Deliverance

Starring:  Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds

Also Starring:  Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox

Director:  John Boorman

Rental Gross:  $22.6m (USA)

DVD release date:  9/21/1999

Special Extras:  Theatrical trailer, "The Dangerous World of Deliverance" behind-the-scenes documentary.

Options: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), English, French subtitles

Summary:  Based on James Dickey's novel, this film tells the story of an ill-fated canoe trip in deep backwoods America, where the people are as scary as the country is beautiful.

 

Review:

Man vs.nature, the eternal debate. What is man's true control over nature? Or does he really have any control over it at all? When all seems well and peaceful, nature can reach up and kill at will. So it seems that Deliverance was a good reminder that although we have conquered many areas of the planet, nature itself is too volatile to ever truly rule. The story concerns four Atlanta businessmen of various male profiles: Jon Voight's character is a reflective, civilized fellow, Burt Reynolds plays a strapping hunter-gatherer, Ned Beatty is a sweaty, weak-willed boy-man, and Ronny Cox plays a spirited, neighborly type. Together they decide to answer the ancient call of men testing themselves against the elements and set out on a treacherous ride on the rapids of an Appalachian river.

John Boorman (Excalibur, Emerald Forest, The General) craftily directed this film from the beginning. With his opening zoom over construction and the background chatter of Lewis Medlock (Burt Reynolds) goading his friends into the raft adventure before "they drown the river. Just about the last untamed, unpolluted, un fucked up river in the south." Boorman sets the tone early by going from the shots of bulldozers and heavy construction to the gradual shift to the back woods and mist covered mountains. With this, the viewer is taken from the last shot of "society" and thrown into a reckless world for the next hour. After watching the film I was glad to see them finally get out of the woods and back to a car and around other people. The atmosphere set by the film is excellent. The film also sets a good stage with the backwoods folk, the less fortunate people that live in poverty in the back hills of the south. Boorman drops little hints here and there and uses silent shots to capture the people in many ways living the way they have for decades. When the four men arrive in a small yokel town, their jibes and demeaning attitude are not appreciated. Still, the way they act only goes to a certain point and does not truly cross the line. This lures the viewer into a false sense that all was ok after the men left the local people. In fact however, it was not, not by a long shot.

Deliverance of course delivers two of the most memorable scenes in film making history: the dueling banjo scene and the rather disturbing rape sequence. These two scenes are some of the most talked about clips ever and will go down in picture lore for a long time to come. Through it all the film takes you on what I think are four crucial steps. There is the arrival and the cockiness if the city goers, the middle stage where they learn the river, the third stage where panic sets in and nature starts to assert its authority, and the final stage of denial about what happened on the river. All through this we are treated to a mad voyage of macabre, bewilderment, and we get to see the true beastly nature of man exert itself on the river travelers. Ned Beatty, playing a overweight boob, gets the shock of his life yet in the end seems almost forgetful about it. They all do however. Four men who at first set out as casual friends are drawn close by terrible means, and the true strong are weeded out. At the conclusion of the film the horrible events force them to actually take separate ways and not talk to each other for some time I could imagine. Reynolds gives his best acting performance ever, and Jon Voight is great as the one who comes of age during the ordeal. Reynolds, the brave gung ho trooper of the group, seems to be cut down to size by the end of the film as he suffers injuries that daunt even his bravado. What a debut for Beatty and Cox (Robocop) as well.

The DVD for Deliverance was long overdue and finally released last year (99) along with Excalibur, another of Boorman's masterpieces. Featuring flippy options for standard or widescreen viewing, the transfer was good for such an old film but grainy in some spots. The sound however was very well brought over, sounding crisp and clean. As for the extra feature, "The Dangerous World of Deliverance", it is really an insight of James Dickey's vision and how he collaborated with Boorman on the film idea and transfer to the screen. For the price, Deliverance is a film classic that is a great add to any true movie lovers collection, and for a terrific price. Disturbing and violent at times, the film will leave you wondering about just how much we know about nature, and the true nature of man himself.

DVD Rating:

Look: 3/5

Sound: 4/5

Extras: 2/5

Total:  3/5