Deliverance (HD DVD)

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Further trivia notes, thanks to John Eastman in "Retakes" (Ballantine Books, New York, 1989): "Filmed summer 1971; Georgia, Tallulah Falls, Chattooga River. Burt Reynolds, who begged for the part of Lewis, said that the wild river in northern Georgia almost killed him and the other actors at least ten times. Author James Dickey (who also played the sheriff) gave Reynolds a copy of Eugen Herrigel's "Zen in the Art of Archery" to read, and Reynolds marveled that as long as he stayed in character, his canoe seemingly couldn't tip over and his arrows invariably went straight. He and Jon Voight both did many of their own stunts. ...hazardous footing on the cliffs and slopes, where director John Boorman set up his cameras, challenged crew as well as cast, but no serious injuries occurred. All dialogue and sound effects were looped (i.e., dubbed later in the studio), while Boorman's Moog Synthesizer created the roar of the river."

Video:
As on the SD edition, Warner Bros. preserve the movie's 2.40:1 theatrical ratio, this time in a 1080, VC1 transfer. It looks good in HD, although the overall impression remains a trifle dark. Remember, the film is made up primarily of location shooting in the wild, much of it done in single takes, so the cinematography suffers somewhat. The screen is clean of age marks, and there is only a light film grain in evidence. The result is not quite as rough or gritty looking as the SD version. Colors are usually deep, with strong greens and blacks. They are realistic without being unnaturally bright. Still, there is a slight veiling of the picture, and definition is sometimes a tad soft compared to other HD DVDs. However, the definition varies, and at other times it looks wonderfully sharp. So, as on the SD edition, the HD video quality is one of contrasts, mostly good. Don't expect "Planet Earth," but do expect a pleasant visual experience.

Audio:
As John Eastman mentions, the filmmakers later dubbed the sound effects and dialogue in the studio, which may explain why most of the audio seems a little nasal and hollow. In the Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 remix, though, the voices sound a bit clearer, even if the front-channel stereo spread is still narrow, and the rear channels show little activity. The DD+ sonics are more sharply defined than in regular Dolby Digital, although the overall tonal balance still slightly favors the upper midrange, with the deepest bass hardly ever called upon because there isn't much needed in the areas of effects or dialogue to worry about. However, the opening dynamite blast at a construction site shows up well and reminds us how much tauter the DD+ track is than the regular DD track, and the banjo/guitar duet is crisply rendered.

Extras:
The collection of extras on this HD DVD Deluxe Edition carries over from the regular Deluxe Edition, all of the items in standard definition. The one thing I would have preferred was that WB had combined the four new documentaries into one longer piece, but they remain separate. That said, things begin with director John Boorman's commentary track, for which I have nothing but praise. It's a pleasant and informative behind-the-scenes study of the film, the filmmakers, and the various messages involved in the storytelling. Then we get the four-part, thirty-fifth-anniversary retrospective, which requires, unfortunately, four separate clicks to watch. A "View All" function would have helped. "The Beginning," sixteen minutes, takes a historical look at the novel and its adaptation to the screen, with comments from the author's son, the director, and the stars. "The Journey," thirteen minutes, looks at the early stages of filming, including the "Duelling Banjos" scene. "Betraying the River," fourteen minutes, shows us the making of the film's controversial, groundbreaking, emotion-packed rape scene. And "Delivered," ten minutes, takes a look back on the completion of the film, on its impact in theaters, and on where the idea for the shocking ending came from. Finally, we get a ten-minute vintage featurette, "The Dangerous World of Deliverance," which looks and sounds suspiciously like an extension of the original widescreen theatrical trailer.

Things wrap up with a generous thirty scene selections (but no chapter insert); that trailer (at 1.78:1) I mentioned; English and French spoken languages; French and Spanish subtitles; and English captions for the hearing impaired. As always on an HD DVD, WB also include pop-up menus, a zoom-and-pan feature, a guide to elapsed time, bookmarks, and an Elite Red HD case.

Parting Thoughts:
You seldom find an action adventure that comes with as many thoughtful subtexts as "Deliverance." Now in HD, it looks and sounds better than ever. At the risk of appearing glib, "Deliverance" delivers the goods, in the very best sense.

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