 Tagline: What did happen on the Cahulawassee River? Four city businessmen try their hand at canoeing along a soon-to-be-destroyed river in the deep woods of Georgia. What begins as a weekend adventure becomes a desperate battle for survival when they're confronted by the terrors of the raging river and brutal assailants in this three-time Oscar-nominated classic. Selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2008, Deliverance remains as beautiful and visceral as ever. Storyline: The Cahulawassee River valley in Northern Georgia is one of the last natural pristine areas of the state, which will soon change with the imminent building of a dam on the river, which in turn will flood much of the surrounding land. As such, four Atlanta city slickers - alpha male Lewis Medlock, generally even-keeled Ed Gentry, slightly condescending Bobby Trippe, and wide-eyed Drew Ballinger - decide to take a multi-day canoe trip on the river, with only Lewis and Ed having experience in outdoor life. They know going in that the area is ethno-culturally homogeneous and isolated, but don't understand the full extent of such until they arrive and see what they believe is the result of generations of inbreeding. Their relatively peaceful trip takes a turn for the worse when half way through they encounter a couple of hillbilly moonshiners. That encounter not only makes the four battle their way out of the valley intact and alive... Written by Huggo Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Kenneth Brown on June 19, 2012 -- Unlike the 20th Anniversary Edition Unforgiven DigiBook, the 40th Anniversary Edition Deliverance DigiBook involves more than a simple repackaging. It not only includes a newly produced, thirty-minute high definition retrospective with Jon Voight, Ned Beatty, Burt Reynolds and Ronny Cox, it delivers the real upgrade fans have been clamoring for since Warner's 2007 Blu-ray release: a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track. Together, the new lossless mix and the actors' must-see retrospective make Deliverance's latest incarnation a tempting one. Twenty-five dollars tempting? That depends on how much of an audiophile you are and, to a lesser extent, how much the cast's look-back, engrossing as it may be, is worth to you. For me, the two easily justify purchasing director John Boorman's Oscar-nominated classic all over again. For you? Perhaps some convincing is in order... Should you add the 40th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray release of Deliverance to your wish list or shopping cart? In a word: absolutely. In a few more words: especially if it isn't already a part of your collection. As if the inclusion of an excellent DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track weren't enough to whet your appetite, Warner tosses in a terrific retrospective roundtable with Boorman's four leading men. Some may complain that there isn't a new video transfer to be found but, I have to say, the 2007 encode doesn't leave much room for improvement; certainly not enough to warrant any long-lasting complaints. Deliverance remains a powerful, character-driven drama, and this latest release only makes it that much more immersive. Cast Notes: Jon Voight (Ed Gentry), Burt Reynolds (Lewis Medlock), Ned Beatty (Bobby Trippe,a.k.a. Chubby), Ronny Cox (Drew Ballinger), Ed Ramey (Old Man), Billy Redden (Lonny), 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 [II] (Doctor), Kathy Rickman (Nurse Lilley). User Comment: eastie from Tokyo, Japan, 13 September 1999 • Unlike many other films, which are disturbing either by dint of their naked unpleasantness (Man Bites Dog) or their sheer violence (most Peckinpah films), Deliverance shocks by its plausibility. Certainly, the buggery scene is pretty straightforward in its unpleasantness, but the film's effect derives far more from its slow build-up and the tangible sense of isolation surrounding the four leads, both before and after everything starts to go wrong. The moment when the canoes pass under the child on the bridge, who does not even acknowledge the men he had earlier played music with, let alone show any sign of human affection towards them, is among the most sinister in modern film. The tension increases steadily throughout the canoe trip, and perseveres even after the final credits - the ending makes the significance of the characters' ordeals horrifically real. The movie's plausibility is greatly aided by the playing of the leads, particularly Ned Beatty and Jon Voight as the victim and reluctant hero respectively. Burt Reynolds, too, has never been better. The film's cultural influence is demonstrable by the number of people who will understand a reference to 'banjo territory' - perhaps only Get Carter has done such an effective hatchet-job on a region's tourist industry. I can think of only a handful of movies which put me into such a serious depression after they had finished - the oppressive atmosphere of Se7en is the best comparison I can think of. Although so much of it is excellent of itself, Deliverance is a classic above all because there are no adequate points of comparison with it - it is unique. Summary: One of the most disturbing films of all time. IMDb Rating (11/29/12): 7.8/10 from 51,938 users IMDb Rating (06/01/01): 7.8/10 from 5,097 users Top 250: #225
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