Deliverance ending explained: Did Drew really get shot in the end?

Deliverance is an American thriller released in the year 1972. Helmed by John Boorman, the film stars Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox. Deliverance is based on James Dicke's novel of the same name, released in 1970. The thriller flick was a critically acclaimed film and a box office success at that time. Read below to know the story and the ending of Deliverance. 

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Deliverance ending explained

Towards the end, Drew, played by Ronny Cox is the only one who does not come out of the canoe trip alive. Lewis played by Burt Reynolds alleges that Drew was shot out of the canoe. However, Ed (Jon Voight) finds his body further down the river and with no deep wounds that clearly indicates that he committed suicide by drowning. 

Lewis slips out of the canoe and severely damages his leg. Ed has been injured with an arrow stabbed through his rib while firing another arrow at a hillbilly. Meanwhile, Bobby (Ned Beatty) comes out uninjured. In the end, Bobby and Ed part their ways and return to their families while Lewis stays back at the hospital. In the final scene, Ed wakes up from a nightmare in which he sees a hand rising from the lake. His wife shushes him, calms him down, and tells him to go back to sleep. 

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More about Deliverance

This was a debut film for Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox. Deliverance earned three Academy Award nominations and five Golden Globe Award nominations. The thriller is famously known for a scene, the music scene in the beginning, where one of the city men can be seen playing Dueling Banjos on guitar with a banjo-strumming country boy. In 2008, Deliverance was selected for conservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. 

As per reports, Deliverance was a box office success in the United States. It also became the fifth-highest grossing film of 1972, with a domestic box office collection of over $46 million. The film's financial success continued the following year.

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