Sorcerer

Starring: Roy Scheider, Bruno Cremer, Francisco Rabal, Amidou, Ramon Bieri, Peter Capell, Karl John, Friedrich von Ledebur, Joe Spinell, Rosario Almontes
Directed by: William Friedkin
Rating: PG
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Thriller
1977

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Stuck in a Latin American jungle, four men agree to transport unstable dynamic 218 miles via truck, along a dangerous terrain. They agree to risk their lives for enough money to escape their lives in the jungle.

Review:

Tim: There is a great deal to unpack in William Friedkin's Sorcerer. This is a riveting, expertly crafted film that continually defies our expectations. It delivers some of the most intense moments I've ever seen in a film, but it was a box office bomb upon release. Fascinatingly, it happened to be released in the shadow of Star Wars. It's a movie by a great director, but the generic, confusing title doesn't do it any favors. In the end, though, this is an especially well made movie and one that's well worth seeking out.

Let's start at a high level. This film is a remake and they decided to change the title from "The Wages of Fear" to Sorcerer. I'm not sure the original title is great, but I have no idea why they'd title this after one of the trucks involved in the story, an odd detail that's easy to overlook. It gives the film a fantasy vibe, which is as far from the reality as you can get. It makes no sense. The film itself went over budget, had a huge amount of challenges being shot in the jungle, as well as clashes among the cast and director. Roy Scheider wasn't the first choice to star in the film. The crew battled the elements during filming. It almost felt like a doomed production from what I've read. By all accounts, the shoot was often horrendous. You wouldn't necessarily know this from the finished product, although perhaps the working conditions led to some of the bleakness in the performances we see.

Friedkin's film takes a long time to get going. I went into this movie reading nothing about it, so I had no idea what it was about. The film invests a bunch of time upfront to tell four different stories, explaining how the different drivers found themselves hopeless in Latin America. This is important, as knowing their stories allows us to build an emotional connection with them. It's still jarring, though, to see four different men in four different parts of the world and have no idea how they are connected. Friedkin masterfully pulls these strands together, but it takes a long time for that to happen. When it does, though, the film hits another gear.

The back half of the movie is mostly the journey these four men attempt. The idea is preposterous and wonderful. They will drive two trucks, carrying a load of unstable dynamic- nitroglycerin has leaked from the dynamic and is pooled at the bottom of a crate. A helicopter pilot refuses to transport the dangerous load- any turbulence would set off an explosion. So, these men agree to drive 218 miles along dangerous, deadly, washed out roads through a jungle. Every second of their journey is fraught with disaster. Can you imagine the nerves it would take to even attempt this? To lose concentration for a moment could easily spell disaster and a fiery death. This premise is fantastic and once the movie gets going, it feels impossible to look away.

The story is compelling, but it becomes incredible with Friedkin's ability to craft the movie. Every scene of this journey feels so vividly dangerous, your breath continually gets caught up in your throat. You expect disaster at every turn, but you want these men to succeed. They face an unbelievable amount of obstacles and Friedkin shoots these, lingering on the many ways these men could die. The shots of the tires barely clinging to a crumbling roadway, the various bridges, fallen trees, bandits- the journey is relentless on these men and on us as viewers. I loved it, as it's all about as intense as I've seen in any movie.

The highlight of this journey is undoubtedly the wooden bridge scene. I had to read about this, because it's one of the finest sequences I've ever seen in a movie. It cost millions of dollars and took months to film. You see these trucks swaying on a crumbling wood bridge, a short distance above a rushing river. There's rain, wind, the threat of a bridge collapse. No hyperbole, it's one of the most intense scenes I've ever seen. It's absolutely brilliant. The actors were often involved, verses a heavy reliance on stunt doubles. Every moment is so fraught with tension. You simply have to see it to believe it.

Now, the visuals are incredible here, but the sound really ramps this (and other) scenes up to the next level. I can still hear the bridge creaking and groaning, the ropes taut and threatening to snap.The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Sound, which it absolutely deserved. It's odd that this was the film's only Academy Award nomination. Friedkin crafts such an expertly made film, I expected more technical category nominations.

I liked the cast. I know Roy Scheider wasn't Friedkin's top choice and he seems like he wasn't pleased with having to settle. However, I've always like Scheider. I think he's an underrated actor and I generally enjoyed his performance here. It might not be his best, but he works well in the role. I had no problems with what Scheider did and I mostly felt connected with his character. Bruno Cremer really surprised me. I wasn't very interested in his character or his story when we learn about his background. But, when he shows up again in Latin America, bearded and beat down, I grew to care about his character significantly more than I expected. I'm not sure the film truly explained his prowess with cars (it never really fit his background), but I really enjoyed his performance and I became invested in his character. We didn't quite learn enough about Francisco Rabal for me to really be invested in his character, but his performance works. The rest of the cast were all solid, giving worthwhile performances.

Now, as much as I love certain sequences in this film, I believe it just misses out on greatness. The beginning of the movie is too slow and it takes far too long to get to the really interesting parts. Some of this is intentional character development- I'm not suggesting this should have been unduly cut. I almost feel like to bookend the beginning with these four men in a room, then flashback to each of their stories, might have helped. That way, the audience understands what we're watching and why it matters. It might have helped give a little more intentionality to the beginning of the film. I do wish some of the supporting characters felt more interesting. Scheider and Cremer are easy to invest in, but the others were shortchanged a bit. The movie is better technically than narratively. That being said, I'm still a huge fan of Sorcerer and it's incredibly intense thrills. It's further proof that Friedkin was one of the all-time best. If his box office failures are this good, you know you're watching someone very special.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The French Connection, Jaws