Deliverance (1972)

How sad is this?

As Good As It Gets

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

It felt weird finally watching this film I'd heard so much about it over the years and seen so many references to it that it felt like I'd already seen it. The pacing and built up anticipation of this film is awesome, I'd almost put it right up there with the shining. You constantly get the feeling that something terrible is going to happen. At the time it was released it must have shocked audiences as its pretty extreme for back then but nothing as graphic as we have now. I kind of like that about it though because it sticks to the classic form of horrors while mixing it with a newer more extreme style. Its also it's realistic quality that makes it particularly scary, it feels as if it could happen to anyone. It was strange to see Jon Voight and Burt Reynolds so young they're both almost unrecognisable from how they look now. I really liked the way the camera stopped and focused on people's faces and expressions throughout the film making them even more creepy. The people in the town at the end were just as strange as those by the river. With the title being 'deliverance' it was clever the way they got out of the river by the church. The only thing I didn't like about this film was the ending. It kept you feeling like something more was going to happen but it just cut out with him waking up from a bad dream. All in all it's a thrilling watch but may be a bit slow for people use to watching more modern horrors/thrillers.

Well yeah... There are more than couple of problems in the "continuity" section...Butb it's okay, I can live with them! - The story itself is horrifically monstrous and thus good!Burt Reynolds makes in my opinion the best role of his entire career - and look at Jon Voight after about 75 minutes: he looks like a young Johnny Depp!

Four men from Atlanta, Lewis, Ed, Bobby, and Drew, have decided to canoe along one of the last unspoilt rivers in the state before the entire valley is flooded as part of a hydroelectric scheme. When they get to the place they want to enter the river they pay a couple of locals to drive their cars to the town they are heading to. Once they are on the water in their two canoes they enjoy the wilderness but not for long. The two parties are separated and Ed and Bobby wait on the riverbank; here they encounter a pair of less than friendly mountain men. Ed is tied to a tree and Bobby is brutally raped. As they prepare to assault Ed, Lewis arrives and dispatches one of the assailants with an arrow. The other one escapes. The four friends discuss what to do with the body; Drew things they must inform the authorities but Lewis is convinced that it would be far better just to bury him as they probably wouldn't be believed. When they continue they must pass through some particularly dangerous rapids. One canoe is destroyed and Drew disappears; Ed, who now has a broken leg, is convinced that Drew was shot. Believing that the shooter will pick them off when they move Drew climbs the wall of the gorge and in the morning encounters a man with a rifle. He kills the man but isn't absolutely certain that he had actually being shooting at them. As they approach the end of the journey they must concoct a believable story.This is a famously disturbing story; largely due to the infamous rape scene… even after forty five years that is a memorably shocking moment. It isn't the only disturbing moment; when they get on the river everything looks beautiful, totally unspoilt, but soon there are things that are just a little off. After the encounter with the rapist and his friend the tension is much higher; it isn't just the fear of more unfriendly locals. The rapids become more dangerous making it seem as though nature itself doesn't want them on the river. The scenes of the men going through these dangerous situations feels very real; I was not surprised to learn that the cast did their own stunts. The four leads; Burt Reynolds, John Voight, Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox, as Lewis, Ed, Bobby, and Drew respectively, do an impressive job making the viewer believe in them and their situation. As things happen to them their characters develop nicely. The supporting cast are impressive too. Overall I'd definitely recommend this classic film but understand that it won't be for everybody.

Four friends take a break from their busy urban life and goes for rafting to a dying river. Obviously, the pleasure trip should go wrong. How it goes wrong, how and how many of them survive it? The movie is the answer for all these questions. The movie is a real pleasure trip to the audience with beautiful Panavision visuals. The beauty of the nature will really inspire you. The adventure is going to thrill you for sure.It is really hard to believe that this is a 1972 movie. The same formula is followed for the similar movies even today.A must watch breathtaking adventure movie!.