It wasn’t acting

Source: http://www.crazydaysandnights.net

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A number of decades ago, a film (“Deliverance”) was being shot that would ultimately go on to become a classic albeit a dark one.

It was based on a novel by an award winning writer (James Dickey).

There were four actors in the film – It could be considered an ensemble piece.

The actors were

1.) A deceased star who was probably A+ at his peak which came after this film although this film is considered one of his best works (Burt Reynolds)

2.) An Oscar winning/Oscar nominated actor with a very famous offspring (Jon Voight/Angelina Jolie)

3.) An actor who is also associated with music (Ronny Cox).

The fourth actor (Ned Beatty) is a retired character actor who has a very shocking disturbing scene in the film which has become a part of pop culture.

The night before the scene was to be shot, the character actor was drinking with the other actors and voiced out his stage fright about this very vulnerable scene.

The actors tried to help him by running through and practicing the scene but because they had been drinking they got a little carried away and all three actually did the physical contact implied in the scene with the character actor, it wasn’t acting.

They agreed to never talk about this again but it did relax the character actor when it came time to film the actual scene.

What Is ‘Deliverance’s ‘Squeal Like A Pig’ Scene Really About?

You’ve heard the line “squeal like a pig!” and you’re probably aware that it’s from the 1972 film Deliverance. What happens in the “squeal like a pig” scene is a brutal sexual violation, one that is shocking to watch even 47 years later. But while the scene is, on its surface, a lurid gothic thriller with horror elements that features an all-male cast, it’s also making a strong point about sexual violence directed at women.

The tense 1972 film about four men attempting to survive in America’s backwoods has long been one of the best and most terrifying films about the nightmares that wait for us just outside the modern urban sprawl. The most famous scene in the film is when Bobby Trippe (Ned Beatty) is forced to “squeal like a pig” while he’s sexually assaulted by terrifying backwoods men, as his friend Ed Gentry (Jon Voight) watches, unable to help. Even if you haven’t seen this movie you know about this unforgettable movie moment, but what happens in the squeal like a pig scene?

The film is brooding look at the effects of modernization, machismo, and assault, and all of that is distilled into a haunting three and a half minute scene by director John Boorman. Everything about Deliverance is disturbing, but it’s such a thrill ride that it’s impossible to look away, so how did the filmmakers behind this scene capture something so real?

Dueling Banjos Sets The Stage For The Horror To Come

Even now, nearly 50 years after its release in 1972, the twang of a banjo elicits the tense feeling of being lost in the middle of nowhere. The scene itself begins harmlessly enough, much like the journey of the film’s four main characters, with guitar-toting city slicker Drew Ballinger (Ronny Cox) engaging in a simple musical back and forth with a rural boy. However, by the end of the scene, the boy is tearing up the banjo and breaking away from the song’s rhythm, essentially overpowering Cox.

Until the final moments of the scene where Cox can be heard saying, “I’m lost,” it’s a fun watch. It’s clear by the final moments of “Dueling Banjos” that the four men from Atlanta, and the audience, are in for a bumpy ride. They’re in a place where they don’t belong, they’ve brought a condescending attitude and the locals aren’t interested in being friendly.

“Squeal Like A Pig” Was Thought Up On The Set

The famous line “squeal like a pig” is so specific and intimidating that it sounds like it must have been in the script. Not according to everyone involved. Director John Boorman says that at the time he was under pressure from the studio to film the scene two ways, one for theatrical release and another for television. He didn’t want to do that so instead, he and the rest of the crew thought up a dialogue that would work in both versions.

According to the director’s commentary, a crew member named Ross Berg said that Ned Beatty should simply “squeal like a pig.” Boorman thought the phrase was perfect so he instructed Bill McKinney, the Mountain Man, to tell Beatty to start squealing. It’s simple and effective. Beatty also claims that he made the line up on the spot and gave it to McKinney. It seems that no one will ever know the true genius behind this line.

The Scene Is Meant To Make Men Think About Sexual Assault

If the “squeal like a pig” scene makes you uncomfortable, you’re not alone. The overall film – and this scene in particular – is designed to make the men in the audience think about sexual assault and the ways in which victims are looked down on in society. Not only is Beatty’s character made to be one of derision, but in the film, he and his friends decide to commit murder in order to keep the outside world from knowing what’s happened to him.

While speaking with the Huffington Post, Deliverance star Burt Reynolds (who played Lewis Medlock) stated that the filmmakers were trying to make men understand the helplessness that engulfs a victim of sexual assault:

Women get this movie much quicker than men. Women also understand. You know, for so many years men threw the word rape around and never thought about what they were saying. And I think the picture makes men think about something that’s very important, that we understand the pain and embarrassment and the change of people’s lives.- Source