It is also a finely structured allegory about America and Americans. But at least it works properly on a more basic level. It’s good to watch, and then to think about.

The movie casts a spell through images both ugly and beautiful, and other sounds, none of them really reflecting the idea of "nature in harmony." All here is dissonance, and the best one can do is find a thread of consolation within.

Each of the four lead performances is exceptional, none more so than Burt Reynolds' beefy, supercilious Lewis.

‘…as a study of American machismo, John Boorman’s film still rings all the right alarm bells about flawed ideals of male dominance…’