Deliverance (1972)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

John Boorman

Writers:

James Dickey (screenplay)
James Dickey (novel)

Release Date:

30 July 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Deliverance from evil

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

River | Trip | Nightmare | Canoeing | Survival

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 win & 10 nominations

Cast

Jon Voight	...	Ed
Burt Reynolds	...	Lewis
Ned Beatty	...	Bobby
Ronny Cox	...	Drew
Ed Ramey	...	Old Man
Billy Redden	...	Lonnie
Seamon Glass	...	First Griner
Randall Deal	...	Second Griner
Bill McKinney	...	Mountain Man
Herbert 'Cowboy' Coward	...	Toothless Man
Lewis Crone	...	First Deputy
Ken Keener	...	Second Deputy
Johnny Popwell	...	Ambulance Driver
John Fowler	...	Doctor
Kathy Rickman	...	Nurse

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Mono (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Iceland:16 | UK:18 (video rating) (1987) (uncut) | UK:X (original rating) (cut) | Finland:K-16 (1987) | Finland:K-18 (1972) | Singapore:M18 | West Germany:16 (f) | New Zealand:R16 | Brazil:16 | Italy:VM18 | Australia:R | Canada:18A | France:-12 | Ireland:18 | Netherlands:12 (video rating) | Norway:18 (1973) | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Beaufort, South Carolina, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Unlike Ronny Cox with his guitar, actor Billy Redden did not know how to play banjo for the famous "Duelling Banjos" scene. To simulate the realistic chord playing on the banjo, another boy, who was a skilled banjo-player, played the chords with his arm reaching around at Redden's side while Redden picked. On the soundtrack, musicians Eric Weissberg and 'Steve Mandel (I)' are actually playing.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Lewis spears the fish with an arrow, the barb originally goes through fish's head; when he pulls it out, the arrow is through midsection.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Lewis: You w- you wanna... you wanna talk about the vanishing wilderness?
Bobby: Lewis, listen - what are you so anxious about this?
Lewis: Because they're buildin' a dam across the Cahulawassee River; they're gonna flood a whole valley, Bobby, that's why. Dammit, they're drownin' a river; they're drownin' a river, man.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Little Britain: (#3.4)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Moonshiner

Excellence Delivered

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.