‘I had signs of going camping in the woods’: this disturbing and animal film terrorized Quentin Tarantino

Summarizing the plot of a film as atmospheric as Deliverance doesn’t really do it justice. It’s simple: a group of four guys from Atlanta who decide to go down a canoe on a river before the dam is finished will flood the area for almost 15 km. But that’s not the starting point, what’s important, what’s important in Deliverance is what happens next.

This complex film, which creates discomfort, plunges the trekkers into a nightmare of murder, savagery and even rape, which will be traumatic for all four. They are interpreted by Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty and Ronnie Cox.

It is this tragic event that Quentin Tarantino emphasizes in his book movie speculation, and which he considers essential to his analysis of John Boorman’s film:

In “Deliverance,” the men are confronted with a social taboo—rape by one of the men in the group—that, to one degree or another, sticks with them for the rest of their lives. (…) But the men have the opportunity to bury their secret, because after the completion of the dam, the entire region will be swallowed up for fifteen kilometers. (…)

And Tarantino continues:

“In other words, what happens in the forest stays in the forest. Four people can return to normal life: no one but them knows anything about it. And the film holds up a mirror to the viewer by holding them. To ask: ‘And you, what would you do?'”

“Because people were afraid to swim after Jaws, I, after Deliverance, had signs to camp in the woods!”

With Deliverance, Burman manages to create a constant tension based on the rivalry and hostile nature between the rural and urban people, as if he is threatened by the arrival of these tourists and knows that the dam will soon come and drown him. In contact with this merciless nature and its sheltered degenerates, the heroes quickly return to their primitive state.

A defining film of the 1970s, Deliverance left its mark on audiences as the film was then sold as a “twisted” film from VHS video stores in the 1980s.

It was a huge success upon release, grossing $46.1 million in the United States alone against an estimated budget of $2 million. In France, it attracted 1.4 million viewers and became a cult hit over the years. It was nominated for an Oscar three times in 1973 for Best Picture, Best Editing and Best Director.

On platforms that have a shortage of pre-80s movies, Délivrance is unfortunately not yet available via simple subscription. We currently only offer AppleTV+, but for rental. Otherwise, you’ll need to return the physical DVD and Blu-ray media to view it.