Deliverance (1972)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

John Boorman

Writers:

James Dickey (screenplay)
James Dickey (novel)

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 | Survival

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 win & 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
Pete 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)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ed O'Neill	...	Deputy in hospital (uncredited)

Directed by
John Boorman

Writing credits
James Dickey		(screenplay)
James Dickey		(novel)

Produced by
John Boorman	....	producer

Cinematography by
Vilmos Zsigmond

Film Editing by
Tom Priestley		(as Tom Priestly)

Casting by
Lynn Stalmaster

Art Direction by
Fred Harpman

Makeup Department
Michael Hancock	....	makeup artist (as Michael Handcock)
Donoene McKay	....	hair stylist

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

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)
H. John Ramos	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Jim Atkinson	....	sound editor
Walter Goss	....	sound mixer
Doug E. Turner	....	dubbing mixer (as Doug Turner)

Special Effects by
Marcel Vercoutere	....	special effects

Stunts
Bill Couch	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ralph Garrett	....	stunts (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
Alexander Klein	....	camera mechanic (uncredited)
George Kohut	....	camera operator: second unit (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Bucky Rous	....	wardrobe master

Editorial Department
Ian Rakoff	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Michael Addiss	....	banjo playing: Billy Redden (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)
John Fowler	....	company doctor (uncredited)
Harry Williams	....	production accountant (uncredited)

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

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures
• Elmer Enterprises (in association with)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1972) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1972) (France) (theatrical)
• DiscoVision (1980) (USA) (VHS) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Vídeo (1990) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1992) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Argentina Video Home (2000) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2000) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Warner Bros. (2000) (Argentina) (all media) (re-release)
• Warner-Columbia Film (1972) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Filmverleih (1972) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Sandrews (2000) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Varus Video (????) (Russia) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (Sweden) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Combine Music Corporation  copyright owner: "Feudin' Banjos"
• Rabun County, Georgia  thanks
• U.S. Forest Service  thanks
• Georgia Power Company  thanks

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

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:16 | Italy:VM18 | Australia:R | Canada:18A | France:-12 | Ireland:18 | Netherlands:12 (video rating) | Norway:18 (1973) | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Beaufort, South Carolina, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Unlike Ronny Cox with his guitar, actor Billy Redden did not know how to play banjo for the famous "Duelling Banjos" scene. To simulate the realistic chord playing on the banjo, another boy, who was a skilled banjo-player, played the chords with his arm reaching around at Redden's side while Redden picked. On the soundtrack, musicians Eric Weissberg and 'Steve Mandel (I)' are actually playing.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Lewis spears the fish with an arrow, the barb originally goes through fish's head; when he pulls it out, the arrow is through midsection.

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 "Little Britain: (#3.4)" (2005)

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!!