Deliverance

Name: Deliverance
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Released: July 21, 1972
Duration: 109 min
Rating: 80
Cast: Bill McKinney, Billy Redden, Burt Reynolds, Ed Ramey, Herbert 'Cowboy' Coward

1972

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 39 Ratings

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7.8

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7.8	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 39 Ratings

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Deliverance

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Movie Details & Credits

Warner Bros. | Release Date: July 21, 1972 | TV-14

Starring: Bill McKinney, Billy Redden, Burt Reynolds, Ed Ramey, Herbert 'Cowboy' Coward, Jon Voight, Ned Beatty, Randall Deal, Ronny Cox, Seamon Glass

Summary: Intent on seeing the Cahulawassee River before it's turned into one huge lake, outdoor fanatic Lewis Medlock takes his friends on a river-rafting trip they'll never forget into the dangerous American back-country.

Director: John Boorman

Genre(s): Adventure, Drama, Thriller

Rating: TV-14

Runtime: 109 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Jeremiah Kipp

Dickey taps into that stark mortal terror of abandoning control, where to become a wild man is somehow a form of connection. Read full review

100

Empire Mark Dinning

The gorgeous backdrop of the film makes the violence and darkness even more disturbing - but this is more than just a horror film. There's real substance in themes, performances and John Boorman's superb direction. Read full review

100

The Observer (UK) Philip French

Adapted from the novel by the poet James Dickey (who plays the small, significant role of a sheriff in the moral coda to the journey), it's a riveting, resonant film, the male rape sequence as shocking as it was 35 years ago. [28 Oct 2007, p.20]

Raoul Hernandez

To this day, Dueling Banjoes still gives me the willies. Read full review

Josh Larsen

Deliverance is a harsh film asking harsh questions, less a thrilling adventure movie than an ecological, existential nightmare. Read full review

Chris Nashawaty

With his Mephisto-phelean swagger and chewy, good ol’ boy drawl, Reynolds is a chest-beating revelation. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

In the depiction of sudden, violent death, there is the rhapsodic wallowing in the deadly beauty of it all: protruding arrows, agonizing expiration, etc. It’s the stuff of which slapdash oaters and crime programmers are made but the obvious ambitions of Deliverance are supposed to be on a higher plane. Read full review

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User Reviews

InjuredDriver

Jul 10, 2022

"Sometimes you have to lose yourself 'fore you can find anything."
-Lewis

"That a boy. I bet you can squeal. I bet you can squeal like a pig." -gay rapey hillbilly. In this movie there's not a cellphone in sight, just people living in the moment!

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

TheQuietGamer

Nov 18, 2018

There's a quiet eeriness to Deliverance that you can feel right from the start because you know things aren't going to go well for these wannabe outdoorsmen. Everything in the movie feels real making things so much harsher as a result. The reason being a lot of this is real. The castThere's a quiet eeriness to Deliverance that you can feel right from the start because you know things aren't going to go well for these wannabe outdoorsmen. Everything in the movie feels real making things so much harsher as a result. The reason being a lot of this is real. The cast performed their own stunts which lead to things like a broken coccyx for Burt Reynolds and Jon Voight scaling a cliff with his bare hands. Their dedication was incredible and so are their performances.

You really witness a change in these characters when acts of nature and human cruelty strip away their undeserved confidence. Reynold's "Lewis" finds out that despite all that bravado he's not the survival man he thought he was, Ronny Cox stands firm in his morals in the face of desperate circumstances, Jon Voight finds taps into an inner strength to help save his friends, and Ned Beatry as the loudmouth of the group proves to be the most unbreakable after suffering the worst of the abuses. In the end all of them are delivered from their arrogant natures through trial by fire. This genuine growth is magnificent to watch unfold.

It's quite a harsh movie. Unflinching in it's depictions of the hardships inflicted on these characters. Including one very graphic rape. There is a beauty to go alongside the savagery though. The film almost seems to mourn the imminent loss of it's fictional river valley. It shows off the unforgiving side of wilderness, but in a way that's meant to make us respect it. The terror is balanced out with gorgeous scenery. The minimalistic use of music lets us hear every sound of the outdoors. We are made to know that the real enemy here isn't the river, but the people on it. Humans further perverting the world's organic, yet dangerous majesty with their barbaric presence.

This is a timeless movie. Dated visuals aside this almost feels like it hasn't aged a day. It's still just as harrowing and brutal as the day it was first released. This has withstood the test of time in a very impressive manner. A bona fide classic and likely the best work of Burt Reynold's career. On top of so much of the action being largely unstaged, you get the feeling that there's a message behind the violence. Making it more than just a pointless display of sadism.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Richard552

Aug 16, 2022

That a boy. I bet you can squeal. I bet you can squeal like a pig.
$1 to buy a Netflix account, Google search: vtvshare

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

amheretojudge

Jul 1, 2018

free from any law..

Deliverance 3 Out Of 5 Deliverance is a tale of three friends seeking for an adventurous time and ends up getting a higher punch of it. The genre demands smarter approach since there have been plenty of features like such, and fortunately it is delivered withfree from any law..

Deliverance

3 Out Of 5

Deliverance is a tale of three friends seeking for an adventurous time and ends up getting a higher punch of it. The genre demands smarter approach since there have been plenty of features like such, and fortunately it is delivered with confidence in here where the obvious isn't fed to the audience but instead is kept in a subtle tone that increases the curiosity and makes them root for it. It is short on technical aspects like sound department, background score and art design although is edited perfectly. The script is well structured and follows a rudimentary process but the elaborated plan of the writer makes it all worth. James Dickey; the screenwriter, who wrote the original novel too, is well aware of the characteristics of the characters and uses it wisely on keeping the audience engaged throughout the course of it. And John Boorman; the director, has done a tremendous work on executing this tensed tale and has offered the palpable yet essential eerie tone to the feature. The performance is decent in here; nothing out of the park nor to be question upon, by the protagonist Jon Voight and Burt Reynolds in his supportive role. Deliverance is free from any law or terms and is surely ahead of its time, and the credit goes to the director who had the guts to pull off such concept.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

kvnd

Aug 11, 2018

I found the book way too long and way too boring but I was hoping having it condensed down into a movie's length would really improve it. I was right, this is definitely better than the book...but it still feels overly long and pointlessly so. Some scenes just linger and include the mostI found the book way too long and way too boring but I was hoping having it condensed down into a movie's length would really improve it. I was right, this is definitely better than the book...but it still feels overly long and pointlessly so. Some scenes just linger and include the most unnecessary and downright boring shots. That being said props to director John Boorman for doing what was probably ahead of its time in 1972, and executing it as well as he did. Solid performances all round from the cast too (who did all their own stunts including the rafting and cliff scaling!). That banjo scene is also fire.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

HellHoleHorror

Jun 21, 2023

This is a canoeing adventure that goes very wrong. There is not much in the way of blood and guts so the interest and fear comes from the situation that the adventurers found themselves in. It is scary to think that it would be possible for this sort of thing to happen and that you may beThis is a canoeing adventure that goes very wrong. There is not much in the way of blood and guts so the interest and fear comes from the situation that the adventurers found themselves in. It is scary to think that it would be possible for this sort of thing to happen and that you may be stuck up the creek injured and without a hope. It is worth watching as a late night thinking thriller. Not too memorable unlike the similar concept of Straw Dogs (1971) which is far better and much more memorable. Still a fraught and stressful experience that has the legendary banjo scene!… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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