Deliverance
3 Oscar Nominations·National Film Registry
Rent/Purchase
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.
What critics thought
Deliverance earned strong reviews overall and is now considered one of the best films of its decade, but contemporary critics were more divided than the aggregate scores suggest — several major voices found the film viscerally effective as survival thriller while dismissing its deeper ambitions as exploitation dressed up as significance. The gap between its grip as an experience and its weight as a statement was exactly where critics split.
“It is a gripping horror story that at times may force you to look away from the screen, but it is so beautifully filmed that your eyes will eagerly return.”
Gene Siskel·Chicago Tribune
“certainly a distinctive and gripping piece of work, with a deliberately brooding, ominous tone and visual style that put you in a grave, fearful frame of mind, almost in spite of yourself.”
Gary Arnold·The Washington Post
“admittedly effective on the level of simple adventure”
Chicago Sun-Times
“so many of Dickey's lumpy narrative ideas remain in his screenplay that John Boorman's screen version becomes a lot less interesting than it has any right to be.”
Vincent Canby·The New York Times
“in the fleshing out that the script fumbles, and with it the direction and acting.”
Arthur D. Murphy·Variety
Genres
Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Cast & Crew
DirectorJohn Boorman
StarringJon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox, Ed Ramey
Deliverance
3 Oscar Nominations·National Film Registry
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.
What critics thought
Deliverance earned strong reviews overall and is now considered one of the best films of its decade, but contemporary critics were more divided than the aggregate scores suggest — several major voices found the film viscerally effective as survival thriller while dismissing its deeper ambitions as exploitation dressed up as significance. The gap between its grip as an experience and its weight as a statement was exactly where critics split.
“It is a gripping horror story that at times may force you to look away from the screen, but it is so beautifully filmed that your eyes will eagerly return.”
Gene Siskel·Chicago Tribune
“certainly a distinctive and gripping piece of work, with a deliberately brooding, ominous tone and visual style that put you in a grave, fearful frame of mind, almost in spite of yourself.”
Gary Arnold·The Washington Post
“admittedly effective on the level of simple adventure”
Chicago Sun-Times
“so many of Dickey's lumpy narrative ideas remain in his screenplay that John Boorman's screen version becomes a lot less interesting than it has any right to be.”
Vincent Canby·The New York Times
“in the fleshing out that the script fumbles, and with it the direction and acting.”
Arthur D. Murphy·Variety
Genres
Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Cast & Crew
DirectorJohn Boorman
StarringJon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox, Ed Ramey
Rent/Purchase