This is the movie that almost completely destroyed William Friedkin. It came into theaters with an extremely high level of anticipation, which was understandable as it was made by the same director who gave us “The Exorcist” and “The French Connection.” Lines apparently were wrapped around the block when it opened at Mann’s Chinese back in 1977. By the second week, the theaters were practically empty. “Sorcerer” was widely considered a critical and commercial failure, and Friedkin’s later work was never quite the same. True, he did later give us “To Live and Die in LA,” but was that really enough to make up for other misfires like “The Hunted” among others?
Well, they say time heals all wounds, and it is nice to see this movie now looked at in a different light. While it has its flaws, “Sorcerer” in many ways is quite an accomplishment and a fascinating study in madness, redemption, and you will never look at truck driving in the same way ever again after watching it. The movie is a remake of Henri-Georges Clouzot’s classic film “The Wages Of Fear,” and that movie still remains a very intense film to this day. I imagine that William Friedkin was so taken in by the story that even he knew that it completely overshadowed the fact that there was never gonna be anyway that he would top that film. But Friedkin put his heart and soul into this movie, and even if it never quite reaches the heights of brilliance of “The Exorcist” or “The French Connection,” it still pins you back into your seat and thoroughly exhausts by the time it ends. It’s another one of those movies that you experience more than watch.
Before I go on, let’s not forget one thing; “Sorcerer” was and still is a horrible title for this movie. Somehow, “Sorcerer” does not immediately conjure up an image of a beat up truck carrying several packs of leaking nitro glycerin that could explode at any moment if you’re not careful. I think of things you can see in “The Lord Of The Rings” trilogy, but not nitroglycerin or trucks. Friedkin said he chose the title because of how it illustrates that these characters lives rest on fate. That’s cool, but I don’t think of that either when looking at the title of this movie.
“Sorcerer” does take its sweet time getting started as it gives us the back stories for its four main characters, and of how they ended up at where they are presently. We see a hit man take down a target with a simple bullet. We then see a Palestinian as he bombs a local church with some friends of his. We meet a banker who is about to be jailed for fraud, and who is trying to keep his head above water until someone close to him takes matters into his own hands. Then you have a member of gang who robs a local church and ends up killing off a priest who is actually a mob family member. After surviving a nasty car crash, he barely escapes the cops, but a hit has been put on him which forces him to leave the country.
After that protracted prologue, the action of the movie moves to an unnamed place in a Latin American country where all four of these people escaped to. The utter squalor that these men are squatting in is so vivid, and it feels like the flies and stench of the environment doesn’t stop at the screen. You know how some people look at a movie and say that it really made them want to take a cold shower? One shower is not enough to get past the filth that these characters have to live in to stay alive. This place is hell on earth for anyone to live in, but obviously these men prefer it to death. They managed to avoid prison, but they came into a whole other prison they are desperate to escape.
The offer of escape comes when an oil field in the country suddenly explodes into a fireball, and the firefighters are not able to put the fire out without the help of explosives. They end up finding a surplus of nitroglycerin sticks which can do the job, but the only catch is that these sticks have not been turned or whatever, and as a result they are highly sensitive and could go off if not handled with the utmost care. So when an offer comes to the townspeople to drive this unstable set of explosives to the burning oil field for a high reward, they all jump at the chance to participate. The rest of the movie follows their treacherous journey to deliver the explosives and not lose their lives in the process.
One thing I admired about “Sorcerer” is that Friedkin dared to give us characters that were not altogether sympathetic. They are criminals of one kind or another, and yet we follow them every step of the way through their trip. Regardless of what they have done, we don’t want to see them die. I think Friedkin saw their incredibly dangerous journey as their chance not to just escape from the filthy poverty they were stuck in, but also a chance for each of these men to redeem themselves for what they have done. But their entire journey is like they are sailing down the river Styx. They basically have to travel through hell in order to escape it.
Friedkin does a great job of generating sustained tension as these men drive the trucks over terrain that is on the verge of collapsing, and who encounter unwanted guests who have no idea of how they are putting themselves in jeopardy. But the movie’s big action centerpiece is when each of the men have to drive the trucks over this suspended bridge that looks like it will surely fall apart at any second. They can only move an inch at a time, and they look like they will easily capsize and fall into the river below them. Add to that some furious wind and rainstorms, and you have yourself one hell of a sequence that leaves you all wrung out at the end of it.
Of all the actors in the cast, the most recognizable one of the bunch is the late Roy Scheider. As a man on the run from the mob, he gives a performance that is utterly exhausting to watch, and you can only imagine the hell that Friedkin must have put him through to play this role. The journey these men go on is not just dangerous physically, but also psychologically. Scheider does great work here as he is always on the verge of losing his mind, especially on the last half of the trip where he turns all white practically.
The imagery that William Friedkin captures in this movie is incredible. He manages to capture the squalor and unhealthy environment that these characters live in so well that you can’t help but feel as trapped in it as the main characters of the movie are. Friedkin has gone on record to say that this film was the toughest in his career to shoot, and I don’t doubt that for a second. Every movie that he has made since this one has got to be cake compared to “Sorcerer.”
One of the other big pluses of “Sorcerer” is the brilliant score that was composed and performed by Tangerine Dream. Interestingly enough, they never saw a frame of the movie’s footage as they were working on the music for it, and yet they capture the events and the psychology of the characters ever so perfectly. You won’t be able to imagine anyone else scoring this movie after seeing it. Like many of Tangerine Dream’s movie scores from “Thief” to “Risky Business,” this score is highly original and hard to compare to anything else. The soundtrack is still available on CD if you look hard enough to find it. A friend of mine had been on the lookout for this one for years, and I finally found at one of my favorite music stores. The guy flipped out when he saw that I had found it before he did!
After all these years, “Sorcerer” really does remain one of William Friedkin’s strongest achievements on film. Despite its reputation for being the movie that almost completely finished off Friedkin as a film director, it has since gained a good following and been revisited as one of the most underrated movies of the 1970’s. Friedkin may end up never making a movie as ambitious as this one ever again, so we have to value “Sorcerer” for what it is. It is unlikely that we will ever get to see a movie like this made in the way it was made ever again.
***1/2 out of ****
Well, they say time heals all wounds, and it is nice to see this movie now looked at in a different light. While it has its flaws, “Sorcerer” in many ways is quite an accomplishment and a fascinating study in madness, redemption, and you will never look at truck driving in the same way ever again after watching it. The movie is a remake of Henri-Georges Clouzot’s classic film “The Wages Of Fear,” and that movie still remains a very intense film to this day. I imagine that William Friedkin was so taken in by the story that even he knew that it completely overshadowed the fact that there was never gonna be anyway that he would top that film. But Friedkin put his heart and soul into this movie, and even if it never quite reaches the heights of brilliance of “The Exorcist” or “The French Connection,” it still pins you back into your seat and thoroughly exhausts by the time it ends. It’s another one of those movies that you experience more than watch.
Before I go on, let’s not forget one thing; “Sorcerer” was and still is a horrible title for this movie. Somehow, “Sorcerer” does not immediately conjure up an image of a beat up truck carrying several packs of leaking nitro glycerin that could explode at any moment if you’re not careful. I think of things you can see in “The Lord Of The Rings” trilogy, but not nitroglycerin or trucks. Friedkin said he chose the title because of how it illustrates that these characters lives rest on fate. That’s cool, but I don’t think of that either when looking at the title of this movie.
“Sorcerer” does take its sweet time getting started as it gives us the back stories for its four main characters, and of how they ended up at where they are presently. We see a hit man take down a target with a simple bullet. We then see a Palestinian as he bombs a local church with some friends of his. We meet a banker who is about to be jailed for fraud, and who is trying to keep his head above water until someone close to him takes matters into his own hands. Then you have a member of gang who robs a local church and ends up killing off a priest who is actually a mob family member. After surviving a nasty car crash, he barely escapes the cops, but a hit has been put on him which forces him to leave the country.
After that protracted prologue, the action of the movie moves to an unnamed place in a Latin American country where all four of these people escaped to. The utter squalor that these men are squatting in is so vivid, and it feels like the flies and stench of the environment doesn’t stop at the screen. You know how some people look at a movie and say that it really made them want to take a cold shower? One shower is not enough to get past the filth that these characters have to live in to stay alive. This place is hell on earth for anyone to live in, but obviously these men prefer it to death. They managed to avoid prison, but they came into a whole other prison they are desperate to escape.
The offer of escape comes when an oil field in the country suddenly explodes into a fireball, and the firefighters are not able to put the fire out without the help of explosives. They end up finding a surplus of nitroglycerin sticks which can do the job, but the only catch is that these sticks have not been turned or whatever, and as a result they are highly sensitive and could go off if not handled with the utmost care. So when an offer comes to the townspeople to drive this unstable set of explosives to the burning oil field for a high reward, they all jump at the chance to participate. The rest of the movie follows their treacherous journey to deliver the explosives and not lose their lives in the process.
One thing I admired about “Sorcerer” is that Friedkin dared to give us characters that were not altogether sympathetic. They are criminals of one kind or another, and yet we follow them every step of the way through their trip. Regardless of what they have done, we don’t want to see them die. I think Friedkin saw their incredibly dangerous journey as their chance not to just escape from the filthy poverty they were stuck in, but also a chance for each of these men to redeem themselves for what they have done. But their entire journey is like they are sailing down the river Styx. They basically have to travel through hell in order to escape it.
Friedkin does a great job of generating sustained tension as these men drive the trucks over terrain that is on the verge of collapsing, and who encounter unwanted guests who have no idea of how they are putting themselves in jeopardy. But the movie’s big action centerpiece is when each of the men have to drive the trucks over this suspended bridge that looks like it will surely fall apart at any second. They can only move an inch at a time, and they look like they will easily capsize and fall into the river below them. Add to that some furious wind and rainstorms, and you have yourself one hell of a sequence that leaves you all wrung out at the end of it.
Of all the actors in the cast, the most recognizable one of the bunch is the late Roy Scheider. As a man on the run from the mob, he gives a performance that is utterly exhausting to watch, and you can only imagine the hell that Friedkin must have put him through to play this role. The journey these men go on is not just dangerous physically, but also psychologically. Scheider does great work here as he is always on the verge of losing his mind, especially on the last half of the trip where he turns all white practically.
The imagery that William Friedkin captures in this movie is incredible. He manages to capture the squalor and unhealthy environment that these characters live in so well that you can’t help but feel as trapped in it as the main characters of the movie are. Friedkin has gone on record to say that this film was the toughest in his career to shoot, and I don’t doubt that for a second. Every movie that he has made since this one has got to be cake compared to “Sorcerer.”
One of the other big pluses of “Sorcerer” is the brilliant score that was composed and performed by Tangerine Dream. Interestingly enough, they never saw a frame of the movie’s footage as they were working on the music for it, and yet they capture the events and the psychology of the characters ever so perfectly. You won’t be able to imagine anyone else scoring this movie after seeing it. Like many of Tangerine Dream’s movie scores from “Thief” to “Risky Business,” this score is highly original and hard to compare to anything else. The soundtrack is still available on CD if you look hard enough to find it. A friend of mine had been on the lookout for this one for years, and I finally found at one of my favorite music stores. The guy flipped out when he saw that I had found it before he did!
After all these years, “Sorcerer” really does remain one of William Friedkin’s strongest achievements on film. Despite its reputation for being the movie that almost completely finished off Friedkin as a film director, it has since gained a good following and been revisited as one of the most underrated movies of the 1970’s. Friedkin may end up never making a movie as ambitious as this one ever again, so we have to value “Sorcerer” for what it is. It is unlikely that we will ever get to see a movie like this made in the way it was made ever again.
***1/2 out of ****
