Although this Blu-Ray uses the same master as the 2007 release (and yes, there's a little room for improvement), what's here isn't disappointing by a long shot. Boorman's film retains a soft, muggy appearance, mostly due to the natural lighting conditions and film stock. Obviously, daytime scenes and tight close-ups reveal the strongest amounts of detail, while black levels are slightly inconsistent with limited shadow detail. A natural layer of film grain is present, while textures are noticeable but not consistently striking. Overall, it's a clean presentation that fans should still be comfortable with.

The audio gets a nice little boost, as Deliverance arrives with a new DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track (along with mono dubs in Spanish, French, German and Italian). Odd that the original English mono mix hasn't been included as well, but this tasteful track preserves the atmosphere perfectly without resorting to cheap gimmicks. Dialogue and music cues are clear and crisp, while the natural surroundings and rush of the river extend into the rear channels frequently. It's a surprisingly strong audio experience, considering the age and budget of Deliverance, and fans should be pleased with the results. Optional English (SDH), Spanish, French, German (SDH), Italian (SDH), Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish subtitles are provided during the main feature and all applicable extras, save for the commentary.

Everything from the 2007 releases is ported over as well. First up is a feature-length Audio Commentary with director John Boorman, who delivers a sporadic but informative account of this difficult outdoor production. Also here is an entertaining four-part Retrospective Documentary (57 minutes, above left) featuring comments by Boorman, Christopher Dickey (the author's son), all four of our leads and other cast and crew members. Next up is "The Dangerous World of Deliverance" (10:12, above right), a vintage promotional piece that focuses on James Dickey in action, the film's dangerous stunt work and other snippets of behind-the-scenes footage. Last but not least is the film's Theatrical Trailer (2:52), which shows its age but successfully hints at Deliverance's dark underbelly without giving away too much.

These recycled extras are all presented in windowboxed 480p and, save for the commentary, include a wide variety of optional subtitles and SDH captions. If you'd like a slightly more detailed description of the older bonus features, please take a gander at my 2007 review of the Deluxe Edition DVD.

Deliverance is a classic slice of 1970s filmmaking that still packs a punch, no matter if you've seen it a dozen times or haven't been introduced yet. Our four leads deliver natural performances as their world crumbles around them, from the optimistic beginning to the harrowing final act. Warner Bros.' new 40th Anniversary Digibook is more than a cheap reissue: we get a lossless audio track, one new retrospective bonus feature and a nice packaging job to boot. It's a modest improvement in every category except for the visuals, which still manage to carry their own weight. Overall, this is definitely a package worth hunting down, especially if you don't own Deliverance on Blu-Ray yet. Highly Recommended.