Sorcerer

After William Friedkin broke through “New Hollywood” following the landmark success of both The French Connection and The Exorcist he could really dictate his own path which based on his personality was what he was planning on anyway. Searching for another big project to continue momentum he initially envisioned Sorcerer to be a modest budget film used to stay busy before another big splash. This would technically be the second adaptation of the 1950 novel Le Salaire de la peur which was first adapted into the film Wages of Fear in 1953. Friedkin would dispute his film being a remake only insisting on using the basic outline with completely new protagonists around a much darker tone. Despite this he praised director Henri-Georges Clouzot consistently even pushing to getting his film rereleased in theaters and dedicating his own to him. Naturally chaos of production would mimic the films events with a ballooning budget shooting at various locations and feuding cast forced to battle the humid elements once ultimately in the Dominican Republic. The stories behind the making of this thing is absolutely absurd with the entire time the viewer is thinking how on earth did they do this and how many people got hurt? Having to compete with Star Wars upon its release in 1977 had Sorcerer getting glossed over at the time but has made a strong comeback in recent years being labeled as a masterpiece of the late 70’s and I’m inclined to agree, this thing absolutely rips. Billy Friedkin in his bag alert just doing anything he wants to make a film doesn’t care about anything which eventually bring him down to earth after it’s colossal failure, this guy flew in a known arsonist named “Marvin the Torch” from NYC to the Dominican Republic so he could properly get a tree destroyed after he didn’t like the outcome. Humid tension displayed as morally ambiguous characters slowly melt away in the desert fearing instant combustion lets Sorcerer be a wholly unique display of guerrilla filmmaking that you just don’t see anymore. The film would open with four incredibly distinct vignettes in different locations of the world to introduce the main players throughout the upcoming events. Vera Cruz, Jerusalem, Paris and New Jersey introduce the aliases garnered of Juan Dominguez (Roy Scheider), Serrano (Bruno Cremer), Nilo (Francisco Rabal) and Martinez (Amidou) who are clearly introduced as flawed individuals. Their actions soon find the strangers desperate enough to wind up in the same crevice in South America where they are all out of place struggling greatly to get back on their feet. The men work in brutal conditions at an American owned oil refinery with wages that would never allow them to leave. When the mind explodes with a raging fire that must be doused, a near suicidal mission is offered with premium wages for a group of drivers to transport cases of highly unstable dynamite which are sweating nitroglycerin. With no other choice but to suffer from their past mistakes or attempt the mission the strangers set off into the jungle forced to rely on shear willpower similar to those involved with the production of the film. Well this had been on the watchlist for some time and after one single watch I can confidently say this is one of the long lost masterpieces of the 1970’s with Friedkin putting everything into this. The perceived failure at the time not only changed his career permanently but many of his long time collaborators due to the conditions and various issues that went into to making this. Right away the four vignettes that show the backgrounds of characters and specifically what they’re running from is so stylish with these real locations being used even for a small segment. Something today would all be done under one stage or green screen so right away you get the understanding that you’re witnessing old school technicians at work. The films makes a point not to rush into the main plot clearly establishing the many flaws and motives for each individual before their unlikely grouping in South America. Everything about this is so gritty and sweaty you can feel the stress from everyone involved so when you add in those elements of driving these trucks on rope bridges and cliff sides it really is unbelievable that catastrophe didn’t strike. The camerawork and editing went hand and hand here seemingly knowing exactly when to push in for split second mistakes that make your heart stop and went to step back to show the vast unrelenting jungle often in flames or getting beaten with rain. Cinematography for the time is outstanding with this helicopter shots of the truck or jungle taking it a whole knew level again I legitimately don’t know how the did or filmed half of this. It’s no wonder Friedkin or crew was never the same since the all went completely insane by the end of it as he tried to have nearly everyone fired. As soon as the score started ripping straight heat I was curious only to find out it was the German electric band Tangerine Dream who lined the film solely off reading the script in fact the film was cut around the soundtrack to match the suspense. It was Friedkin who saw thin in concert while in Germany and was so impressed he sought them out opening the gateway of them scoring several notable films through the 80s. One of which would be Michael Mann’s debut Theif who undoubtedly garnered inspiration via the music and tactile assembly montages which show the equipment at work. The acting across the board is strong but nothing scene stealing is really required with the insanity we are being shown. Where some people frowned at the coldness of the characters I absolutely loved it. Humans are flawed regardless and in many cases the only thing that can push people or strangers passed their limit is when their backs are completely against the wall which is what we see here, I agree with and resonate more with Friedkin’s depiction of the common man. In general this would be one of the most stylish films I’ve ever seen while maintaining its inherent bleakness which has a simple premise just exploding off the screen with white-knuckle intensity. While throughout history the benefit of hindsight changes everything and William Friedkin still went on to continue his successful career but it’s hard not to wonder what it would have looked like if Sorcerer continued his hype train following The French Connection and The Exorcist like it should have. This is something that is begging for me to rewatch it already just to attempt the begging of giving it the proper respect it’s deserved for over 40 years and only slowly gotten over time. An exceptional film that I would place at the top of Friedkin’s filmography from the limited amount I’ve seen.