DELIVERANCE
A film review by David Landers
Copyright 1997 David Landers
RATING: *** 1/2 out of **** - 8.0 out of 10.0 CAST: Jon Voight (Ed Gentry), Burt Reynolds (Lewis Medlock), Ned Beatty (Bobby Trippe), Ronny Cox (Drew Ballinger) DIRECTOR: John Boorman CERTIFICATION: R (USA) for violence, language, and shocking situations YEAR OF PRODUCTION: 1972 ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS: Best Picture, Best Director (Boorman), Best Film Editing (Tom Priestley II)
Everyone's heard about this movie, and more specifically, *the* scene. Everyone's heard the famous barnyard animal quote squealed (no pun intended) over and over. And everyone's got to admit that they will never travel down a river again without thinking of DELIVERANCE. Good! That's what you're supposed to do! Oh, if you are one of the ones who hasn't seen this yet, or you (somehow) haven't heard about what happens, here's your spoiler warning.
DELIVERANCE was a real shocker for it's time (1972). Major advances were being made in films, and DELIVERANCE made its own advances when it introduced a new horror into the film industry. When it was first released, it literally shocked the audiences. It was something that, for the most part, had really never been seen on the big screen before (among wide-release films with an R rating). But by today's film standards and in today's world, such scenes as the one in DELIVERANCE can be reproduced in a way that isn't as shocking, although they can be even more graphic (e.g. PULP FICTION). PULP FICTION did it in a way, and expanded on it in a way, that it could even be interpreted as funny. But in 1972, DELIVERANCE was no laughing matter.
The story centers around a group of four Atlanta men who decide to take a rafting trip down a backwoods river in Georgia while the river is still there and in its glory. The initial leader of the group is Lewis (Burt Reynolds in his prime), a real outdoorsman and more of a Daniel Boone-type then any of the others. Joining him are Ed (Jon Voight), Bobby (Ned Beatty), and Drew (Ronny Cox).
The group's first objective is to find someone(s) to drive their cars down the river to the point where they will end their trip. They make arrangements with a few mountain men, who accept $40.00 for the task. Drew also has the famous "dueling banjos" competition with a local who is, let us say, genetically challenged.
The men then set off down the river, with Lewis, also the master at canoeing, leading the way. Everything seems to be going fine, until the two canoes split up, leaving the unexperienced Ed and Bobby alone. They encounter two hillbillies, armed with a shotgun, who captured them. Ed is tied to a tree while Bobby is sodomized by one of the men. Ed nearly receives the same cruelty, but Lewis arrives just in time to fire an arrow through the rapist's back. The other hillbilly gets away, and the men have to decide what to do with the dead body. Disposing of dead bodies is done rather frequent throughout this film.
While attempting to make a quick "paddle for it", both canoes tip over. Drew, who was without a life jacket, was possibly shot and cannot be found. Lewis suffered a rather nasty compound fracture during the incident and is in serious condition. This leaves Ed and Bobby. Ed decides to go out and look for the remaining hillbilly, alone, with the bow and arrow. The question arises if he will be able to handle himself, as he horribly botched a first shot attempt at a deer, to which his comment "I wonder how anyone could kill a living thing" will have more meaning in the future.
DELIVERANCE is definitely a wild ride (oops, I'm doing it again). It is extremely tense at some points and very dramatic. It's definitely one of those "must see" movies and should be considered one of the classics of its decade.
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