Deliverance (1972)

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

Director:

John Boorman

Writers:

James Dickey (screenplay), James Dickey (novel)

Stars:

Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

The Cahulawassee River valley in Northern Georgia is one of the last natural pristine areas of the state, which will soon change with the imminent building of a dam on the river, which in turn will flood much of the surrounding land. As such, four Atlanta city dwellers, alpha male Lewis Medlock, Ed Gentry, Bobby Trippe, and Drew Ballinger, decide to take a multi-day canoe trip on the river, with only Lewis and Ed having experience in outdoor life. They know going in that the area is isolated. Their relatively peaceful trip takes a turn for the worse halfway through with river rapids and unwelcoming locals. The four battle need to their way out of the valley and are asked to do things they never thought possible within themselves.

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Plot Keywords:

inbreeding | nature | redneck stereotype | bare chested male | national film registry | 

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Taglines:

What _did_ happen on the Cahulawassee River?

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 August 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

Deliverance

Filming Locations:

Beaufort, South Carolina, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,534

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Elmer Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sam Peckinpah wanted to direct the movie. When John Boorman secured the rights, Peckinpah directed Straw Dogs (1971) instead.

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Goofs

The entire cliff climbing scene is obviously tinted day-for-night.

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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.

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Crazy Credits

In the opening credits there is an obvious typo. About the main song first is written: "'Duelling Banjos' Arranged and played by Eric Weissberg with Steve Mandel". Right after that follows "The song 'Dueling Banjos' is an arrangement of the song 'Feudin' Banjos', copyright owner - Combine Music Corp."

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Alternate Versions

Norwegian and Brazilian cinema version was cut in the rape scene.

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Connections

Referenced in Justified: Fixer (2010)

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Soundtracks

Moonshiner
Bob Dylan

User Reviews

Insanely disturbing, survival movie. It will change ur perception about human nature.

I first saw this on a vhs in the 90s, then on a vcd in 2006 n finally on a blu-ray. It's an extremely disturbing film especially the scene with Ned Beatty. One of the best backwoods/survival film of all time. The film's awesome scenery, the sounds of birds, reptiles n insects n the gushing wild rivers combined with the absence of civilization are characters themselves. We get to see Jon Voight doing some daredevil rock climbing and Burt Reynolds in his sleeveless t shirt flaunting biceps. John Boorman has created one of the best movies based on James Dickey's novel. Indeed an influential movie. The banjo scene n the music is terrific.