Four Atlanta businessmen take a recreational trip down the Cahulawassee River in the northern Georgia wilderness – with dire consequences.
Alpha male and survivalist Lewis Medlock (Burt Reynolds) initiates a canoeing weekend to test the rapids before the river is dammed. Ed (Jon Voight) is an experienced sportsman, Bobby and Drew are not. The group provoke hostility from the locals; one interlude features the famous “Duelling Banjos” duet between Drew and an Appalachian boy. An armed attack by a pair of mountain men has horrific outcomes and in the panic that ensues, nature takes its toll. The film remains indisputably powerful; its aftershock will resonate well after you leave the cinema – not for the faint-hearted.
