Sorcerer (1977) Universal-Paramount/Drama-Adventure RT: 121 minutes Rated PG (violence, language, brief nudity) Director: William Friedkin Screenplay: Walon Green Music: Tangerine Dream Cinematography: Dick Bush and John M. Stephens Release date: June 24, 1977 (US) Cast: Roy Scheider, Bruno Cremer, Francisco Rabal, Amidou, Ramon Bieri, Peter Capell, Karl John, Fredrick Ledebur, Chico Martinez, Joe Spinell, Rosario Almontes, Richard Holley, Anne Marie Deschodt, Jean-Luc Bideau, Jacques Francois, Randy Jurgensen, Cosmo Allegretti. Box Office: $5.9M (US)
Rating: *** ½
Many factors likely contributed to the failure of William Friedkin’s Sorcerer, a loose remake of Henri-Georges Clouzot’s 1953 French-language thriller The Wages of Fear. First, audiences assumed with a title like Sorcerer, it had to be a supernatural horror movie similar to the director’s previous film The Exorcist. They were understandably confused upon discovering it wasn’t anything close to that. The title comes from a statement made by Friedkin about fate, the movie’s underlying theme, being “an evil wizard”. Second, American audiences were largely unaware of the source material. Friedkin tried to get The Wages of Fear rereleased in the US before his movie came out, but couldn’t generate any interest among the major studios. Third, it had the misfortune of opening in a summer that also saw the failure of costly can’t-miss movies like Exorcist II: The Heretic, A Bridge Too Far and New York, New York. The cause, a little sci-fi movie called Star Wars. Maybe you’ve heard of it?
True to its name, Sorcerer came and went in a flash. Those that saw it either didn’t get it or didn’t like its pessimistic worldview. Whatever the case may be, it lingered in limbo for over a decade due to issues regarding ownership of the film. In order to cover the mounting production expenses, it was released jointly by two major studios, Universal and Paramount. It didn’t become available on video until late ’90. That’s when I finally got to see it. I had mixed feelings about it at the time. Now that I’ve seen it a few times and understand what Friedkin is going for, I concur with its reassessment as an “overlooked masterpiece”. I’d even say it’s brilliant.
Sorcerer kicks off with a cool prologue consisting of four vignettes depicting what brought the four main characters- a Mexican hitman (Rabal, Beyond Erotica), a Palestinian terrorist (Amidou, Victory), a crooked French businessman (Cremer, Is Paris Burning?) and an American gangster (Scheider, Jaws)- to the poor remote Latin American village of Porvenir. They’ve all done terrible things that force them into exile to a damnable place that quite literally lies on the outskirts of Hell, especially after a nearby oil refinery catches on fire. The only way to put it out is to use dynamite. The closest supply of dynamite is over 200 miles away. Due to improper storage, it’s leaking nitroglycerin making it highly unstable. The oil company needs four men to drive two poorly maintained trucks containing the extremely volatile dynamite through the jungle. It’s a dangerous job as the slightest bump or jostle could cause it to explode.
Obviously, the four men hired for the well-paying job are the ones seen in the prologue. The hero of this story, if you can call him that, is Scheider’s character Scanlon (aka “Juan Dominguez”). He’s part of a crew that robs a New Jersey church with ties to the Mafia. During their getaway, he loses control of the car and crashes it killing all of his accomplices. He flees the country after learning there’s a hit out on him. This is how he ends up in Porvenir with the others. Like them, he sees the job as his ticket out of there. It’s also a shot at personal redemption for their sins. That is, if they survive the treacherous trek over miles and miles of rough, rugged terrain that also includes a rotting wooden bridge over a raging river. It doesn’t help that the men don’t trust each other.
Sorcerer is a tense, macho, gritty, sweaty, dirty, cynical adventure movie much like The Treasure of the Sierra Madre with Scheider playing the Humphrey Bogart character, an American down on his luck. A hero only in the broadest sense of the term, he embarks on a journey that takes him to Hell and back. As he draws closer to his destination, the job becomes more of an obsession as his sanity begins to deteriorate. Scheider keeps his character grounded, successfully resisting the temptation to play it to the hilt. He’s truly an amazing actor. Sorcerer is one of his best unsung performances. It proves definitively that he’s deserving of leading man status in movies that don’t involve killer sharks. Cremer is also quite good as the voice of reason among the foursome. His business skills enable him to successfully negotiate higher pay for the drivers. He’s also the sole voice of humanity with how he misses the wife he had to leave behind in Paris.
One of my favorite aspects of Sorcerer is Tangerine Dream’s electronic score. It was ahead of its time. It gives the movie an extra jolt of energy. I LOVE it! I also love the authenticity provided by the natural South American locations, particular the scenes in the jungle. It was a difficult shoot and Friedkin never makes it look effortless. You get a real sense of worry and strain from the actors.
Not one to bow to Hollywood convention, Friedkin doesn’t end his treacherous tale on a happy note. On the contrary, Sorcerer has one of the most cynical endings I’ve ever seen. No matter what, man cannot escape his own fate. Yeah, I can see why audiences didn’t flock to this one. Nobody likes downbeat, especially during the hot months. Me, I dig truth in the art of cinema. I like it when a filmmaker takes his protagonist (and by proxy, the viewer) to the brink of madness much like Coppola did with Apocalypse Now. Sorcerer is an exceptional, criminally underappreciated film that deserves to be seen. It truly is remarkable.
