Director John Boorman's 1972 classic Deliverance gets a deluxe release from Warner Brothers, and it's sure to please patient fans who have had to subside on the skimpy standard edition that has been on the market. The film is based on poet James Dickey's first novel, a harrowing tale of four buddies from Atlanta who decide to take a weekend canoe trip down a remote Georgia river that is being diverted and will flood nearby towns into extinction. They're a disparate group: Ed (Jon Voight) is the down-to-earth, practical guy who is everyone's best friend; Lewis (Burt Reynolds) is an egotistical survivalist who constantly thrives on being physically superior to his friends; Drew (Ronny Cox) is a quiet, deep thinker and Bobby (Ned Beatty) is the complete fish-out-of-water - a timid, overweight man trying desperately to be accepted as one of the boys. The "fun" weekend starts off on an ominous note as the men witness the sad sight of entire communities about to be disrupted and physically moved. They also begin to carp among each other as Lewis continues to pick on those he feels are not his equals. The plot takes an unexpected and terrifying turn, however, when Ed and Bobby encounter two red neck mountain men who have sex and murder on their minds. This development leads to consequences that are both physically and mentally devastating to everyone involved.