Deliverance (1972) (R)

Deliverance (1972) (R)
Directed by John Boorman
Starring: Burt Reynolds, Jon Voight, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox

Daddy Says:

I first saw this film about 20 years ago. It affected me so deeply that I didn't really want to ever watch it again. But a couple of years ago, I thought I'd give it another try. And to my surprise, I actually enjoyed it more the second time around. This would be my third viewing of it and I'm very curious to see what my daughter has to say about it.

Deliverance is the story of four guys who decide to take a river-rafting trip down a Georgia river before it, and the surrounding towns, get turned into a giant lake. As they drive into the backwoods to find some locals to drive their cars down river for them to pick up at the end of their adventure, the locals they run into are like no one they've ever met. They have their own way of talking and behaving, and our heroes enjoy laughing at them behind their backs. Some are comical, some are openly hostile to outsiders. Ronny Cox plays guitar, while a young boy with what appears to be Downs Syndrome plays banjo, and they play a remarkable duet. But when Ronny wants to shake the boys hand in appreciation, the boy turns away.

The second scene that is burned into the memory of anyone who has seen the film happens near the middle. Jon Voight and Ned Beatty (in his movie debut) stop off at the river's bank for a rest. Two men come up to them carrying shotguns and abduct them further into the woods. If the lines "squeal like a pig" and "he's sure got a purty mouth" don't send chills up your spine, then you've never seen this film. Bill McKinney and Herbert "Cowboy" Coward are two of the scariest villains in film history.

What makes this scene work, and for the most part the entire movie work, is that everything feels so natural. There's hardly a moment in the entire film where anyone seems to be acting. It's like we're observers at a documentary. And because it feels so real, it makes the movie that much scarier. When I first saw the film, I had never seen any of the "locals" in any other movie. Since then, I've seen Bill McKinney play other parts, so I know for sure that they were only acting in that scene. But like I said, it sure felt real to me the first time I saw it.

It also helps that all the actors were willing to do their own stunts on the river. It's much more intense watching the faces of Voight, Cox, Beatty and Reynolds as they ride the dangerous rapids themselves, instead of having to hide the faces of stunt men taking their place.

This movie terrified me for many years, but now I can appreciate it for what it is: a finely crafted, exhilarating ride through an incredible part of nature, punctuated with some of the most nightmarish scenes in cinematic history.

Rating for Deliverance: ****3/4.

Daughter Says:

Deliverance was an interesting movie, I must say. I'm still trying to figure out how they got the name for this film. I've never heard of the word Deliverance when going river-rafting, but maybe it's there. I have no idea.

Anyway, this movie was something. I don't quite understand the basis of this movie, because parts of it were a bit confusing. I didn't think hillbillies were like that when I saw this movie and I still like to think I don't see them as that. There were some very disturbing scenes in this movie. I didn't see the point in them. I know they're part of the plot but couldn't see why the director couldn't take it another way. There is no need to give the country a bad name.

Another problem I had with this movie is the banjo. I can't stand the banjo, and I don't see the point of it. What did that banjo have to do with the river-rafting part? The few times we saw the guy who played the banjo was at the beginning and we never saw him again. There really was no point to it.

This movie was an okay movie, but I'm sure it could have been done better. I don't highly suggest this movie, but I won't tell you not to watch it. If you want to watch go right ahead, but if you're asking for my opinion, I didn't really enjoy it that much.

Rating for Deliverance: **1/2.