{"id":44508,"date":"2019-09-04T22:22:40","date_gmt":"2019-09-05T05:22:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=44508"},"modified":"2021-01-23T22:58:05","modified_gmt":"2021-01-24T05:58:05","slug":"deliverance-1972","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=44508","title":{"rendered":"Deliverance (1972)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Sometimes you have to lose yourself before you can find anything.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Poster-203x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-44534\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Poster-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Poster-87x128.jpg 87w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Poster.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen four friends (Burt Reynolds, Jon Voight, Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox) go on a canoeing vacation in the backwoods of Georgia, they quickly find themselves endangered by both extreme rapids and brutal local denizens.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Burt Reynolds Films<\/li>\n<li>Class Relations<\/li>\n<li>Deep South<\/li>\n<li>John Boorman Films<\/li>\n<li>Jon Voight Films<\/li>\n<li>Living Nightmare<\/li>\n<li>Masculinity<\/li>\n<li>Ned Beatty Films<\/li>\n<li>Rape<\/li>\n<li>Survival<\/li>\n<li>Vacation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary opens his review of this disturbing thriller by noting that &#8220;in some of our more terrifying dreams we may find ourselves thrust into an alien, hostile environment where we are at the mercy of strangers from another culture who want to kill us for reasons we can&#8217;t comprehend&#8221;. He argues that &#8220;no film better captures the essence of this particular nightmare than this thrilling version of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Deliverance_(novel)\">James Dickey&#8217;s novel<\/a>, directed by John Boorman and scripted by Dickey&#8221;: &#8220;Indeed, this film depicts the male&#8217;s worst nightmare &#8212; having his masculinity threatened.&#8221; Peary describes the &#8220;illiterate hillbillies&#8221; encountered by the vacationing quartet as people &#8220;whose bodies and brains seem to have been damaged by malnutrition, disease, and inbreeding&#8221;; when Voight and Beatty &#8220;take the wrong fork in the river and find themselves threatened by two vile and frightening backwoodsmen (Bill McKinney, Herbert &#8216;Cowboy&#8217; Coward)&#8221;, viewers are subjected to &#8220;an unforgettably shocking scene&#8221;. <\/p>\n<p>Peary argues that the &#8220;film is both provocative and an extremely powerful nail-biter&#8221;, and adds the weirdly unnecessary caveat that &#8220;it&#8217;s too intense and violent for kids&#8221; (no kidding!!!). Finally, he points out that the movie is &#8220;beautifully filmed by Vilmos Szigmond&#8221;, and that a &#8220;highlight is when Cox plays &#8216;Dueling Banjos&#8217; with a young hillbilly&#8221; (<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Billy_Redden\">Billie Redden<\/a>, a local who was cast for his appearance rather than actual ability to play the banjo). I have little to add to Peary&#8217;s accurate review, other than stressing that this is a film I fully acknowledge as brilliant, but don&#8217;t want to watch again for a really, really long time. With that said, I adore everything about the dueling banjos scene &#8212; from the creative camera angles (it&#8217;s no coincidence that Redden is placed far above Cox) and close-ups of Redden&#8217;s face, to the juxtaposition of the beginning of this scene with Reynolds&#8217; negotiations to find drivers for their trip, to Beatty&#8217;s disparagingly throwaway comment about &#8220;genetic deficiencies&#8221; as Redden deftly strums, to the old man in a hat hopping around in dancing delight (while Beatty openly mocks him), to Cox&#8217;s humble admission near the end of the song (&#8220;I&#8217;m lost&#8221;) as Redden&#8217;s grin widens and he continues playing. This group does indeed become lost, unaware of the dangerous and impenetrable power dynamics they&#8217;re about to enter into.  <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Strong lead performances<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Voight.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Voight-1024x427.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"267\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-44536\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Voight-1024x427.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Voight-128x53.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Voight-300x125.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Voight-768x320.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Voight.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Vilmos Zsigmond&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Cinematography-1024x427.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"267\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-44538\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Cinematography-1024x427.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Cinematography-128x53.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Cinematography-300x125.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Cinematography-768x320.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Cinematography.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Cinematography2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Cinematography2-1024x427.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"267\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-44539\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Cinematography2-1024x427.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Cinematography2-128x53.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Cinematography2-300x125.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Cinematography2-768x320.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Cinematography2.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Ronny Cox and Billy Redden&#8217;s banjo duet\/duel (and the soundtrack based on the tune)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Banjo.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Banjo-1024x427.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"267\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-44537\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Banjo-1024x427.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Banjo-128x53.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Banjo-300x125.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Banjo-768x320.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Deliverance-Banjo.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a disturbing and powerful classic. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Genuine Classic<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0068473\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thespinningimage.co.uk\/cultfilms\/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=6110&#038;aff=13\">Spinning Image Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/22066\/deliverance\/#articles-reviews?articleId=33895\">TCM Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.moriareviews.com\/horror\/deliverance-1972.htm\">Moria Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.filmsite.org\/deli.html\">FilmSite Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Sometimes you have to lose yourself before you can find anything.&#8221; Synopsis: When four friends (Burt Reynolds, Jon Voight, Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox) go on a canoeing vacation in the backwoods of Georgia, they quickly find themselves endangered by both extreme rapids and brutal local denizens. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Burt Reynolds Films Class Relations Deep South John Boorman Films Jon Voight Films Living Nightmare Masculinity Ned Beatty Films Rape Survival Vacation Response to Peary\u2019s Review: Peary opens&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=44508\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44508"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65483,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44508\/revisions\/65483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}