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John Boorman’s critical and commercial smash may have leaned on grotesque stereotypes but it remains a fiercely thrilling piece of exploitationTwo sounds leap to mind at the mere mention of Deliverance. The first is the tuneful bluegrass plink of Arthur Smith’s Dueling Banjos, performed by the eponymous instrument and an acoustic guitar harmonizing with it. The second, much less pleasant sound is the high, pained yelp of Ned Beatty, squealing like a pig to appease the depraved stranger violating him. So crucial are both to the enduring power of John Boorman’s 1972 nightmare in the boonies that the first can’t help but evoke the second: five decades later, that banjo tune still sounds like a warning – an omen of danger ahead, especially the kind that lies off the beaten path, south of the Mason-Dixon.It’s a version of America nearly extinct, the more wild and dangerous one traversed by the explorers of legend, that the four city slickers of Deliverance go searching for on their ill-fated canoe trip down the fictional Cahulawassee River. Revisiting the film, on the verge of its 50th anniversary, feels like its own choppy expedition into the rough-and-tumble past. When else but the heyday of New Hollywood could a shocking survival thriller featuring an infamously grueling scene of sexual violence become one of the biggest hits of the year? Continue reading...