Sorcerer

Rating:
Summary: An overlooked gem
Review: Forget "Wages of Fear" for a moment and look at the merits of the DVD release of William Friedkin's "Sorcerer."

I would have overlooked this film had Siskold and Ebert not flagged it as an under-rated film and under-rated it is. I caught it on HBO and later purchased the Laserdisc.

But the DVD is a step up from there. The color is excellent and the DVD sound is spectacular with the score by Tangerine Dream. Vivid is the word.

Friedkin, who cut his teeth in commercial television, doggedly sticks to his 1:1.33 aspect ratio for this release, but one sees his way of looking at the scenes in this way.

And, oh the cargo! Cases of sensitive dynamite leaking nitroglycerine carried in two trucks driving 15 minutes apart over "pre-Columbian" roads for 200 miles through a South American jungle past, over, or through every danger one can imagine. Dynamite truckers are sometimes called "suicide jockies" even on regular roads. This is downright kamakazi.

Once the journey starts and Tangerine Dream plays the score, it becomes a white knuckle journey not only for the drivers, but for the audience as well. Not good men (after all their are on the lam) but I wound up caring for all of them -- and that says something for the way Friedkin draws the viewer in.

Perhaps the "superior characterization" of the earlier film appeals to those who like the personal stories and certainly there is a place for that, but for the raw imagery of the journey, "Wages" does not touch Sorcerer. If anything, both films should be seen and enjoyed, each for their different focus.

I especially liked the opened ended ending of Sorcerer -- open to debate -- does the theme music mean the end, or yet another spin of the wheel?

Is this a never-ending story? Is it the story of "everyman?"

Rating:
Summary: Great movie - Poor DVD
Review: This is one of those movies that will forever suffer comparisons to the original. I saw it on it's original release and have never forgotten it's very stirring images. I have waited a long time to get a worthwhile home video version, but this DVD is not it. For a start they should of released a widescreen version. Even though it was shot in 1:1.66 (not 1:1.33 as someone said) ratio as lots of films are it was obviously not intended to be shown, theatrically at least, in that ratio. Hopefully Universal will return to this film someday and give us a restored anamorphic widescreen Special Edition.

Rating:
Summary: Alternately painful and enthralling
Review: Sorcerer showed up in the mail via NetFlix and for the life of me I couldn't remember why I ordered it. One theory is that I thought it was a fantasy flick. The title has little to do with the movie itself and it's certainly not about fantasy sorcerers casting spells. Another possibility, and more likely, is that I was writing a review of Vertical Limit and someone mentioned that Sorcerer did it first.

It doesn't matter, I watched the movie anyway. And what I saw was alternately painful and enthralling.

Sorcerer is about four men down on their luck. Actually, that's an understatement. They're not just down on their luck; they're at the very rock bottom of their lives. They are each one step away from complete oblivion, be it at an assassin's hand or their own.

The movie starts out with little apology tracking these four independent threads. The first half hour of the film makes no sense because we don't know what we're seeing: one Frenchman businessman is ruined and flees the country; a New York wheelman crosses the wrong gang; a Middle Eastern terrorist bombs a dwelling; one is an assassin. They are all on the run from their respective countries.

They all end up in Vera Cruz, in South America, a stinking fissure in the earth. Naked children and dogs wander the streets. Everything is encrusted in dirt and the slime of sweat, rain, mud, and oil. The only place a man can find work is at the oil company upon which Vera Cruz depends for its survival.

An explosion sabotages the well. The oil burns and will burn forever unless it is covered - and that requires explosives. Of course, in the South American jungles the nearest cache of nitroglycerine has been festering for years and become highly unstable. It can't be lifted by helicopter, so trucks must carry it. One strong bump and the nitroglycerine explodes.

Finally, the movie gets interesting. We have four unlikable characters forced to work together. They must battle the elements, bandits, and human stupidity to ensure their cargo and their lives make it to the oil well intact.

If you recall Vertical Limit, the concepts were the same: different groups armed with nitroglycerine must brave nature and the elements for some noble cause. While not as gut wrenching as Vertical Limit, Sorcerer manages to inject pathos into the characters. They weep, they take desperate measures, and they become more noble as they rise to each crushing challenge.

Ultimately, all of them came to Vera Cruz to flee something else. Now that they have come to Hell, like Orpheus and Dante they must descend to its bowels to escape it. The journey with the nitroglycerine is their purgatory.

It's no surprise that few of the characters survive, but the movie goes one step further. The sole survivor finds solace in the dirt and horror of the town itself. In short, his journey to get enough money to escape was about selfish ends until he realizes that his struggles had purpose - he saved the town's fate, at least for a little while. His own life is precious. And so, he uses his last moments before leaving to dance with a haggard woman rather than make his escape. His redemption will not be satisfied with anything but his death.

And the name of the movie? Sorcerer is the name of the truck.

Rating:
Summary: "Sorce" of Greatness
Review: I had never seen or even knew about "Wages of Fear," the film on which "Sorcerer" is based. When I rented "Sorcerer" on LD in late 1998, I did so strictly out of curiosity about Friedkin's career at that point and my interest in Roy Scheider. I had known a bit about the film's reputation: winning director goes bonkers after major successes, loses perspective, blows lots of money and makes forgettable, silly picture. But "Sorcerer" is nothing of the sort. From the tropical, natural locales in Latin America and the absolutely gripping tension maintained throughout the film's final hour to the electronic music score and the rich characterizations provided by Scheider and the rest of the cast, this film is a wonder to behold. It has its own unique dreamy/nightmarish quality, reminiscent of classics like "Black Narcissus" and "Blade Runner" in that you are transported to another world as foreign and bizarre as any you can imagine, yet it is right here on earth (albeit in a faraway country). Of course, the storyline, which is built around the hopelessness and greed of a small group of desperate thugs, gives the film a noir flavor that is essential to maintaining the tension and adding to the mystique. I don't know that the film is Friedkin's best ("The French Connection" might take top honors in my book), but I think "Sorcerer" is certainly one of the '70s' best and most-interesting entries.

Rating:
Summary: Underrated Sorcery From William Friedkin
Review: I saw this film in the theater and was blown away. It was pulse-pounding, sweaty, hot, real, and disturbing. Roy Scheider's portrayal of a man with nothing and everything left to lose rang true. The French second lead and the other actors became real men caught in a black hole of fate and error and karma and circumstance.

I am a combat veteran of the War in Vietnam and I have a personal register I trust deeply when it comes to depictions of men under mortal stress. This movie worked on every level.

The violence was abrupt and appalling; the indifference of desperate men to the fate of others was accurate and frightening.

I rented the original on VHS and felt at the time and still feel that Friedkin's film is a masterwork of its kind. I have seen each film twice. Sorcerer is the jewel. The original seems ham-handed and sentimental by comparison.

Terror is not an existential experience; it is personal and intimate and painful and surreal.

Sorcerer teaches us to be mindful; a single error of judgement or choice by any one of us can lead us into a deep inexorable hell.

Rating:
Summary: A note on widescreen
Review: My message to other viewers of this video/DVD is simply this: if you are concerned that there is no widescreen version of this film available, don't worry about them ever producing one because there is no widescreen version at all.

William Friedkin was a television director before turning to film and he kept the 1:1.33 ratio used in television for this movie. What that means is, no widescreen version will ever be released because it doesn't exist. I am a huge fan of widescreen movies and I always check to see if a DVD or video I purchase is in widescreen or fullscreen format, UNLESS I read that the director wanted the film to be fullscreen (as with the later Kubrick movies, for example).

It is often assumed that a director's original vision for a film is always widescreen, or that all movies are automatically filmed in widescreen, and this simply isn't the case. So please, before giving the thumbs up or down to a purchase based on its aspect ratio, make sure the disc or tape represents the director's desired version.

That having been said, the Amazon review reports on the quality of this DVD and of the film itself accurately. So please view the original Wages of Fear and this film, back to back if you like, and enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Don't Overlook This One
Review: Everything that has been previously written about SORCERER touches on all the points I myself would make, save one: I was fortunate enough to see this in 1977 when it was first released in theatres. I was interested in Friedkin's work, and anxious to see what this new movie was. It was a Saturday evening show, but the theatre was populated by myself, a friend, and maybe a dozen other people, several of whom walked out. They should have stayed--they missed a truly great film! We were riveted to our seats for the full two hours, gripping the seat arms and each other, praying that at least one man would make it out of this Hell alive. And a few months later, when our local revival house played a double bill of SORCERER and THE WAGES OF FEAR, you bet we were there to compare and contrast and enjoy! Two very fine films which deserve more wide attention. Most people didn't know what kind of a movie SORCERER was: the poster showed a still from the unbelievably treacherous river crossing over that now-iconic rope and wood bridge, with the words "A William Friedkin Film" and "SORCERER" prominent. If they hadn't seen a trailer beforehand, many thought they were going to see a fantasy film. The film ran only a few weeks, and did poorly at the boxoffice. (I've always felt that every film released during the summer 0f 1977 -- except two -- suffered greatly because of the monstrous success of STAR WARS; that film eclipsed everything else except SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT and the latest James Bond film, THE SPY WHO LOVED ME. Go figure.) Universal hasn't booked it a lot on cable over the years, so it has remained a bit of an enigma, except to the privileged few who have been able to see it. I can't recommend this film any higher. Please see it: as long as you have an open mind and do not fall victim to preconceptions, it will enthrall you. And see the original Clouzot film as well: they each have their great strengths.
One bone of contention: the score by Tangerine Dream is perfect! An orchestral score was not neccessary. Friedkin has made it known that after discovering the Dream when finishing off THE EXORCIST, he wanted to have them score an entire feature for him. This is a genuine marriage of film and score, each complimenting and enhancing the other.
One last thing: While true that SORCERER wasn't a widescreen (2:35 to 1) release, I believe that it was 1:85 to 1, so maybe Universal will see fit to repackage the DVD with the original artwork in this ratio. It would be cool.

Rating:
Summary: Self Indulgent directing and the music is terrible.
Review: William Freidkin fell into the same trap as Francis Ford Coppella by getting self indulgent with Sorcerer.
Both men,after having hit films decided to get self indulgent and Freidkin almost pulled it off had it not been for some awful selections.
Just like Coppella's mistake in "One From The Heart",Freidkin does not bother with a widescreen picture which would have improved this film immensely with the spectacular jungle scenes. And just like Coppella,he goes for music that doesn't suit the film at all.
The electronic soundtrack from Tangerene Dream is awful and spoils the film. Oh,for a John Williams or Jerry Goldsmith orchestral soundtrack which would have made a big difference.
The film does have some spectacular set pieces,like the opening scenes that include a robbery,a terrorist act,a fraud and an assassination. Other big scenes are the oil site explosion,the bridge scene,the gun battle with terrorists and the jungle scenes which widescreen would have improved greatly.

Some of the film is directed in a flat European style,which is kind of boring,but it does improve.
The film is still interesting but it should have been much better if the right decisions had been made.

Rating:
Summary: A stylish, intimate remake of a French Classic
Review: William Friedkin (The French Connection) brings us exotic locations and gripping story in Sorcerer, a remake of Henri-Georges Clouzot's 1953 thriller Wages of Fear.

The first hour of this movie seems to be comprised of random events involving four individuals that have absolutely nothing to do with each other. The only commonality is that they are all men of dubious character. Probably the most recognizable actor in this film is Roy Schieder, who plays a low level New York gangster participate in a robbery that goes bad, and forces him to flee the country due to the fact he managed to step on some pretty well connected toes. The second man, a French businessman, escapes from the threat of prosecution due to some shady business dealings. The third man, a Middle Eastern terrorist flees his captors after being caught participating in a bombing, and the fourth man is a shady assassin type apparently on the run from repercussion from his last hit.

The key is all four men end up in a South American rat-infested stink hole of a town called Vera Cruz. After awhile, they find their sanctuary has become more of a prison and all begin a desperate search for a way out, but that involves money, a commodity that's in short supply, with the only work available in the area is provided by an oil company that runs a well and is building a pipeline for the bubbling crude. Dangerous work, and the pay is so low that it would take years to earn enough to leave. Salvation for the men comes in a catastrophic disaster, an explosion damaging the well and causing the oil to burn.

The only way to close the well proper for repairs is to blow it up, and the only explosives available are 200 miles away. Turns out the explosives, sticks of nitro, haven't been tended very well, and, in turn, are highly unstable. The company decides to hire four men to drive two trucks to carry the dangerous materials through 200 miles of dangerous jungle, including prehistoric rope and wood bridges, treacherous mountain passes, deadly bandits and swampy roads laden with fallen trees. The suicide mission draws the four men, as the money would allow them to escape the oppressive town. The most intense scenes for me involved the men trying to traverse a rickety, rotting wooden rope suspension bridge over a raging river during a heavy rainstorm. There were times when the truck on the bridge was at such an angle, I thought it would flip right off. And all the actors performed most all their own stunts, adding to the realism of the movie. Do they make it? See the movie and find out. I especially liked the very end. A very nice touch that reminded me of an ending of a certain Alfred Hitchcock movie. Which one? I won't say, as it would give it away.

The movie runs just under two hours, and I would highly recommend it to anyone. Friedkin and the actors do a wonderful job in developing tensions between the characters and the environment and the between the characters themselves. The pacing is a bit slow, but it's deliberate, cranking the suspense up, notch by grueling notch.

There are sparse special features, including pretty thorough productions notes and a trailer. If you enjoy thrilling adventure, you will most likely like this movie. I would have happily given this movie five stars but it is only available in the full screen format. Something I didn't understand is the title for the movie. I wasn't able to figure out what it had to do with the movie....

Cookieman108

Rating:
Summary: THE REAL INFORMATION OF THE ASPECT RATIO !
Review: I bought this wonderful movie and when i put it in, you get a message saying the movie is in a PAN & SCAN format. It is not shown in its orginal aspect ration which 1:66 (You can look that up on IMDB) So all in all, Universal needs to re-release this wonderful movie on dvd with some bells and wistles but then again this is just one guy's opinion. Thank You for reading.