United States

FOUR MEN RIDE A WILD RIVER. A WEEKEND TURNS INTO A NIGHTMARE. Four ordinary men, in two canoes, descending a river they've only seen as a squiggly line on a map, determined to test themselves against a wilderness they only think they understand. Deliverance is their story. Jon Voight is Ed, the advertising man through whose eyes we see the tale unfold. Ed is a good man and he is afraid. Opposed to violence, he performs the film's most calculating murder; uncertain, uncommitted, he accomplishes the feat of courage he believes will save them all. Burt Reynolds, as Lewis, the man of action who plans and leads the adventure, delivers the most carefully conceived dramatic performance of his career. Ned Beatty, as the soft and city-bred Bobby, and Ronny Cox, as the quiet humanistic Drew, create three-dimensional roles that heighten the film's impact and broaden its significance.