Deliverance (1972)

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

Also Known As:

Beim Sterben ist jeder der Erste (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Délivrance (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
нЯБНАНФДЕМХЕ (Soviet Union: Russian title) [ru]
Amargo Pesadelo (Brazil) [pt]
Defensa (Spain) [es]
Den djupa floden (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Den sista färden (Sweden) [sv]
Fim-de-Semana Alucinante (Portugal) [pt]
Flußfahrt (West Germany) (TV title) [de]
Gvarim B'Malkodet (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Kurtulus (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
La violencia está en nosotros (Argentina) [es]
Oslobaðanje (Croatia) [hr]
Otan xespase i via (Greece) [el]
Picnic med døden (Norway) [no]
Syvä joki (Finland) [fi]
Udflugt med døden (Denmark) [da]
Un tranquillo week-end di paura (Italy) [it]
Uwolnienie (Poland) [pl]
Wybawieni (Poland) [pl]

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:

Credited with the first recording of "Dueling Banjos" (its most common title, also known as "Feudin' Banjos" and "The Battle Of The Banjos") is 'Don Wayne Reno (II)' and Arthur Smith. Prior to "Deliverance" both parts were played with banjos, and it is the same speed all the way through. Almost all modern bluegrass bands play the "Deliverance" version in the key of G. In the movie both the guitarist and banjo players have capos on the second fret, denoting it is in the key of A.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: If you look carefully at the canoe, a second before it "splits" in half, you will note that it was already nearly sawn in half.

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 Prey for the Beast (2007)

Soundtrack:

Moonshiner

Brutal

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...