On D List of Movie Reviews
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Deliverance (1972)
Rate:
9
Viewed:
6/05, 2/17, 5/20
2/17:
"What did happen on the Cahulawassee River?"
The answer to that question is: a lot of bad shit. It's impossible to separate Deliverance from banjo music, the
Appalachian Mountains, whitewater rafting, the sound of a squealing pig, and hillbillies. Why...there's a shirt that says:
"Paddle faster! I hear banjo music."
Hence, Deliverance is famous for all the wrong reasons, but it's a fantastic movie experience. Burt Reynolds, Jon Voight,
Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox (the latter two in their feature film debuts) are outstanding and did their own stunts.
Let's be truthful here: it's Burt Reynolds, in a breakthrough role, who stole the show. He later called it "the best
film I've ever been in." John Boorman offers an amusing anecdote as to the difference between him and Jon Voight in
terms of their acting preparation:
"Voight is method. So, if he had a scene where he was supposed to be out of breath, he'd say, 'I need a three-minute warning,
so I can get out of breath' and he'd run, so he could be out of breath. Burt would say, 'I need twenty seconds,' and he'd
squirt a spritzer on himself and breathe hard."
The most memorable of the cast is Billy Redden, the weird-looking "dueling-banjos" kid with seemingly birth
defects. Although he didn't know how to play, somebody put his left arm through him and played it while he
provided the inbreed look and strummed the banjo with his right hand.
As for the death of Ronny Cox's character Drew, it's unknown whether he was actually shot or not. I didn't hear anything. It's
also unclear if he threw himself into the water. Since no autopsy was performed, the only conclusion I can make is Drew was never
shot in the first place. He may have been overcome by guilt and just passed out.
All in all, Deliverance is a timeless classic.
5/20:
Deliverance is a classic picture of the 70's.
However, a rating of '9' is my ceiling for it. The only reason why I watched the film again is Burt Reynolds. He does the
finest acting job of his career, transforming himself into a bona fide superstar. Once Burt Reynolds' character was
taken out of commission after breaking his leg, Jon Voight tried to keep the momentum going, but alas, he didn't have it.
Hence, Burt Reynolds should've been Oscar-nominated despite posing nude in an issue of Cosmopolitan.
What's impressive about Deliverance is that it looks real. The actors did their stunts during the whitewater trip with
Jon Voight scaling the cliff. Burt Reynolds doing the flip from the canoe in the middle of the rapids is an amazing sight, and
it resulted in a broken tailbone for him. Ned Beatty has the thankless role of putting up with the rape scene while Ronny Cox
provides the much-needed emotional balance in spite of what had transpired.
By the way, the sheriff at the end is James Dickey. He's the author of the book. The film was shot on location in Rabun County in northeastern
Georgia which is now completely flooded, dwelling 130 feet below Lake Jocassee.
All in all, when I think of Deliverance, I think of Billy Redden, the dueling banjos, and, most of all, Burt Reynolds.