Sorcerer (1977) (BD) [Blu-ray]

It has been a long time since I have been so surprised by a film; I can remember hearing about it when I was a kid, but like so many others at the time, 'Star Wars' was my childhood obsession. That a being said, I also have to say that this movie is generally timeless; with the exception of the cars and the music sometimes(still an excellent score by Tangerine Dream...), there is nothing that falls to the side as 'dated'. The country the 4 men flee to is just miserable, and probably looks the same now as it did then...just behind the times in so many ways.The set up of the 4 men starts things off with bang--literally. The scenarios are very different for each individual, but each equally satisfying. There is an excellent church robbery scenario that rounds things off with Roy Scheider, which includes a trademark Friedkin vehicle sequence(which--like many other scenes in this film--comes with a surprising jolt and a direction you didn't see coming...). Each backdrop story could pretty much provide for a film of it's own. Scheider is excellent, and this film reminds me why I was always a big fan of his. That being said, the other acting is all just right on the money as well; you can feel both their desperation and sweat, and sympathize with every stumbling block they encounter along the way. From the corrupt cops to the bandits they meet on the road(a favorite scene of mine in any movie...), you are thrown generally everything in the book as far as a crime/thriller movie go. And in this case it is all successful. There were more than a dozen scenes that hold up to or outshine anything that has been put out in the last 10 years to me. It is a reminder of the skill behind this project across the board, and the booklet with the blu-ray is really enjoyable to read, especially after seeing the film, as it fills in some curious questions about how certain things were done, and the difficulties the production encountered.The look of the film is breathtaking at times; all of the camera shots of the landscapes, kids, animals, elderly soda vendors, and crowded village streets are very candid and realistic. While the plot is somewhat simple, the intensity and driving force behind the 4 men is unforgettable; and while they are all different in their ideals, beliefs, and character, they all manage to somehow come together by fate to carry out the one thing that could save them from a life of poverty or consequence by law. And everyone meets some kind of fate you don't see coming.I have always loved Friedkin's work, especially when he delves into the darker side of mankind; However, this is the 1st movie in quite some time that has jumped into my top 5 favorite movies. It again reminds me how people w/talent to burn make timeless work, period. I am so happy that Friedkin was able to get this released as he saw fit, and it truly is a gift to those who like him, the genre, the actors, and the feel of such a film...There is humor and philosophy throughout the film here and there as well; the screenplay is top notch, and the dialog is fascinating; it is one of the films you watch where you are never reminded it's a film. You get wrapped up in it, and do a lot of replaying certain sequences over and over. While the 'bridge scene' is the most famously known sequence in the film, there are countless others that are certainly equal, although the bridge scene is a pure nail biter(not to mention technical feat, as further explained in the booklet...).The use of sound is also pretty incredible, especially coupled with the visuals; from the sounds of several surprise explosions, to the sound of the knife blade being flipped out, this film uses sound as a performance of it's own; it supplies a huge/equal part of the overall canvass and to feeling like you are there in particular a situation, not to mention hearing things as they actually probably would be heard; the sound is never overdone for the situation, and always effective. The creaking wood and rushing water of the bridge scene is a great example. Also, while the dialog is considerably less than in most movies, it is always very well written, realistic, and just another positive strength; but even when there is no dialog, and just simply sound and the expressions on the characters faces, it more than serves the point trying to be made. The character hit-man Nilo has very few lines, yet his character and performance are equally strong as anyone's here. The small visual details work in the same way the sounds ones do, such as the soldier accepting a bribe by scraping the money to himself with a fly swatter, the bar tender wiping off Roy Schieder's silverwear on his own shirt before passing them to him, to the cop popping open a Coke bottle with the cocked barrel of his gun...all small examples of going that little extra bit to make something potentially average something more. And these types of moments and details are throughout the film. A favorite to me is in the church scene in the beginning of the film where the priest mentions to the happy couple something to the effect of 'not being obsessed with material things', and you can see the groom roll his eyes, all while his bride with the black eye stands next to him(they show a close-up of her when the priest say he hopes their marriage is filled with blessings, but she still didn't look too happy to be there...).Mr. Friedkin wanted this to be his 'magnum opus', and I think he well succeeded. It really does still outshine so many films and the people involved that exist nowadays; Like Stanley Kubrick and John Huston, I can see the obsessive side Friedkin had to create something unforgettable no matter how much time or money it took; it is quite a risk, and sadly one that doesn't always pay off; but it is an effort that is well appreciated, and something not as many filmmakers take on nowadays.As far as it being considered a remake, I would have to say this is no more a remake than something like Herzog's 'Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call, New Orleans' was of the original 'Bad Lieutenant' film; some of the story elements are similar, but a lot of those elements are taken to new and different places with all the people involved with the production; and while 'Sorcerer' gets it's story foundation from both a novel and a film, you can see them much more as an influence, and not the basis. It is more the taking of a loose idea and making it to all your own, not an imitation of it.I have watched this 6 times since it came out, and it still seems to expose a new layer or understanding each time, not to mention the brilliance of so many scenes that capture the moment spot-on. This film is pure genius to me, and the surprise release on blu-ray has made my month. It is a piece of work that warrants all the 5 star reviews it has gotten, and Mr. Friedkin should be more than proud of this piece of work.I hope it reaches the full audience it deserves now, esp in the blu-ray format. I think it will.

My first copy of Sorcerer wouldn’t play on any Blue Ray player. Returned it to Amazon and requested a working copy. Amazon responded quickly and received a good copy in a few days. Amazon was great.

It's hard to believe it's been nearly four decades since director William Friedkin's commercially disappointing follow-up to his blockbuster hits THE FRENCH CONNECTION and THE EXORCIST. It's equally hard to believe there's never been a properly formatted home theater release of this intense reboot of Henri-Georges Clouzot's undisputedly great, and magnificently titled, 1953 film THE WAGES OF FEAR based on the novel by George Arnaud. (Friedkin's film is dedicated to Clouzot, who died shortly before the film was released.)The desperate story about four outcasts, led by Roy Scheider, who must transport two trucks carrying six crates of decaying, volatile dynamite across 200 miles of treacherous mountain and jungle roads in order to stop a South American oil fire is probably more visceral and memorable in Clouzot's stark, black and white, original. But the jungle action sequences, especially crossing a rope bridge over a flooding river during a storm, remain a standout, nail-biting set piece in Friedkin's film. Even more so when we recognize it was created without the help of computer graphics! The film also stars Francisco Rabal, Bruno Cremer, Ramon Bieri and Joe Spinell. The once fresh sound of Tangerine Dream's terrific score seems at times a tad dated today, but is still highly effective.The two-hour film takes more than half its time in setting up the drama and introducing us to the protagonists who are trapped by the whims of existential fate into a collective act of redemption and an opportunity to buy their way out of the hellish place in which they find themselves But they must first survive and the odds of not getting blown up in the process are not on their side.Much time is spent getting to know the four men who will soon be thrown together in a squalid SA oil company town. Cremer, the most relatable of the four, is a French banker fleeing the collapse of his dirty business dealings; Amadou is a Palestinian terrorist, not a generic Muslim, running from the Mossad after a Jerusalem bombing; Scheider is the sole surviving New Jersey mobster hiding out after a church robbery in a powerful gangster's parish; and then there's Francisco Rabal's hit man whom we assume is in this Latin American hell-hole to knock off one of the other three. But Rabal kills a fourth man, a German, in order to make himself a part of the truck driving team. But it is this elaborate conceit that lessens the emotional impact of the drama it is supposed to enhance.The long delay in getting this restored print to home video has been blamed on "complicated licensing" issues as well as finding the best source material.On it's initial Hollywood release, the film followed a two-week run of STAR WARS at Grauman's Chinese Theater (as it was then called). But after a week or so of poor attendance and weak reviews, STAR WARS was brought back for it's historic, mostly sold-out, tenure.Most people who saw the posters and ads for Friedkin's film naturally assumed it was some kind of follow-up or sequel to the supernatural hit THE EXORCIST. The poorly conceived and misunderstood title (it's one of the dilapidated truck's names) was probably the main reason the film failed to find traction with the movie-going public. The often sparse audiences who sat through the film generally liked it and there grew a kind of cult following in spite of the cropped and bad looking VHS transfer. So the new, vivid Blu-ray release is hugely anticipated and welcome. Once again, the evocative production design by the brilliant John Box can be fully appreciated.The restoration is sometimes ultra vivid and very controlled -- the sunlight in Jerusalem burns bright and the lush jungle greens quiver with a neon glow. There's a strong grainy feel to the texture of the canvas that does not detract from the coarse, noir story of men fighting their dark destiny in a doomed, meaningless existential wasteland. The last image of Scheider stumbling into a raging inferno carrying a box of unstable nitro is not the most upbeat of endings but is somehow satisfying in this fatalistic fable.For interested technophiles, the surprisingly low bit rate for this long anticipated film averages 17.99. But I saw no compression problems on a 60" screen. I was startled to find the disc to be bare bones. It's devoid of the most basic extras including a Friedkin commentary. (Perhaps a response to the harsh criticism of his initial THE EXORCIST commentary that is merely a description of the action on screen as if intended for the blind!) To make up for this loss, the disc book case is a 40-page pamphlet that is sometimes revealing. SORCERER is a visually rich and often thrilling adventure that deserves to be seen anew. Fighting fate is a dangerous business.