Deliverance is John Boorman’s 1972 film about four Atlanta men whose canoe trip down a river becomes a fight to survive. It adapts James Dickey’s 1970 novel; Dickey also wrote the screenplay. The film’s spare use of music and its shifting group perspective give the river journey a different shape from the book’s first-person account.
What is Deliverance about?
Ed Gentry, Lewis Medlock, Bobby Trippe, and Drew Ballinger leave Atlanta to canoe the Cahulawassee River before a dam changes the valley. What begins as a recreational trip turns into a survival ordeal involving both the river and people they encounter along the way. The film includes sexual violence; its portrayal of rural residents is part of the story, not evidence about real Appalachian communities.
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Deliverance (1972) - 1080pHD (Blu-ray) | $23.95 | Buy on Amazon |
Is Deliverance based on a book?
Yes. The film adapts James Dickey’s 1970 novel, and Dickey wrote the screenplay. The book tells the story through Ed’s first-person narration and includes scenes before and after the river trip. The film instead presents the group onscreen, using faces, performances, and visual perspective rather than Ed’s continuous narration.
Who made the film?
John Boorman directed and produced the American adventure drama, which was released in August 1972. The principal cast includes Jon Voight as Ed, Burt Reynolds as Lewis, Ned Beatty as Bobby, and Ronny Cox as Drew. The American Film Institute lists its runtime as 109–110 minutes and its rating as R. AFI Catalog: Deliverance
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- Region A NTSC
- 1080pHD
- Dolby Digital
- Widescreen
How does the film use sound?
Music is notably sparse: the American Film Institute notes that no background music is heard until the “Duelling Banjos” duet. Its entrance helps establish the film’s atmosphere through contrast, rather than relying on a continuous score. AFI Catalog: Deliverance
Boorman recalled that he and Dickey worked on the screenplay by correspondence because they did not get much done when they met in person. “We drafted the screenplay together,” he said in an interview reproduced by the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Boorman also recalled that the studio wanted two stars before approving the picture and that the production was made on a $2 million budget; that amount is his recollection, not an independently audited figure. He said he reduced his planned orchestral score to a guitar and banjo player performing variations on “Duelling Banjos.” Santa Barbara International Film Festival interview with John Boorman
What does the title mean?
The title can be read in more than one way. The American Film Institute records interpretations that connect “deliverance” either to escaping the river-trip danger or to spiritual release from evil within the characters. These are documented readings of the film, not a definitive explanation attributed to Dickey or Boorman. AFI Catalog: Deliverance
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