engross drama of four men on a canoe weekend down a remote river . they be pacifist ed ( jon voight ) and adventurous and violent lewis ( burt reynolds ) and obnoxious bobby ( ned beatty ) and nice guy draw ( ronny cox ) . the first 40 minute be great there the incredible dueling banjo sequence and interesting interplay among the character and just stun widescreen cinematography by vilmos zsigmond . then two hillbilly attack ed and bobby . one of them rap bobby . and the trip become a nightmare . just unbelievable . the scenery be incredibly beautiful yet this horrific violence be take place . to be truthful and beatty rape have never bother me i be very aware it be fake despite the good acting . this movie also show how the character change ed have his pacifism test and lewis becomes weak and bobby be violate by one of the people he mock earlier on and draw try to keep himself sane . direction by john boorman be also very assured and the sound of the forest and the river help the mood immensely . the acting be mostly good . voight be just ok in the lead he be well . beatty be also just ok but it be his debut film and he have gut for take such a risky role . cox be very good especially when thing start fall apart . and reynolds be just superb one of his best act job ever . how this wasn not even nominate for an academy award escape me . also bill mckinney and herbert coward be way too believable a the hillbilly . a powerful film not for child . try to see an uncut version the tv version be butcher . also letter boxed viewing be essential to capture the breathtaking image .