Deliverance to play Lewis Medlock. Jack Nicholson was considered for the role of Ed, while both Donald Sutherland and Charlton Heston turned down the role of Lewis. Other actors who were attached to the project included Robert Redford, Henry Fonda, George C. Scott and Warren Beatty. The film is infamous for cutting costs by not insuring the production and having the actors perform their own stunts (most notably, Jon Voight climbed the cliff himself). In one scene, the stunt coordinator decided that a scene showing a canoe with a dummy of Burt Reynolds in it looked phony; he said it looked
Physical Evidence to prove that to myself." The film was described by the "Chicago Tribune" as a "feeble thriller... the worst case of filmmaking-by-numbers, reflecting not an ounce of commitment or conviction". The "Los Angeles Times" called it "flat and remote... a thriller that doesn't thrill." Physical Evidence Physical Evidence is a 1989 American crime thriller film directed by Michael Crichton (in his final film as a director), and stars Burt Reynolds, Theresa Russell and Ned Beatty. It follows an ex-police officer who is incriminated by the evidence, but insists on his innocence. After parking his car and placing a "Happy Now?"