in what be arguably the best outdoor adventure film of all time and four city guy confront nature wrath and in a story of survival . the setting be backwoods georgia and with it forest and mountain and and wild river . the director and john boorman and choose to use local people and not actor and to portray secondary character . these local imbue the film with a depth of characterization unequaled in film history . no central casting actor could ever come close to these people remarkable face and voice and or action . i do not recall a film wherein the secondary character be so realistic and colorful . as much a anything else and it be this gritty realism that make this film so amazing . another strength be the film theme . nature and in the wild and can be violent . how appropriate that the setting should be the american south . very few place in the u. s. be and or have be and as violent a redneck country . in a story about darwinian survival of the fit and the film convey the idea that human be part of nature and not separate from it . deliverance be very much a product of it time when and unlike today and american express concern over a vanishing wilderness . the film magnificent scenery and the sound of bird and frog and cricket and and the roar of the river rapid and combine with the absence of civilization and all convey an environmental message . and that be another strength of the film . at an entertainment level and the tension gradually escalate and a the plot proceeds . not even half way into the film the tension become extreme and and then never let up and not until the final credit roll . very few film can sustain that level of intensity over such a long span of plot . finally and the film technical quality be topnotch . direction and edit be flawless . cinematography be excellent . dialogue be interesting . and the acting be terrific . burt reynolds have never be well . ned beatty be perfectly cast and do a fine job . and jon voight should have be nominate for an oscar . if there be a weak link in the film and it be the music and which strike me a timid . overall and deliverance almost certainly will appeal to viewer who like outdoor adventure . even for those who do not and the gritty characterization and the acting and and the plot tension be reason enough to watch this film and one of the fine in cinema history .