Behind The Scenes: Jon Voight, John Boorman, Ronny Cox & Burt Reynolds On The Set Of DELIVERANCE
John Boorman’s Deliverance is one of the most powerful films released in the 1970s. In fact, Boorman’s 1972 adventure thriller still resonates today, decades after its initial release. Deliverance has seeped into popular culture where it still has a textual shorthand – what does ‘Duelling Banjos’ mean to you?
It’s a film about man versus nature and man versus man. Starring Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox, Deliverance sees four friends going for a camping trip in the mountains before the area gets damned. They upset the locals and things turn nasty. It’s heavy stuff and perfectly executed by Boorman and acted by his brilliant cast – all of whom have never been better. The screen play was written by James Dickey, based on his novel.
A massive hit, Deliverance grossed $46 million at the US box office in 1972. John Boorman was given the pick of films to make in its wake. Boorman chose to make Zardoz.
