Deliverance
1972
Director John Boorman's adaptation of James Dickey's best-selling novel stars Burt Reynolds as the hypermasculine Lewis Medlock. Obsessed with Hemingway-vintage notions about achieving true masculinity by challenging nature, Lewis cajoles three of his friends, Bobby Trippe (Ned Beatty), Drew Ballinger (Ronny Cox), and Ed Gentry .. Read more
| Starring | Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox |
|---|---|
| Director | John Boorman |
| Genres | Drama, Thriller |
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Deliverance
Director John Boorman's adaptation of James Dickey's best-selling novel stars Burt Reynolds as the hypermasculine Lewis Medlock. Obsessed with Hemingway-vintage notions about achieving true masculinity by challenging nature, Lewis cajoles three of his friends, Bobby Trippe (Ned Beatty), Drew Ballinger (Ronny Cox), and Ed Gentry (Jon Voight), into joining him on a white-water canoe trip down an uncharted river in the Appalachians, although only Ed has had any similar experience. The locals that Lewis hires to drive their cars downstream warn him about the difficulty of the journey, but this only makes him more eager to start. The first day goes smoothly as the men learn how to shoot the rapids, and all are exhilarated. On the second day, Ed and Bobby become separated from the other two and reach the landing point ahead of them. Two hillbillies suddenly appear from the forest and decide to hold the two men at gunpoint as the trip begins its tragic downward spiral. Reynolds has one of the best roles of his career in this compelling meditation on the costs of masculine ritual; the film boasts a superb cast as well as the subtle camerawork of the great Vilmos Zsigmond.
| Starring | Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox, Ed O'Neill |
|---|---|
| Director | John Boorman |
| Studio | WARNER HOME VIDEO |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 44 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Collections | 100 Top Thrillers |
| Genres | Drama, Thriller |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Dubbed | French, Italian |
| Hearing-impaired | English, Italian |
| Subtitles | DVD: Arabic, Bulgarian, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish |
| Released | DVD: 07 Oct 2002 Production year: 1972 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (4)
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John Boorman's provocative, violent and compelling thriller takes American poet James Dickey's novel to giddy heights of suspenseful stress, and proves that Burt Reynolds can indeed act. Central to the success of Boorman's culture-clash nightmare, and what makes it resonate with such a rare intensity, is the powerful theme of red-blooded masculinity under hostile threat. Expertly capturing the majesty of the Appalachian scenery, plus the enigma of its “duelling banjo” mountain dwellers, the film delivers in superlative spades.
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Four Atlanta businessmen decide to prove that the frontier spirit is not dead by spending a canoeing weekend shooting... read more on Time Out
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Most helpful member's review
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26 out of 26 people found this review helpful
Superb thriller
A group of city-dwelling friends decide to take a canoe trip along an untamed Appalachian river that is about to be flooded by the local mining company.
They are lead, somewhat naively, by Lewis (Burt Reynolds) who is a strapping ‘man’s-man’ type. He believes that this river is an example of the dwindling, primeval environment that American industry is slowly destroying and that their trip will be it’s perfect swan-song.
His three companions are far less rugged: Ed (Jon Voight) is the affable neighbourly sort, Bobby (Ned Beatty) is the chubby salesman who is eager for acceptance but has a cowardly streak and Drew (Ronny Cox) is the capitulated suburban hippy (complete with guitar) who still believes he has a kinship with his fellow man.
What they all underestimate is that while the landscape may look very pretty (and John Boorman's direction does a fantastic job of this) it is as wildly unforgiving as it is beautiful.
This film has been a favourite of mine ever since I accidentally stumbled upon it on ITV late one night some years ago. Voight and Reynolds are excellent and are backed-up by magnificent, if a little more understated, performances by Beatty and Cox. I urge you to see this film but should warn you that camping trips will never seem the same again. -
Most recent members' review
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
Squeal Little Piggy, Squeal!
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News and features
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A Perfect Getaway
- Tom Charity
- 10 Aug 2009
What do we really know about the folks we meet on holiday – and why doesn’t that stop us from spilling our own secrets? Those are the questions percolating through this semi-inventive variation on a Deliverance style thriller. A honeymooning couple go hiking down a remote but beautiful Hawaiian coastal trail. Cliff is a screenwriter (Steve Zahn). Cydney (Milla Jovovich) is just happy to be there. But they’re both a bit freaked to hear news reports about the gruesome double... Read more
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Deliverance
Director John Boorman's adaptation of James Dickey's best-selling novel stars Burt Reynolds as the hypermasculine Lewis Medlock. Obsessed with Hemingway-vintage notions about achieving true masculinity by challenging nature, Lewis cajoles three of his friends, Bobby Trippe (Ned Beatty), Drew ...
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