‘It seems to me that I am the bearer of some kind of immortal message to humankind.’ That was what the author James L. Dickey wrote in his diary during the filming of Deliverance.
A rangy, brawling poet from the American deep south, Dickey was drunk a lot of the time, so anything he said should be taken with a pinch of salt. Indeed, the story goes that he liked to wander around muttering: ‘Oh, I’m so big! I’m so damned big!’
He was, at least, telling the truth both literally (he was 6 ft 3 in) and metaphorically. Deliverance, which was based on the writer’s 1970 bestselling debut novel, really was big — despite or because of the scandal it provoked.
Released 50 years ago this month, it’s one of those films that, once seen, is hard to forget. Like Lord Of The Flies, it reveals the horrors that human beings are capable of when their very survival is at stake.
Set in the southern state of Georgia, Deliverance tells the story of Lewis (played by Burt Reynolds) who takes his…
