Common Sense Media Review
By Brian Costello
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Classic '70s adventure has brutal, disturbing violence.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 18+?
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Deliverance
What's the Story?
In DELIVERANCE, Lewis (Burt Reynolds) is an alpha male lover of the great outdoors who wants to take his three friends -- Ed (Jon Voight), Bobby (Ned Beatty), and Drew -- on a weekend canoe trip down a river. This river, in the most backwoods region of Northern Georgia, is about to be flooded, along with the woods and the towns around it, by a hydroelectric dam, and Lewis wants to experience it before it's gone for good. But he and the other three men get much more than they bargained for when a confrontation with two of the local mountain men turns brutal. Now, the four men are in a struggle for survival as they face danger and death at nearly every turn in the river -- not just from the rapids, but from those who want to kill them. In shock and survival mode, they must find a way back to civilization.
Is It Any Good?
In a decade filled with movies about dystopia, entropy, and man's capacity for survival when civilization is nowhere to be found, this is one of the best films of the 1970s. While its most infamous scene and the line "squeal like a pig, boy!" have become a part of the pop culture landscape, Deliverance is so much more than this scene which, taken out of context, has become little more than a stale cliche at the expense of "rednecks." This movie, just like the James Dickey novel, strips the characters of the civilization that defines them and makes them human, to the point where even the "Hemingway hero" Lewis (played with a range by Burt Reynolds not seen in his later movies) is reduced to shock, panic, and weeping. The end result is as provoking and engaging as it is unforgettable.
While very much a product of a decade of malaise and the sense that the world was in a state of decay and institutions were powerless to stop it, Deliverance, like Taxi Driver, transcends the era in which it was made. Four decades later, it is recognized as a classic film, and rightfully so.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the violence in Deliverance. How was violence used to illustrate the broader points of the movie?
What were some of the conflicts and themes of the movie? How were they presented in the action and in the dialogue?
What would be the challenges in adapting a novel like Deliverance into a film?
Is the movie still relevant? Why or why not?
Movie Details
- In theaters : July 30, 1972
- On DVD or streaming : September 18, 2007
- Cast : Burt Reynolds , Jon Voight , Ned Beatty
- Director : John Boorman
- Studio : Warner Home Video
- Genre : Drama
- Topics : Book Characters
- Run time : 109 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Awards : Academy Award , Golden Globe - Golden Globe Award Winner
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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