{"id":53227,"date":"2020-08-25T06:16:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-25T03:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/31-things-we-learned-from-john-boormans-deliverance-commentary\/"},"modified":"2020-08-25T06:16:00","modified_gmt":"2020-08-25T03:16:00","slug":"31-things-we-learned-from-john-boormans-deliverance-commentary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/31-things-we-learned-from-john-boormans-deliverance-commentary\/","title":{"rendered":"#31 Things We Learned from John Boorman\u2019s \u2018Deliverance\u2019 Commentary"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2693bfc9685\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2693bfc9685\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/31-things-we-learned-from-john-boormans-deliverance-commentary\/#Deliverance_1972\" >Deliverance (1972)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/31-things-we-learned-from-john-boormans-deliverance-commentary\/#Best_in_Context-Free_Commentary\" >Best in Context-Free Commentary<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/31-things-we-learned-from-john-boormans-deliverance-commentary\/#Final_Thoughts\" >Final Thoughts<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#31 Things We Learned from John Boorman\u2019s \u2018Deliverance\u2019 Commentary<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\">Welcome to\u00a0<\/i><b data-stringify-type=\"bold\"><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\">Commentary Commentary,<\/i><\/b><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\"> where we sit and listen to filmmakers talk about their work, then share the most interesting parts. In this edition, Rob Hunter <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a>s to the backwoods of Georgia for John Boorman\u2019s Deliverance commentary track<\/i>.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<\/hr>\n<p><strong><em>Deliverance<\/em><\/strong> is one of those \u201970s films that feels every bit of its decade despite being timeless in many ways. It\u2019s a tale of men outside their comfort zone, men who represent change and \u201cprogress\u201d that\u2019s far from universal, and it\u2019s a thrilling tale of survival to boot. British-born <strong>John Boorman<\/strong> may have seemed like an odd choice to adapt the novel, but the results speak for themselves. Keep reading to see what I heard on the commentary for 1972\u2019s <em>Deliverance<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Deliverance_1972\"><\/span>Deliverance (1972)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Commentator: John Boorman (director, producer)<\/p>\n<p><strong>1.<\/strong> Warner Bros. initially told Boorman he could only make the film if he found two name stars to headline. He did just that, at which point WB said the movie was now going to cost too much because of those stars. They then decided to produce the film on a tight budget with four unknowns, so Boorman scoured the country\u2019s theater scene and found Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2.<\/strong> Jon Voight initially resisted doing the film as he had just completed <em>The All-American Boy<\/em> (1973) \u201cand it was a mess.\u201d He was struggling to salvage that film and considering retiring from acting altogether, but Boorman persuaded him to star in <em>Deliverance<\/em>. \u201cHe says that I saved his life and then spent three months trying to kill him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>3.<\/strong> WB kept insisting that Boorman cut more and more from the budget, and one of the things that went was a traditional composer and orchestral score. He instead used \u201cDueling Banjos\u201d as the base for the entire score, spent two hours in a recording studio with a professional banjo player and a guitarist, and that was it for the score.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4.<\/strong> He tried to persuade the head of Warner\u2019s record label to release the score commercially, but the suit told him that if radio stations won\u2019t play it the album wouldn\u2019t be successful \u2014 so there was no chance they\u2019d be releasing it. Boorman pressed the man and convinced him to release it regionally where it found success, spread across the country, and became a best-seller.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5.<\/strong> The \u201chillbillies\u201d at the gas station scene are actual locals from this mountain community in Georgia where they filmed. Boorman discovered that their inbreeding was due in part to being descended from white settlers who mated with Native Americans and were subsequently ostracized for it. \u201cThey had to turn in on themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>6.<\/strong> Billy Redden plays Lonnie, the boy who shares the banjo duel with Drew (Cox), but while bright and talented he couldn\u2019t actually play the banjo well enough. His left arm in the scene actually belongs to a second boy who\u2019s crouched behind him. \u201cI hope you\u2019re not disillusioned.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>7.<\/strong> He calls author James Dickey a \u201cwonderful poet and an intimidating man.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>8.<\/strong> Dickey visited the set and in addition to drinking a lot, \u201cHe really spooked the actors because he insisted on calling them by the characters&#8217;\u201d names. The cast eventually asked Boorman to send Dickey on his way, and while the author complied he insisted on saying goodbye first by telling the actors \u201cIt <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ears that my presence will be most efficacious by its absence.\u201d Reynolds replied saying, \u201cDoes that mean he\u2019s going or he\u2019s staying?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>9.<\/strong> Dickey took Boorman aside, made him promise not to repeat this, and said, \u201cI\u2019m going to tell you something I never told a living soul, everything in that book happened to me.\u201d The director later learned that he did the same with other members of the cast and crew. \u201cWhen I got into a canoe with James Dickey and he capsized it, I realized that nothing in this book had happened to him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>10.<\/strong> His goal in finding a river to shoot on was to find one that looked dangerous and rough, but through the camera\u2019s lens, they always looked pretty. He finally found one filled with jagged rocks and a dangerous reputation, but as it still looked beautiful he desaturated the footage to drain some of the life from it. \u201cI wanted to dispense with that prettiness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>11.<\/strong> They destroyed five canoes over the course of the production.<\/p>\n<p><strong>12.<\/strong> The river scenes are shot low from within a rubber boat, and it was only ever Boorman, a grip, and cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond shooting from the craft.<\/p>\n<p><strong>13.<\/strong> The film\u2019s popularity drove an uptick in tourists canoeing the river despite its dangerous degree of difficulty, and several people apparently drown. Boorman was asked if he felt responsible, and he replied that he made the river look incredibly dangerous so anyone who went forward knew what to expect.<\/p>\n<p><strong>14.<\/strong> Reynolds and Beatty did well canoeing for the most part, but Voight and Cox \u201cmade a lot more mistakes.\u201d That said, their worst experience was when Beatty went under and was stuck for nearly a minute. Boorman asked how he felt when he was trapped, and Beatty replied that his first concern was if Voight would be able to finish the film without him.<\/p>\n<p><strong>15.<\/strong> \u201cI had no doubles, no stuntmen,\u201d says Boorman. \u201cI don\u2019t like the idea of stuntmen because if a shot is dangerous enough that you need a stunt man then you shouldn\u2019t be doing it.\u201d He acknowledges that there are exceptions including one instance where Voight was doubled (while Reynolds insisted on doing his part himself), but in <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a> he prefers doing the scenes with the actual actors.<\/p>\n<p><strong>16.<\/strong> Lee Marvin (<em>Point Blank<\/em>, 1967) was meticulous about his costuming and props, as \u201cgood film actors are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>17.<\/strong> Boorman doesn\u2019t typically use second-unit directors. It\u2019s partly due to his desire to be involved with it all, but he also thinks that \u201cevery image should have the same kind of integrity, the same style as everything else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>18.<\/strong> His psychological intent with the aggressive hillbillies \u2014 the rapists, in particular \u2014 was that \u201cthey were the sort of malevolent spirits of the forest, of nature, and that this was a kind of nature\u2019s revenge on these men.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>19.<\/strong> The studio had them shoot alternative takes for later television broadcast, and that included softer language. The infamous \u201cSqueal like a piggy\u201d line was originally crafted as one of those alternatives to a much harsher line, but Boorman decided it was actually more powerful than the more vulgar option.<\/p>\n<p><strong>20.<\/strong> This was Beatty\u2019s first feature, and he spent the rest of his career hearing fans and passersby yell the line to him. His response varied, but he did pen an opinion piece in the <em>New York Times<\/em> on the subject.<\/p>\n<p><strong>21.<\/strong> The toothless attempted rapist is played by Herbert \u201cCowboy\u201d Coward who Reynolds first met while working at a dude ranch.<\/p>\n<p><strong>22.<\/strong> The \u201ccensors\u201d \u2014 either at WB or at the MPAA \u2014 wanted to trim both the rape scene and Bill McKinney\u2019s death scene, but Boorman held fast in his refusal.<\/p>\n<p><strong>23.<\/strong> The scene where they all get tossed from the canoes was filmed at a different part of the river and controlled with a dam \u2014 they turned off the water, added rails to the river bed and a net further down, and then released the water again. This is where Voight used a stunt double.<\/p>\n<p><strong>24.<\/strong> That\u2019s a lamb bone sticking out of Reynolds\u2019 pant leg, and he\u2019s also glad to see you.<\/p>\n<p><strong>25.<\/strong> The child in Ed\u2019s wallet photo is actually Boorman\u2019s own son.<\/p>\n<p><strong>26.<\/strong> While Reynolds preferred to move quickly through every scene, Voight challenged almost every decision in need of explanation and reason which dragged things out. Voight would also require three minutes before shooting scenes where he\u2019s meant to seem exhausted because he would run around the area to tire himself out. Reynolds, by contrast, would spritz his face to simulate sweat and then breath hard. Boorman found the two to be good influences on each other.<\/p>\n<p><strong>27.<\/strong> Some people apparently think the arrow Ed fires is the one that goes through his side. Some people are silly.<\/p>\n<p><strong>28.<\/strong> Boorman shoots very little beyond what\u2019s necessary as he rehearses and plans out his shots with precision. \u201cWhen I made <em>Point Blank<\/em> at MGM, I had the lowest ratio of film of any director of the last twenty years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>29.<\/strong> Some at WB felt the film should have ended as the surviving trio row up to civilization, but Boorman believes the scenes that follow are not only necessary but also the best in the film.<\/p>\n<p><strong>30.<\/strong> The ambulance attendant in the window at 1:34:06 was shot and killed shortly after production wrapped.<\/p>\n<p><strong>31.<\/strong> He acknowledges that he\u2019s used a variation of the same shot \u2014 a hand rising from the water \u2014 in several of his films, most notably here and in <em>Excalibur<\/em> (1981). The water typically represents the unconscious, and the thing rising out is something buried forcing its way back into the light. Brian De Palma told him the hand rising from the grave in <em>Carrie<\/em> (1976) was \u201can homage\u201d to <em>Deliverance<\/em>.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<\/hr>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Best_in_Context-Free_Commentary\"><\/span>Best in Context-Free Commentary<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>\u201cWhen anyone finds themselves in a dark wood or a savage river, they hum that tune.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was also a lie.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis river is really only canoed by kayaks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we lose our connection with nature it breeds neurosis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery time I look at those shots of water coming down there I feel terrible guilt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, we got to the end of it didn\u2019t we.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<\/hr>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Final_Thoughts\"><\/span>Final Thoughts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><em>Deliverance<\/em> remains a thrilling and engaging tale of survival, fragile masculinity, and capitalistic greed. Boorman\u2019s take on the material shows a firm grasp despite its backwoods American setting, and his reflection on it all is both informational and entertaining. It\u2019s a recommended listen for fans of the film and filmmaker.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<\/hr>\n<p>Read more Commentary Commentary from the archives.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>if you want to <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">watch Movies<\/a> or Tv Shows go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/dizi.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dizi.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a> <\/span> for forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/john-boorman-deliverance-commentary\/#utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=john-boorman-deliverance-commentary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#31 Things We Learned from John Boorman\u2019s \u2018Deliverance\u2019 Commentary&#8221; Welcome to\u00a0Commentary Commentary, where we sit and listen to filmmakers talk about their work, then share the most interesting parts. In this edition, Rob Hunter travels to the backwoods of Georgia for John Boorman\u2019s Deliverance commentary track. Deliverance is one of those \u201970s films that feels&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":53228,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[58174,1354,22447,58175,58176,1361],"class_list":["post-53227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-31-things-we-learned-from-john-boormans-deliverance-commentary","tag-columns","tag-commentary-commentary","tag-deliverance","tag-john-boorman","tag-movies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53227\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}