Deliverance (1972)

Director: John Boorman

Starring: Burt Reynolds, Jon Voight, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox

Intent on seeing the Cahulawassee River before it’s turned into one huge lake, outdoor fanatic Lewis Medlock takes his friends on a river-rafting trip they’ll never forget into the dangerous American back-country.

The film is still so incredibly good, even by today’s standards, that I can only imagine what it must have been like at the time of release. A fantastic story with very good actors to ensure credibility. The rape scene must have been very controversial back in 1972, and might even be today. It was very well done, though, but must have raised more than just a few eyebrows back then. What follows, is a fast-paced action thriller that literally plummets the characters into the deep end.

The setting in nature was also quite spectacular, with beautiful scenery. The film received several award nominations, including 3 Oscar nominations (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Editing).  ‘Deliverance’ was also a huge box office success, earning $46 million on a $2 million budget.