Deliverance

Deliverance (1972)
Director: John Boorman
Cast: Burt Reynolds, Jon Voight, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox
Memorable Line: "I'm going to make you squeal like a pig."

While not a pleasant subject matter, this is a wonderfully made movie with terrific performances. "Deliverance" takes some of our worst fears and makes them all too real.

Led by their sole out door fanatic (Reynolds), a group of urban middle-aged men (Voight, Beatty, Cox) decide to take a "roughing it" canoe trip down a Georgia river when things do decidedly bad when they encounter a group of menacing hill-billies. Forced to fight for their lives, each man faces the situation in their own way and finds out what they are made of.

Boorman's direction captures the essence of the backwoods and makes the river look inviting at first and the terrifying as the movie progresses. The entire cast is solid and even the hillbillies are believable. Reynolds and Voight stand out with Reynolds being so good it makes you wonder why he decided to move into lighter fare ("Smokey and the Bandit" & "Cannonball Run).

Atmospheric, frightening, and exhilarating, this isn't an action movie in today's sense of the word. These aren't super heroes who can do the impossible, but believable men finding the courage to do what in their worst nightmares, they couldn't imagine doing.

If you're looking for a introspective take on the action/thriller, then I can wholly recommend "Deliverance."