Jun. 25, 2002 - 1:00 am
i guess if you call yourself a student of cinema, especially American cinema, you have to give Deliverance the once over at some point. this was my time. i've been hearing the name for years and i always had a vague concept of what the plot dealt with. actually i came to find out that i pretty much knew the entire extent of the plot. it was just a matter of actually watching it.
i myself have been planning a real life wilderness trip today, and i guess it was just fate intervening. of the four films i had sitting next to the tv, my roommate Brooke suggested that we watch this one. this is the story of four city men who take regular hunting/fishing trips who on this specific occasion decide to visit an about-to-be-destroyed river in deep hillbilly country. the plan is to go out for two days in two canoes and then come back. along the way they get raped, threatened, chased, shot at, etc. by the surrounding hillbillies.
this film is all shock value and suspense. very well done though. it quite reminded me of The Deer Hunter (1978). apparently America loves this one too. it's number 222 on the IMDb today. we do love to watch some screwed up things every now and again on the screen. personal proof...i knew the plot of the film and i chose to watch it anyway.