Deliverance on AllMovie

Like such other early '70s Hollywood films as Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs (1971), Deliverance ponders violent instincts and definitions of manhood, ideas made all the more pressing by the period's escalating violence and assault on traditional gender roles. Regardless of these headier concerns, the critically praised realism of the action scenes on the river, with the actors performing a lot of the stunts, helped make the film a hit. Shooting on location on the Chattoga River in Georgia, cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond captured the appeal and the peril of the river's pristine isolation, enhancing both the adventure's visceral thrills and Dickey's philosophical inquiry into man's true nature. Deliverance was nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, although Dickey's screenplay of his novel was passed over, as was Reynolds' star-making turn. With its chilling sense of infinite menace, Deliverance spoke to contemporary anxieties over what anyone could do, given the right (or wrong) circumstances.