By the early ’70s, Burt Reynolds was one of cinema’s rising men of action. With starring roles in films like Fuzz and Skullduggery, Reynolds was charming, physical and was rarely asked to show much beyond that. But it wasn’t until Deliverance that audiences and directors started to see what he could do, playing an outdoorsman slowly losing hope in the Georgian wilderness.

John Boorman’s thriller is a tough descent into fear and violence. What starts as a weekend adventure for four city men looking to conquer the wilderness quickly turns into a desperate struggle to escape it. Between the realism of its violence, the tension that never lets up, and the unsettling themes at its core, Deliverance remains just as powerful today as it was over 50 years ago.

Deliverance Is One of the Most Disturbing Thrillers of All Time

No one could quite expect what Deliverance would show.