Deliverance poster & wallpaper

Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty

Set in the Georgian backwoods, four white-collar gentlemen from Atlanta, looking to add adventure to their lives, find that their getting-in-touch-with-their-manhood whitewater rafting trip has turned...( read more  read more... ) into a head-first dive toward a spiraling nightmare.

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79% liked it

40,099 ratings

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94% liked it

50 critics

R, 1 hr. 49 min.

Directed by: John Boorman

Release Date: July 21, 1972

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DVD Release Date: June 1, 2004

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Flixster Reviews (2,763)

  • SirPant
    September 24, 2009
    SirPant
    An excellent and brutal thriller from John Boorman. It?s a classic, all that?s missing is Burt Reynolds?s moustache! 'Squeal like a piggy boy'!
  • RiderOfTheStorms
    July 11, 2009
    RiderOfTheStorms
    You have to respect the people involved making this movie because i'm sure this was one fuckin hard movie to make. Damn good movie doh
  • PvtCaboose91
    May 4, 2009
    PvtCaboose91
    "We killed a man, Drew. Shot him in the back. A mountain man. A cracker."


    Based on James Dickey's best-selling 1970 novel, John Boorman's Deliverance is a fateful tour of rugged Georgia terrain which functions as a potent reminder that we can always be in the

    ...( read more)wrong place at the wrong time. Shot on a shoestring budget on location in northern Georgia, Boorman's most arresting picture is a straightforward tale told with passion, heart and urgency. Deliverance is a compelling, deeply disturbing film which hasn't lost its bite or thrill all these decades later. "He's got a real purty mouth, ain't he?" and "I bet you can squeal like a pig" are two quotes capable of sending shivers down a man's spine if they're familiar with this remarkable film. With its superb Oscar-nominated direction, enthralling cinematography, an evocative score and challenging adult themes; Deliverance is a taut, tense, hauntingly disconcerting thriller that remains one of the decade's most visceral adventures.


    Four ordinary city slickers (or at least three since one fancies himself a steely outdoorsman) agree to take a camping/canoeing trip as they're intent on seeing the Cahulawassee River before it's turned into one huge lake. Ed (Voight), Lewis (Reynolds), Bobby (Beatty) and Drew (Cox) plan to indulge in a tranquil journey packed with male bonding and sheer exhilarating adventure. As the men navigate the wilderness they think they understand, disaster befalls their adventure and they descend into an unimaginable nightmare. Both nature and mankind conspire to propel them through a crucible of peril and degradation during which their lives and possibly even their souls are put in staggering danger.


    At its most fundamental level, Deliverance is a tale of endurance and survival. But the film doesn't merely concern surviving the hazards of the wilderness or of human threats; it's about surviving one's own heart of darkness, about confronting one's basest needs and accepting or declining them. The relatively straightforward boating venture turns into a multifaceted story of existence, with each of the four buddies compelled to reach deep within themselves to unearth a new meaning for courage.


    Deliverance is simultaneously a story of outer destitution and fortitude, and inner endurance and integrity. Furthermore, Boorman has the directorial audacity to pace the film at a more relaxed tempo as opposed to the breakneck speed of contemporary action films. By doing this, the director allots time to develop the characters and establish the conflicts. In this fashion Boorman amplifies the mood of apprehension and trepidation by permitting these elements to evolve naturally and logically. Make no mistake: the pacing is ponderous and careful. Shots are generally lengthy and wide. The film gently ensnares you in its gripping atmosphere as a result of the masterful storytelling. To some this approach may appear "boring" as their attention spans are limited. To this reviewer it's effective and subversive. If there's anything to criticise, it's the sporadic substance deficiency. Perhaps it does tend to drag on a smidgen, but there's no denying the power of this movie. The images and noises conveyed throughout the rape scene...are unforgettable.


    "Goddamn, you play a mean banjo."


    Most entertaining is the legendary "duelling banjos" sequence towards the beginning of the film. Incidentally, the famous tune isn't two banjos at all - but a banjo and a guitar (performed behind-the-scenes by Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandel). The director reportedly chose young Billy Redden as the banjo player due to his bizarre outward show, but the boy had never appeared in a movie beforehand and was unable play the banjo. To solve the problem, Boorman found another boy capable of playing the instrument. For filming, the boy was hidden behind Redden with just his arm and hand visible for the banjo fingering. How novel.


    Luckily, Deliverance is far more than duelling banjos and...well, squealin' like a pig. Immediately it's possible to identify with the characters as the screenwriter (Dickey, who wrote the original novel, acted as the screenwriter here) bestows them with three-dimensional qualities. Each possesses different ideals, ambitions and moral codes. In the acting department, faults are scarce. Deliverance offers harrowing, natural performances that anchor the occasionally over-the-top story with logic and believability.


    Burt Reynolds' tough-guy persona (established at the beginning of the film) is soon reduced to a shell of himself; crying and complaining following a bitter injury at some point throughout the journey. Before defiling his CV with tosh such as 2008's woeful In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, Reynolds was a gifted actor and his talent is omnipresent during every scene in which he features.

    Jon Voight as Ed provides a reluctant yet poised centre, virtually becoming the group's leader towards the film's conclusion. Ed is a well-written character who's stunningly realised by Voight, and he's a man most of us can sympathise with.

    Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox made their film debuts here. Cox provides the team's moral core, bringing his love for music and a sturdy conscience even in critical circumstances. Beatty plays the unlucky victim during the film's most chilling and heartbreaking sequence, emphasising the group's doggedness through innocence lost. Since not all return from the expedition (none return completely intact, for that matter), the tragic proceedings are far more affecting when told in such a linear manner. All the actors performed their own stunts to conserve costs (Voight even had to climb the rock formation without any safety measures!) and had no form of health insurance.


    Deliverance remains a gripping tale of morality and mortality, as effective and brawny now as it was when it first debuted decades ago. You'll seldom find an adventure film with as many thoughtful subtexts as Deliverance. It is an unflinching and absorbing examination of mankind's dark disposition and violent propensities in the face of danger. It laudably paints a picture depicting the protagonists as antagonists. Brutal and unwavering, Deliverance doesn't pull any punches in its depiction of a fairly shocking story. Author James Dickey's imagination spawned this disturbing tale of violation, murder and endurance, but the visualisation by director Boorman and co raises the stakes even higher. The film surges with masterful storytelling, and draws in a viewer with the indomitable force of a raging current. It's simply a haunting, nightmarish vision and a landmark piece of classic filmmaking.


    Nominated for three Oscars: Best Picture (lost to The Godfather), Best Editing for Tom Priestley (lost to David Bretherton for Cabaret) and Best Directing for John Boorman (lost to Bob Fosse for Cabaret).


    "Sometimes you have to lose yourself 'fore you can find anything."
  • sononothing
    April 18, 2009
    sononothing
    OK, we all know what Deliverance is remembered for. Doing a simple search for images on Google proved that. We all know about "squeal like a pig" and Jon Voight having a pretty mouth. Let's get beyond that now and discuss what is a powerful film about men and nature or we can tal...( read more)k about urbanites vs. countryites. It doesn't matter much because this film is full of conflict.

    Deliverance has one of my favorite tag lines of all time: This was the weekend they didn't play golf. What they actually did this weekend was go on a canoe trip in an undisturbed stretch of river- undisturbed for the time being because the power company is about to dam it up and create a huge lake for hydroelectric power. This is their last chance to ride real nature as they go into the mountains of Georgia amongst people who see indoor plumbing as a myth akin to man walking on the moon.

    The friends consist of Lewis (Burt Reynolds) who us your typical mans man, declaring that he doesn't carry insurance because there's no risk. Most of the first half of the film is Lewis lamenting about the system and its impending failure, causing him to learn how to survive. Ed (Jon Voight) is a more laid back personality. He knows his ways around the woods but isn't hell bent on being the alpha male of the group. Ronny Cox plays Drew, a guitar playing all around nice guy who has deep moral beliefs. You can't not like the guy. Finally there's Bobby (Ned Beatty), the insurance agent that's totally out of his element in a canoe in the middle of nowhere.

    Throughout the film there are sprinkled various hillbilly characters, many of which were played by the actual people in the area. This is an area that's been barely disturbed since Sherman went home, other than automobiles. It's isolated as hell to the extent that the group could have traveled to Mars. That's the first step to their downfall. As the film progressed the dread builds until Ed has to finally become an animal and kill or be killed. They realize what they've gotten into only when it's too late.

    The main cast is excellent with the real stand out being Burt Reynolds in his first major role. This is probably the best role of his career as he plays Lewis to be almost Moses-like, sending down his parables on survival and life. Reynolds was born for the role of Lewis. Beatty also gives a great performance as Bobby, not because of the "pig" scene, but because of after the "pig" scene. You feel for him more in the aftermath than you do when it's happening which stands as a real testament to his portrayal.

    Directed by John Boorman, Deliverance has an almost down home feel when being shot. What's fascinating about the film is who is the real villain in this film. The mountain men? The river? The boys themselves? It's hard to establish, which makes the film so damn good. Deliverance is one of those films where one piece overshadows the entire film. The title is a joke usually associated with being in the middle of nowhere amongst people without iPods and cell phones. Deliverance delivers a heart pounding weekend that slowly flows into hell.
  • organgrinder136
    April 10, 2009
    organgrinder136
    memorable,.. and i'm not talking about the anal rape "squeal piggy. piggy squeal!" part... hahahaha. however it's ultimately average except for the odd scene that will scar your mind
  • jackgbowman
    November 19, 2009
    jackgbowman
    great, not sure why.
  • Seether3
    November 11, 2009
    Seether3
    very good movie ! jon voight was brilliant , but i watched it thinking it would be really f*cked up but its not , the only thing i found disturbing was that hillbilly song and the kid with the weird eyes lol but its a fantastic movie just dont watch it expectin to much brutality...( read more) because u will be dissapointed !
  • chrislatourelle
    November 6, 2009
    chrislatourelle
    I personally did not like most of the movie and don't see the hype in it. Kind of boring.
  • mattman1989
    November 1, 2009
    mattman1989
    An excellent piece of film making, but the "squeel piggy, squeel" scene isn't one that you'll forget in a hurry. A great cast and a tense, gritty thriller.
  • bargeroughdlt
    October 28, 2009
    bargeroughdlt
    not worth the time spent watching it.

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Critic Reviews

October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

A fantasy about violence, not a realistic consideration of it. full review

View more Deliverance reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments

  • awiseman1986
    December 27, 2007
    awiseman1986
    I don't think it was actually shot in Georgia.
  • dinitagach
    May 30, 2007
    dinitagach
    Does anyone know the exact shoot dates this was filmed in Georgia?
  • rockerbaby18
    April 9, 2007
    rockerbaby18
    yes. the banjo pickin was stellar.
  • FlinFlonNick
    September 24, 2006
    FlinFlonNick
    Great movie... That kid can really pick that banjo. I wish I was that good.
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Deliverance Trivia

  • In which film was he gonna make him "squeal like a pig"?  Answer »
  • James Dickey who wrote the short story from which the movie Deliverance was based on, also played a part in the movie. Was it...  Answer »
  • Which outdoor activity does Job Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox enjoy before getting into trouble in Deliverance?  Answer »
  • The banjo player in "Big Fish" was the same banjo player from "Deliverance."  Answer »
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