene was brutal, but necessary to show just what the group was up against in this backwoods area of Georgia. I think Beatty's traumatic shock afterward was well done. Some have said he was pretty unaffected by the ordeal. I disagree - if you really payed attention, he was unresponsive during the entire action immediately following, in which Reynolds put the arrow through the attacker and they chased off the toothless guy. It was confusing when Ed killed the other guy later, at the top of the cliff. It almost appeared that the arrow was shot while Ed was curled up and expecting to die, but then you realize the arrow he had shot earlier had finally taken effect.

Anyway, a great movie, and I was wavering between an 8 and 9 on my vote, but after reading a message from a disgruntled voter who gave it a "1", I gave it a "10". This individual's reasoning seemed based on personal bias, rather than an objective viewpoint, and his vote was obviously a non-correlating attempt to lower the rating.
Shaktiktilar

Shaktiktilar

I saw this film as a young man when it first came out and I am now reviewing it 43 years later with a different perspective on life. This film was scary and unexpectedly shocking in 1972. In hindsight I feel it has as much meaning symbolically today as you care to discuss. At the time I thought Burt Reynolds would become one of Hollywood's great dramatic actors but instead he meandered into comedy and superficial roles. I believe he became somewhat of a wasted talent. In this movie, however, he shines. The acting all round is stellar. The storytelling and direction flawless and powerful. Nature is pitted against man. Man against Nature. Man against Man. It is loaded with social and moral issues. The destruction of a virgin wilderness by a dam. The issue of murder, self-defence, escaping from the law but not being able to hide from your conscience (the nightmares of Ed - Jon Voight), the homosexual rape scene, the burial and dumping of bodies, the stills for moonshine in the backwoods, the "duelling banjoes" - brilliant scenes that make this film memorable while set against a backdrop of raging rivers and pristine wilderness. The filming of going down river is incredible. No insurance company would get involved in this one so perhaps Angelina Jolie would not be here today if Jon Voight had slipped climbing that cliff.

The "Church of Christ" confronting them on the road at the end, the sense of relief out of the water, the genial dinner with the gentle town folk, the shimmering light in the faces of Jon Voight & Burt Reynolds when they first see the river, the nightmarish image of the rising hand out of the water in Jon Voight's dream at the end - haunting images that will last a lifetime. Great Film!

James Dickey, the author of the story, plays the Sheriff at the end quite convincingly.
Jarortr

Jarortr

There is so much you can say about Deliverance and this is indicative of its power. The moment that you hear Bobby's (Ned Beatty's)chuckling over the Warner Brothers logo there is a sense of foreboding. From then on the film never relents as the overconfidence and naivety of the city boys is juxtaposed to the sights and sounds of the wilderness - its beauty and its terror.

The film's famous scenes have been well documented and critiqued in other reviews but it is also some of the subtle touches that I have come to appreciate. Bobby mocks and dismisses the rusted old wrecks that litter the yard of the hillbillies at the beginning of the film but almost embraces the wrecks that are the first sign of civilization and salvation from the horrors and dangers of the wilderness at the end of the trip. Later Bobby gladly eats dinner with the locals and displays no sense of the superiority he felt at the beginning. In fact he enjoys their hospitality and down home conversation. A lesson learnt the hard way.

The acting by the four leads is brilliantly real but it is the locals who lend the film such a heightened sense of reality. They are physically and emotionally detached from the city boys - this is their world.

Lastly - nature doesn't play favourites. Lewis, for all his muscle and self-belief, is badly injured and becomes dependent on Ed and Bobby, whom he considers his inferiors, to survive. Survivalists beware!!!
Tto

Tto

Released in 1972 and directed by John Boorman from James Dickey's novel, "Deliverance" is an adventure thriller about four guys from the Atlanta area who take a canoe/camping trip in the Georgia wilderness. When they run into a couple of violent hillbillies their fun adventure turns into a disturbing test of survival.

I didn't see "Deliverance" until almost two decades after its release. I didn't know anything about the film or anyone who had seen it, but it looked like a potentially good adventure story so I finally decided to rent it.

The first Act plays out as you would expect, four guys escaping the shackles of urban life enjoying a canoe trip, and then -- WHAM -- Act 2 hits you like a ton of bricks. When I first viewed the movie I wasn't braced for this scene. In fact, it was so disturbing that it pretty much ruined the rest of the picture for me. I watched it until the end but - that scene - left me dazed and detached. Viewing it again recently I was fully braced and was therefore able to appreciate the film.

MISCELLANEOUS THOUGHTS:

  • Burt Reynolds is great as the macho protagonist Lewis, but he's largely missing during the third act and epilogue. The unassuming Ed (Jon Voight) takes the reigns as deliverer, with Bobby (Ned Beatty) lending a helping hand.


  • The film was shot on the Chattooga River in NE Georgia, which borders South Carolina. The gorge is located in Tallulah Gorge State Park 15 miles West of Walhalla, SC (you can actually see it via satellite on Google maps). The dilapidated town in the epilogue is Sylva, NC, 45 miles north of the gorge. Needless to say, lush Eastern locations.


  • After the disturbing scene a moral crisis takes place in the remote forest where the four members of the party must vote on a decision. Lewis (Reynolds) and Drew (Ronny Cox) make their cases and the other two must choose. Count me with Lewis. At first glance it would seem that Drew is arguing the side of the wimpy moralist, i.e. contact local law enforcement and allow the courts to settle the matter. Is this the real reason he takes this position or is it simply because he doesn't want to risk becoming an "accessory to a crime"? Actually, Lewis is no less the moralist -- after all, he makes a moral judgment and unhesitatingly acts -- it's just that he refuses to risk allowing the local authorities and a potential inbred jury (likely related somehow to the hillbillies) twist his just and necessary actions into a crime.


  • Writer James Dickey effectively plays the towering Southern Sheriff in the epilogue.


  • The Deluxe Edition DVD includes an excellent 4-part documentary that runs about 45 minutes. All principle cast members are interviewed, as well as director Boorman and the son of James Dickey. By all accounts Dickey had a forceful personality and intimidating presence. He kept calling the actors by the names of the people they were playing even while not filming. One night in a pub he kept referring to Reynolds as "Lewis" from across the room and Burt refused to answer him. Dickey came up to his table and got in his face. Angered, Burt cussed at him and told him to quit calling him Lewis. Dickey paused for a moment and responded, "That's exactly what Lewis would have said" and walked away.


  • "Wrong Turn" (2003) is a modern horror film that, generally speaking, tackles the same subject as "Deliverance." The problem with "Wrong Turn" is that it's full of horror clichés and cops an unrealistic vibe. Don't get me wrong, it's an entertaining film for what it is but I was never able to buy into the story as a potential reality; hence, I didn't find it horrifying at all. "Deliverance," on the other hand, is totally realistic from beginning to end and is successfully horrifying precisely because it COULD happen.


  • Speaking of realism, Roger Ebert heavily criticized the scene in "Deliverance" where Ed (Voight) climbs up the rock gorge, arguing that it was totally unrealistic. Is he serious? He needs to get out more. I'm older than Ed in the film and could climb those rocks fairly easily (I'm not bragging, just pointing out that Ebert's criticism is not valid for anyone who's in remotely decent shape).


  • Also speaking of realism, if you suffer from ADHD and need constant (unrealistic) action scenes and goofy one-liners to maintain your attention, skip this one.


  • Lastly, "Deliverance" is about 45 years old and hasn't dated at all. This is a timeless picture.


The movie runs 110 minutes.

GRADE: A-
Tygolar

Tygolar

This was, undoubtedly, the most disturbing movie that I have ever seen. The first part of the movie, though strange, has a light and amusing quality to it. The journey begins on such a peaceful note, detailing and emphasizing the beauty of the hills of Appalachia. But that is misleading beyond belief. The obvious social problems (inbreeding) and the deformities of the countryside's inhabitants are only the first disturbing aspects of the movie. I can still hear Bobby moaning in pain, and I shudder at the thought. Lewis's leg made me wince. Yet, while the movie was, on the whole, very disturbing and distressing, it posed some interesting questions. When is it moral, or right to take another individual's life? What can morality drive us to do, or not do, in some cases? And are dignity and moral integrity more important than life itself? Whatever conclusions one may draw from the film, it is an achievement in its own right (despite certain aspects that were chillingly real and gruesome).
Centrizius

Centrizius

I hadn't seen this movie in at least 20 years, but in the last few, it had started to itch away at my mind. I thought it terrific when I first saw it, but had I missed something even so? Was it more than just a disturbing adventure movie, in which city people run afoul of backwoodsmen?

So as soon as I saw the DVD, I bought it, even though it was obviously another Warner Bros. rush-it-out, never-mind-the-extras job.

The movie isn't as good as I remembered -- it's better. Those who are looking for a RIVER WILD thriller, or a SOUTHERN COMFORT (a DELIVERANCE imitation) suspense movie, are already looking in the wrong place. This movie is about what goes on inside people much more than it is about what goes on >around< them.

I've seen comments here suggesting that Ned Beatty doesn't show enough reaction after being brutally raped. Huh? He's stunned for ten minutes, then tries to attack Bill McKinney's >corpse<. He's still rattled the last time we see him in the movie, when he tells Jon Voight that they won't be seeing each other for a while. (Which clearly means forever.) Beatty's life has been changed; he'll never get over it.

So has Voight's, but in a different way. For the first time, I noticed that >three< people get into the tow truck when Reynolds hires those brothers to drive their cars to the canoeist's destination. Sure, that's logical -- there are three vehicles to drive initially, after all. But why does Boorman take pains to avoid showing us the face of the third person in the tow truck, but does show him fingering the gun in the rear window of the truck?

Could it be because this guy turns up later? Is he Bill McKinney's character? Or the Toothless guy? Or the guy Voight kills? Which of course raises the most important questions in the movie: WAS Ronny Cox shot? And if he was, was the guy Voight kills the one who shot him? (And was Voight's victim the Toothless guy?) On an initial viewing of the movie, all this seems pretty obvious: yes, Cox is shot; yes, Voight kills the right person, the Toothless guy.

But then what about the man we later learn has gone hunting but who hasn't returned? Why is Voight so shocked when he looks into the mouth of his victim? Boorman and Dickey give great weight to the scene in which Voight fails to kill a deer. (Even if he had, it would have been a foolish, wasteful act.) The interplay between Voight and Reynolds is also very interesting; Voight clearly admires Reynolds on some levels, while finding him disgusting on others.

Dickey is primarily a poet, secondarily a novelist; it's not hard to believe that he intended all four men to represent different aspects of the human condition. DELIVERANCE is one of the most intricately ambiguous movies of its type ever made; it cannot be pulled apart into easily-understood sections, and where our sympathies should lie is never obvious. Even the sheriff, played by Dickey himself, has darker shadings that are partly inexplicable. And there is that shot of the removal of the graves; it's not in there by chance or for local color.

On the surface, DELIVERANCE seems to be an exciting, disturbing adventure -- and it is that. But just like the secrets the lake conceals, there's a great deal more beneath the surface of DELIVERANCE.
Qudanilyr

Qudanilyr

Four Atlanta friends - Lewis (Burt Reynolds), Ed (John Voight), Bobby (Ned Beatty), and Drew (Ronny Cox) – decide to canoe down the Cahulawassee River out in the Georgia wilderness. They see it as a test of manliness whilst also wanting to experience this part of nature before the whole valley is flooded over to make way for the upcoming construction of a dam and lake. But the perils of nature are not the only dangerous things in their midst, unfriendly wood folk are about to bring another dimension in terror.

Deliverance is one of those films that sometimes suffers by way of reputation. Much like Straw Dogs and 70s films of that type, the hype and promise of unremitting hell often isn't delivered to an expectant modern audience. Which is a shame since Deliverance is one of the finest, glummest, brutalistic and beautiful films of the 1970s.

Adapting from James Dickey's novel (screenplay duties here also), British director John Boorman crafts a tough and powerful film of men out of their environment, thus out of their league. As each man sets off initially, it's a test of manhood, but each guy is forced to deconstruct their worth, and it soon becomes more about survival as this deadly adventure proceeds. Boorman, aided by cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, has painted a raw and treacherous landscape, unconquered by city slickers but dwelt in by inbreds who don't take kindly to the city folk showing up with their machismo attitudes. From the first point of contact with the strange locals, where Drew goes "duelling banjos" with an odd looking child, the film doesn't let up, much like the locals themselves, the film also is remorseless. Some critics over the years have proclaimed that Deliverance is too pretty, mistaking lush physicality as something detracting from the dark thematics at work. Not so, the Chattooga River sequences are electrifying, the rapids scenes (brilliantly filmed with Voight and Reynolds doing real work, and getting real injuries) are merely setting up the unmanning of our "macho" guys just around the corner. It's a fabulous and potent piece of "beauty". With the four cast leaders absolutely brilliant in their respective roles. In fact there are few better casting decisions ever than that of Reynolds as Lewis, one can only lament that he didn't have more hard edged serious roles in his career.

Minor itches exist, metaphors are heavy (Vietnam a 70s staple it seems) while ecological concerns are hinted at without being as prominent as they are in the novel. Surveying the landscape during the opening of the piece, Lewis reflects that man is going to rape this land, rape it, it's stuff like that that is not totally formed, given way to abject horror and survival, Lewis again noting that survival is the name of the game. A game of life and death, where man's primal being means violence may indeed beget violence. Boorman clearly agreed. 10/10
The_NiGGa

The_NiGGa

Roger Ebert, the film critic most palpably in love with his sense of perceived intellect, once again proves the phoniness of his objectivity as a reviewer by slamming movies like this one. There are some film critics like Ebert that when they are made uncomfortable by a movie, dismiss it without examining it, and call it sensationalistic. Mr. Ebert has done this with this one, which means this movie has done its job. The critic is too uncomfortable to examine the emotions this movie evokes, and uses pseudo-intellectualism to insulate himself from it. (Particularly in his hackneyed statement that the writer of the book made up contrived "statements" in the movie, instead of being real ones.)

POSSIBLE SPOILERS:

The premise is simple; four businessmen leave the safety of their urban environment to go water rafting; they encounter a world outside their safe haven, that they cannot control. They eventually run into the wrong people, who despise them for simply existing and invading their territory, and their journey becomes a nightmare.

The movie is a study in how alienated man can become from his own species, how superficial the trappings of civilization are, and how civilized behavior will not help you survive when encountering simple animalistic behavior. The moral of the movie seems to be, there is no morality in survival, there is only survival. The men are graphically tortured, one raped, one murdered apparently by a hillbilly sniper trying to cover their tracks, and forced to commit murder to simply survive. Or is it simple self defense? They then realize that if they are honest and report the attacks that were made on them, they will be tried and executed simply for defending themselves.

They are therefore forced to lie, cover up and hide their experiences for life, even from their own families if they are to survive in the artificial "civilized" world they return to.

The movie places the characters in unfair circumstances they must survive in, and then further unfair circumstances as they must hide what happened to them to escape a place that will execute them if they tell the truth about defending themselves.

The unspoken message "stay in your own backyard or you'll be killed" is very depressing. But then, there are residents in Los Angeles that cannot even go into a different neighborhood without gangs targeting and killing them for no reason.

When a critic like Roger Ebert is too afraid to really examine the dark statements this movie makes emotionally, you know you have a movie that will move you and disturb you. The ironic thing is that now we have movies like Chain Saw Massacre III, Devil's Rejects, Friday the13th 1-9, etc, that make this movie's violence seem mild. However, the hatred, alienation and cruelty it examines will haunt and disturb you for years afterwards, long after meaningless drivel like the other movies mentioned are forgotten. In this day and age, that is no small accomplishment. Eight stars for me.

(cue banjo music....)