Graham’s review published on Letterboxd:
The river runs wild
Roaring like a caged animal
Waiting for it’s moment
It sways and meanders
Probing for weakness
Gushing
These fools can’t tame me, it thinks
Four men, seeking confirmation of their manliness
Destined to fail
I’ll swallow them whole, and spit out their feeble bones
They are mine
I am everything
A+ casting as Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox come together to present one of cinema's great displays of determination against all odds. Lost in nature, falling apart from the inside as a pleasure cruise turns into the stuff of nightmares.
With spectacular landscapes and one of the most arousing opening scenes in any film, the elevating tempo of the duelling banjos sets a frenetic tone for the film. This is, without a doubt, one of the best from the 70s, and after 50 years feels as dangerous today as the day it was born.
Brilliant.
