# Deliverance **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 22, 2004, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deliverance/281099 "2004-12-22T02:28:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gotterfunken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@Gotterfunken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotterfunken)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deliverance/281099/21 "2004-12-22T16:16:24Z")
A brilliant, albeit disturbing film. You must see it, if only to understand the pop cultural references to it. Within the context of the movie, though, they’re not quite as funny–whenever I watch the “squeal like a pig” scene, it gives me the creeps. It’s also remarkable as one of the first decent movies in the “modern suburbanite man versus nature/creepy locals” genre. Great performances from Voight and Beatty, and Reynolds seems pretty natural acting as an arrogant jerk. The beautiful thing is, I’ll soon be moving to the area nearby the Chattooga river, on which they filmed many of the river scenes. If I get lost on my way, though, I don’t intend to stop and ask for directions. “_You done took a wrong turn_.” :eek: Perhaps the scariest line ever spoken in a movie. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deliverance/281099/22 "2004-12-22T16:32:21Z")
_Duel_ was based on a short story by an unknown young writer named Stephen King. It opened a lot of doors for him. The story was first published,IIRC, in _Playboy._ ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deliverance/281099/23 "2004-12-22T16:55:53Z")
> [@Baldwin](#): > > Great movie. Never mind that the plot is fairly simple; it’s not about what happens, but how and why. I think James Dickey, like many of us, has a love-hate relationship with the South. The characters want a taste of something wild before it’s tamed, and they get it from without and within. The theme of characters in conflict with or being alienated from their environment is a one of long-standing interest for Boorman, whether it’s in natural settings (_Deliverance, Hell in the Pacific, Emerald Forest, Beyond Rangoon_) or man-made ones (_Point Blank, Hope and Glory, The General_). Not the easiest film to watch, but one still worth seeing. ---
**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deliverance/281099/24 "2004-12-22T17:13:38Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > _Duel_ was based on a short story by an unknown young writer named Stephen King. It opened a lot of doors for him. The story was first published,IIRC, in _Playboy._ uh no. Try Richard Matheson. Maybe you’re thinking of **Maxium Overdrive**? ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deliverance/281099/25 "2004-12-22T18:45:38Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#): > > The closest literary analogue I can think of is Conrad’s _Heart of Darkness_ I know you meant the analogy in a respectful and admiring way, but I think this comment is terribly unfair to **Heart of Darkness**. I can see why you might see parallels. The central theme of Joseph Conrad’s _Heart of Darkness_ is man’s exploration of his own nature, specifically his potential to be either noble or savage (the secular equivalent of what, in a more religious era, would be considered the fight to achieve salvation rather than damnation). Conrad’s point is that the noble character lives with the comforting and self-serving view that he is comprehensively distinct from the savage, and also superior. However, when the noble character strays from his safe intellectual and moral isolation, and actually _encounters_ the savage, he may find that the distinctions are not as great as he believed, and that ‘superiority’ is an entirely relative term. Conrad’s exposition of these themes in _Heart of Darkness_, and also in _Nostromo_, is masterly and compelling, and many Dopers would enjoy reading both. Conrad’s great gift was to blur the traditional novel writer’s distinction between ‘characer’ and ‘atmosphere’, which he regarded as somewhat artificial and also weak, such that atmosphere is created through character and vice-versa. This is one reason why both books present the reader with an almost overwhelming sense of dark mood and almost unbearable tension. I think _Deliverance_ is a reasonably good movie. I don’t think it is in the same league as Conrad’s masterpiece, and I doubt it will prove to have the same enduring appeal. There is something for every new generation to discover in Conrad’s work. I remain sceptical that the same can be said of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deliverance/281099/26 "2004-12-22T18:56:27Z")
When I first saw _Deliverance_ as first-run, before the word was out, I was expecting just another travelogue-pretty film. They did use the big, super-wide screen Cinerama camera (the single-film anamorphic version, not the 3-film one) and the wild river scenes are spectacular. Then I found out there was a lot more to the flick than just raw nature – even raw-er nature. I definately would include it in my all-time 100 list; it’s not a throwaway. ---
**Author:** ![smoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smoke)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deliverance/281099/27 "2004-12-22T19:12:32Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Burt Reynolds tells a great story about the casting of the hillbilly rapist. He said the director still hadn’t found anybody convincing for the role and Reynolds remembered an unknown bit player and stuntman named Bill McKinney … IMDB claims that this story actually relates to the hiring of Herbert ‘Cowboy’ Coward, who is listed as the “Toothless Man”, not the hillbilly rapist. I think the URL is too long to include here without getting cut off, but it’s the last tidbit in the “Trivia” section on Deliverance. [Here’s](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068473/trivia) the link, hopefully unbroken. -j ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deliverance/281099/28 "2004-12-22T19:20:35Z")
> [@ianzin](#): > > I think _Deliverance_ is a reasonably good movie. I don’t think it is in the same league as Conrad’s masterpiece, and I doubt it will prove to have the same enduring appeal. There is something for every new generation to discover in Conrad’s work. I remain sceptical that the same can be said of the movie. Very debatable. I like _Heart of Darkness_, but I think the overt racism badly undercuts the message Conrad was trying to convey. It makes too many cultural assumptions that are purely a product of the time in which it was written, which will ultimatly render it more of a cultural artifact than a living work of literature. On a purely personal level, I found _Deliverance_ to be a much more effective exploration of the same themes, although it’s still too soon to know if it will have the same longevity as Conrad has enjoyed thus far. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deliverance/281099/29 "2004-12-22T19:22:25Z")
> [@smoke](#): > > IMDB claims that this story actually relates to the hiring of Herbert ‘Cowboy’ Coward, who is listed as the “Toothless Man”, not the hillbilly rapist. I think the URL is too long to include here without getting cut off, but it’s the last tidbit in the “Trivia” section on Deliverance. > > [Here’s](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068473/trivia) the link, hopefully unbroken. > > -j Thanks, I guess I got the names mixed up. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deliverance/281099/30 "2004-12-22T19:34:03Z")
> [@Baldwin](#): > > And Ned Beatty in them tighty-whities is _damn_ sweet! Soueee! \ You owe me a new fuckin’ laptop for that one. My company doesn’t cover orange soda damage. I know all about the gay bear subculture but Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deliverance/281099/31 "2004-12-22T19:44:09Z")
And we should remember that James Dickey had only published poetry before _Deliverance_ and the novel depends largely on the economy of good poetry and the apparently unconcious comparison between the “higher” and “lower” elements of people’s actions. A reading of some of Dickey’s poetry will show you what he was getting at, He had a beautiful immediacy: _And I to my motorcycle Parked like the soul of the junkyard Restored, a bicycle fleshed With power, and tore off Up Highway 106 continually Drunk on the wind in my mouth Wringing the handlebar for speed Wild to be wreckage forever_ ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deliverance/281099/32 "2004-12-22T19:58:53Z")
In addition to “Squeal like a pig” _Deliverance_ also made a musical icon: the opening banjo lick from “Dueling Banjos.” Used in just about every cheesy comedy to denote being anal-raped by an inbred mountaineer. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deliverance/281099/33 "2004-12-22T20:13:29Z")
Speaking as an inbred mountaineer from north Georgia, I think I resent that last remark. Sir! I challenge you to a (Zell Miller-style) duel! Banjos at dawn! ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deliverance/281099/34 "2004-12-22T20:28:25Z")
Deliverance… especially Ned Beatty’s scene figured prominently in one of my favorite [Kids In The Hall sketches.](http://www.kithfan.org/work/transcripts/five/filmbuff.html) ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deliverance/281099/35 "2004-12-22T20:47:57Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > Used in just about every cheesy comedy to denote being anal-raped by an inbred mountaineer. Jeez. THAT old worn-out plot trick? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deliverance/281099/36 "2004-12-22T20:49:06Z")
The line “He’s got a real pretty mouth on him, don’t he?” seems to used far more often than the “squeal” one. But usually in a more mutated form. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deliverance/281099/37 "2004-12-22T21:00:47Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > In addition to “Squeal like a pig” _Deliverance_ also made a musical icon: the opening banjo lick from “Dueling Banjos.” Used in just about every cheesy comedy to denote being anal-raped by an inbred mountaineer. Or used simply to denote that the main characters are in some backwoods place better left alone. Like in [Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105598/combined) and some recent commercial for a product that I can’t remember at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deliverance/281099/38 "2004-12-23T01:31:57Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > I was going to mention that _Duel_ was made back when Spielburg was a _good_ filmmaker. 😛 /Hijack to the _Duel_ string/ The first viewing had me on the edge of my seat. Spielberg did some ego-tripping in _Duel_. Watch it closely and in one short scene, you will see a vehicle parked on the shoulder and on its side is send “Grebleip’s Exterminating” (Spielberg spelled backwards). ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deliverance/281099/39 "2004-12-23T01:36:11Z")
> [@Ignatz](#): > > /Hijack to the _Duel_ string/ > > The first viewing had me on the edge of my seat. Spielberg did some ego-tripping in _Duel_. Watch it closely and in one short scene, you will see a vehicle parked on the shoulder and on its side is send “Grebleip’s Exterminating” (Spielberg spelled backwards). :smack: “seen” not “send” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deliverance/281099/40 "2004-12-23T02:18:02Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > Or used simply to denote that the main characters are in some backwoods place better left alone. Like in [Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105598/combined) and some recent commercial for a product that I can’t remember at the moment. You know, I was going to post about Tiny Toons…I find it comforting that I’m not the only one who immediately thought of that. I’ve only seen **Deliverance** once, and it was the edited-for-tv version, and it really sucked. I hope to get a chance to see it again soon, now that I’m older, supposedly more sophisticated, and can get a hold of it on DVD. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deliverance/281099.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deliverance/281099.md?page=3)