Deliverance (1972)

Director:

John Boorman

Writers:

James Dickey (screenplay)
James Dickey (novel)
(more)

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 | Canoe

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 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
Louise Coldren	...	Mrs. Biddiford
Peter Ware	...	Taxi Driver
James Dickey	...	Sheriff Bullard
Macon McCalman	...	Deputy Queen
Hoyt Pollard	...	Boy at Gas Station
Belinda Beatty	...	Martha Gentry (as Belinha Beatty)
Charley Boorman	...	Ed's Boy (as Charlie Boorman)

Directed by
John Boorman

Writing credits
James Dickey		(screenplay)
James Dickey		(novel)
John Boorman		additional dialogue (uncredited)

Produced by
John Boorman	....	producer
Charles Orme	....	associate producer (uncredited)

Cinematography by
Vilmos Zsigmond		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Tom Priestley

Casting by
Lynn Stalmaster

Art Direction by
Fred Harpman

Set Decoration by
Morris Hoffman		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Michael Hancock	....	makeup artist
Donoene McKay	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Wallace Worsley Jr.	....	production supervisor (as Wallace Worsley)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Al Jennings	....	assistant director
Miles Middough	....	assistant director
Skip Cosper	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Charles Ziarko	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Sidney H. Greenwood	....	property master (as Syd Greenwood)
Jerry Kobold	....	prop assistant (uncredited)
Don Pringle	....	greensman (uncredited)
H. John Ramos	....	props (uncredited)
James Van de Vort	....	painter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Jim Atkinson	....	sound editor
Walter Goss	....	sound mixer
Doug E. Turner	....	dubbing mixer (as Doug Turner)
Jerry Smith	....	boom man (uncredited)
Gary Stahl	....	cable man (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Marcel Vercoutere	....	special effects
Joe Day	....	special effects assistant (uncredited)

Stunts
Bill Couch	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ralph Garrett	....	stunts (uncredited)
Claude Terry	....	stunt double: Jon Voight (uncredited)
Gene Witham	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
James O. Blair	....	electrical supervisor (as Jim Blair)
Arthur Brooker	....	key grip (as Art Brooker)
Bill Butler	....	photography: second unit
Earl L. Clark	....	assistant camera (as Earl Clark)
Sven Walnum	....	camera operator
George Boulette	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Paul Caven	....	electrician (uncredited)
James Coe	....	still photographer (uncredited)
John J. Connor	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Bob Farnsworth	....	grip best boy (uncredited)
Alan Heather	....	electrician (uncredited)
Daniel R. Jordan	....	grip (uncredited)
Alexander Klein	....	camera mechanic (uncredited)
George Kohut	....	camera operator: second unit (uncredited)
Robert Moore	....	grip (uncredited)
Aaron Pazanti	....	electrical best boy (uncredited)
Donald Schmitz	....	grip (uncredited)
James O. Schori	....	generator operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Bucky Rous	....	wardrobe master
Pat Kelly	....	wardrobe assistant (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Ian Rakoff	....	assistant editor
William Neel	....	assistant film editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Michael Addiss	....	banjo playing: Billy Redden (uncredited)

Transportation Department
James Cross	....	driver (uncredited)
Pat Desmond	....	driver: studio van (uncredited)
Ed Dutton	....	transportation gaffer (uncredited)
Pat Miller	....	transportation captain (uncredited)

Other crew
Sue Dwiggins	....	production secretary
E. Lewis King	....	technical advisor
Rospo Pallenberg	....	creative associate
Ray Quiroz	....	script supervisor
Charles Wiggin	....	technical advisor
Tony Adams	....	tutor (uncredited)
Frank J. Ayre	....	craft service (uncredited)
Hershey Cohen	....	timekeeper (uncredited)
John Fowler	....	company doctor (uncredited)
George C. King	....	location doctor (uncredited)
Janey Lampros	....	first aid (uncredited)
Barbara Pallenberg	....	secretary to director (uncredited)
Ken Ryan	....	location auditor (uncredited)
Vernon White	....	publicist (uncredited)
Harry Williams	....	production accountant (uncredited)

Thanks
Earl 'Preach' Parsons	....	thanks
Frank Rickman	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Warner Bros
• Elmer Enterprises (in association with)

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1972) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Film (1972) (France) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Film (1972) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Filmverleih (1972) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• DiscoVision (1980) (USA) (VHS) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (1990) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Vídeo (1990) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1992) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (Sweden) (VHS)
• Argentina Video Home (2000) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2000) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Sandrews (2000) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Warner Bros. (2000) (Argentina) (all media) (re-release)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (Canada) (DVD) (deluxe edition)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD) (deluxe edition)
• Warner-Columbia Films (1972) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Fazer Musiikki Oy/Fazer Video (1980s) (Finland) (VHS)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1989) (1995) (2005) (2006) (Finland) (TV)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2000) (Finland) (DVD)
• Scanvideo (1980s) (Finland) (VHS)
• Varus Video (????) (Russia) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1980s) (Finland) (VHS)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1999) (2000) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Combine Music Corporation  copyright owner: "Feudin' Banjos"
• Rabun County, Georgia  thanks
• U.S. Forest Service  thanks
• Georgia Power Company  thanks
• Warner Bros. Entertainment  dvd package design & supplementary compilations

Also Known As:

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:

Australia:R | Canada:18A | France:-12 | Ireland:18 | Netherlands:12 (video rating) | Norway:18 (1973) | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | 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:14 | Italy:VM18 | Peru:18 | Australia:MA (cable TV rating) | Finland:K-12 (2012) (Blu-ray)

Filming Locations:

Beaufort, South Carolina, USA

Company:

Warner Bros

Trivia:

Burt Reynolds broke his coccyx while going down the rapids when the canoe capsizes. Originally, a cloth dummy was used, but it looked too much "like a dummy going over a waterfall". After Reynolds was injured and recuperating, he asked, "How did it look?" The director replied, "Like a dummy going over a waterfall."

Goofs:

Continuity: During the drive to the river near the start of the film, the reflections of the trees etc. can be seen in the windscreen - but this should have been blocked by the canoes on the roof (and indeed they are in the long shots of the same journey)

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 "American Dad!: For Whom the Sleigh Bell Tolls (#6.8)" (2010)

Soundtrack:

Moonshiner

Nightmarish!!

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!!