Deliverance

“Well, we fucked up.” —Burt Reynolds’s character of Lewis

Many would initially quibble with including John Boorman’s Deliverance in a horror listing.1 However, once the division is made between the supernatural and the naturalistic, the 1972 classic becomes dauntingly terrifying. In much the same manner that Stephen King’s Cujo–from a strictly feasible, pragmatic perspective–is horrifying for no other reason than the fact that the events contained within the narrative could (and undoubtedly have) happen(ed), the former category loses much of its prowess once one removes the soundtrack, special effects, and editing (to say nothing of reinstating reason in the process). For example, if we deprive the Maine author’s famed devil clown, Pennywise, of his ethereal power as provided by Hollywood, he ceases to be a convincing threat for no one fears a shape shifting clown who lives in the sewers on the way home from work whereas a frothing, vehement canine, upon its disconcerting appearance, becomes a serious concern. In this respect, there is no need to suspend disbelief in order for one’s blood to run cold as James Dickey’s titular novel comes to stunning life.

In an effort to experience the Cahulawassee River before the Georgian region is flooded, four Atlanta businessmen–Lewis (Burt Reynolds), Ed (Jon Voight), Drew (Ronny Cox), and Bobby (Ned Beatty)–canoe down the rapids one last time. However, everyone involved will have wished that Lewis would have taken Bobby’s suggestion to return to the city for a round of golf more seriously before their weekend retreat comes to an end.

Boorman’s tale is deceptively simple, its convolutions further veiled by the sparsity of his narrative. In this regard, like any great work of art, everything witnessed is created to aide the whole and, as such, nothing is expendable without the cost of depreciating the overall prowess of the piece. This said, simplistic lines of dialogue, presented so innocuously and seemingly haphazardly, lend to the fashioning of a barrage of interpretations by film’s end. It is with this that we come to a cautionary rendering of Boorman’s prophetic tale. During the opening credits, a voice is heard (later revealed to be Lewis) remarking upon humanity’s raping of the land as evidenced in the slated flooding of the region in order to more readily avail humanity to the modern day comfort referred to as electricity. Bobby’s voice intercedes, stating that such is a “clean” method by which to improve humanity’s plight. Thus, the stage is set for an examination upon humanity’s relationship to the environment.

However, Boorman refuses to posit a didactic environmental sermon in his succinctly ambiguous tale of assault and possible first degree murder or mistaken identity and manslaughter. As such, the director exacerbates matters for even the question itself is multifaceted. Is Deliverance a testament of how ill-equipped Man is in respect to the world from which he evolved, is Boorman urging us to examine the dilemma as being a consequence of Man being too far removed from his roots that he can no longer have a proper dialogue with nature though we retain the innate desire to do so, or is he presenting a parable depicting humanity’s arrogance and folly having finally reached its environmental crest, i.e. metaphorically seen in Lewis’s haphazardly driving through the rural traits atop his retort that he intends to go down the river simply “Because it’s there” (the analogous reasoning for the flooding becoming “Because we [humanity] can”)? The answers of course beg the questions, which in themselves readily presuppose a decisive verdict upon the events enclosed within, which neither Deliverance’s characters or its audience is able to accurately assess but are nonetheless a part.

Case in point, though the characters struggle to survive in nature (the archetypical conflict of Man verses Nature), one could easily state that the Mountain Men (Man verses Man) which first complicates matters for the urbanites are part of nature (ergo, Man verses Nature) in that they are so adhered to their setting and environment that a distinction cannot be readily made between the native/primitive and the wilderness. (Money fails to interest them and the threat of being reported for making moonshine proves to be ineffective as their primal urges take prescience.) Thus, Boorman compounds the issue in that, much like Stephen Crane’s appraisal of nature’s apathy toward Man, he reminds us that our final assessment is irrelevant in that nature sallies forth regardless, as depicted in Ed’s being forced to take part in Lewis’s “Game (of Survival),” while concurrently highlighting the evolutionary ties that humanity frequently likes to attempt to disassociate itself, cf. Lewis’s rhetorical, ironic inquiry of where the human institution of Law is within the surrounding landscape.

Intriguingly, the notorious rape sequence (something which males having a difficult time empathizing with female viewers in this capacity are strongly advised to experience) is even permitted justification given one’s interpretation of the proceedings. Given that the city dwellers–from the assailants’ perspective–are symbolic of those who are raping their land and lives, the Mountain Men’s attack can be viewed as a form of (literal) poetic justice. Of course, in such a reading we hurry past the fact that such could easily take place on the average, albeit perhaps overestimated, weekend wilderness getaway, we nevertheless hope that the implication cannot be made that such is not made possible via a man’s love for his pig, only to be manifested in a fetish in the most perverse and nightmarish of fashions.

John Boorman’s justifiably unsettling epic has–not only not lost any of its narrative dexterity due largely to its Universal themes–it continues to gain in relevance as humanity’s anthropomorphic severance from its surroundings threatens to culminate in a dilemma of apocalyptic portions for, not only itself, but all upon on Earth. Masterfully conceived, expertly executed, and dauntingly astute in its ideas, Deliverance envisions all-too-feasible nightmares on both the micro-, as well as macrocosmic, level. A horror both to behold as well as contemplate, in the end the director merely asks whether Lewis’s quip, “Sometimes you have to lose yourself ’fore you can find anything,” is going to have to be experienced firsthand or if the phrase will be permitted to remain a mere celluloid slogan.

The Deliverance Blu-ray celebrates the film’s 40th Anniversary by featuring a 44 page book about the film featuring some photos and shots from the film to commemorate the films success. The disc also includes an all new featurette: Deliverance: The Cast Remembers. There is also commentary with Director John Boorman and a Four-Part Retrospective which includes The Beginning, The Journey, Betraying the River and Delivered. There is also a vintage featurette titled The Dangerous World of Deliverance and the films theatrical trailer. The Blu-ray disc is a wonderful piece of restored cinematic history and it is no wonder that the film was selected in 2008 for preservation by the National Film Registry. Own it on Blu-ray June 26th.

Trivia tidbit: Partially shot on the Chattooga River, over 30 people drowned in an attempt to replicate the character’s adventure the year following the film’s release.

-Egregious Gurnow

1 Deliverance is Number 63 on Bravo’s 100 Scariest Movie Moments list.

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Official You Tube Videos:

•  http://youtu.be/AYFRF3rYtW0
• http://youtu.be/qdi4msopIBw

Blu-ray Special Features

Deliverance: The Cast Remembers New!

Commentary by John Boorman

Deliverance: Betraying The River

Deliverance: The Journey

Deliverance: The Beginning

Deliverance: Delivered

The Dangerous World of Deliverance

Theatrical Trailer