8.2 | / 10 |
Users | 4.3 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.3 |
Four misfits from different parts of the globe agree to risk their lives transporting unstable dynamite across dangerous jungle.
Starring: Roy Scheider, Bruno Cremer, Francisco Rabal, Amidou, Ramon BieriDrama | 100% |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
English SDH, French, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
William Friedkin's Sorcerer has grown in reputation since its disastrous release in 1977, but the film had nowhere to go but up. Bedeviled by production delays and cost overruns, Sorcerer was a gift to everyone in Hollywood who was eagerly waiting for Friedkin to fail, after back-to-back hits with The French Connection and The Exorcist. Almost as if he were deliberately courting failure, Friedkin set out to remake Henri-Georges Clouzot's 1953 masterpiece, The Wages of Fear—though Friedkin insists that his film is "a totally original scenario, not a remake"— and to do so on location in some of the most difficult conditions imaginable. Director, cast and crew braved bad weather, unexpected drought, a terrorist attack and dangers galore to capture some of the most realistic footage of jeopardy ever filmed. But Sorcerer had the bad luck to be released at the same time as a surprise blockbuster called Star Wars, a film that irrevocably altered the public's conception of the moviegoing experience —and it had nothing to do with gritty realism. People who bought tickets to a film called Sorcerer, prominently advertised as "from the director of The Exorcist", expected to see something fantastic and mystical. Instead, they were served a downbeat thriller about desperate men in impossible circumstances. Several major theaters, including Mann's Chinese in Hollywood, replaced Sorcerer with a return engagement of Star Wars after only a week, because Friedkin's film was playing to empty houses. It didn't help that, with a few exceptions, the critical reaction was savage. Over time, though, the very qualities that alienated early viewers have gained Sorcerer a devoted following. Like another passion project of the same era, Apocalypse Now, also shot on location, over budget and behind schedule, the film has a unique quality that could not have been created under more disciplined circumstances (and certainly not in today's world of CGI). Whatever their success or failure as commercial properties, these are distinctively personal films that bear their creators' stamp and point of view. Love 'em or hate 'em, there's nothing else like them. Unlike many troubled films of the Seventies, Sorcerer did not benefit from the home video revolution. Part of the problem was confusion over who controlled the rights. The issue was only recently resolved as a result of legal action by Friedkin, which is why this restored version can now be released on Blu-ray.
Friedkin has said repeatedly that the negative of Sorcerer is in excellent shape but that the colors have faded. In a letter included with the Blu-ray, he thanks Ned Price, Warner's Vice President of Mastering, for making "a new film out of an old one". The colorist for the transfer was Bryan McMahan, currently at Modern VideoFilm, who has worked on Friedkin's projects for years. The results of these efforts, as reflected on Warner's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray, are astonishing. No one will mistake Sorcerer for a film shot yesterday, but it has a clarity, depth and detail rarely encountered in films shot documentary-style (and often handheld) almost forty years ago. The worn metal and rubber of the two trucks, the lush density of the undergrowth, the sweat and grime on the faces of the men, the rotting deterioration of the suspension bridge—all these can be seen in a way that has never been possible on any previous home video version. So can the driving rain that makes the suspension bridge crossing even more perilous, as well as numerous visual details of the oil rigs, the workers' living quarters and the various locales in the prologues. The color palette has been carefully controlled so that it "pops" only in select scenes. Sunny Jerusalem reveals bright colors, as does Paris (known as "the City of Light"), whereas New Jersey and Veracruz are both duller. The fireball of the oil well explosion is bright orange, and the jungle between the company facility and the well favors bright green. A final leg of the trip proceeds through a ghostly landscape resembling the moon, but filled with odd hues from the night sky. Blacks are solid, and contrast is never overstated. The image has a healthy-looking grain pattern, though the amount of grain will probably be too much for some viewers and not enough for others. The average bitrate of 17.99 Mbps seems shockingly low for a film of this length (122 minutes), visual complexity and importance. After all the extensive restoration work, couldn't Warner have sprung for a BD-50? Still, no notable compression errors appear at a screen size of 72". Perhaps they will reveal themselves at larger sizes, but until then I am rating the video according to what I saw.
Sorcerer was released in stereo, but the soundtrack has been "reimagined" (in Friedkin's term) by Aaron Levy of Todd-Soundelux, who worked on Friedkin's Bug and Killer Joe. The 5.1 remix is presented on Blu-ray in lossless DTS-HD MA, and it is excellent. The rear channels are used sparingly but effectively; when planes fly over the oil company facility, you hear them pass from front to rear or vice versa. The driving rain surrounds the listener with its fury. Explosions and crashes register powerfully, with deep bass extension. The engines of the two trucks, each with a distinctive roar created by original sound designer Randy Thom, rumble across the front soundstage. The dialogue, minimal though it is, is clear enough when it's in English and subtitled when it's in Spanish, French or, occasionally, German. The electronic score by Tangerine Dream might seem dated, except that its otherworldly quality suits the film's mood, and the mix prevents the score from overwhelming the sound effects. The action always remains foremost.
The only extra is the DigiBook packaging, which includes stills from the film and an extensive excerpt from Friedkin's memoir, The Friedkin Connection. The lack of extras is no doubt attributable to the fact that, Warner, the studio releasing Sorcerer on Blu-ray, was not involved in its production and had no access to deleted scenes, dailies or other materials typically utilized in creating special features for home video, assuming such items were even preserved. Friedkin has also included a letter to viewers acknowledging the key personnel involved in the restoration and thanking fans for their loyalty.
Friedkin has repeatedly (and perhaps imprudently) said that he didn't get the cast he wanted for Sorcerer. He originally wanted Steve McQueen to play Roy Scheider's part, and if McQueen had done the film, he would have been joined by Marcello Mastroianni and Lino Ventura playing Manzon and Nilo. Even after McQueen dropped out, followed by Mastroianni and Ventura, Friedkin reportedly pursued a major star for Scanlon, asking Clint Eastwood and Jack Nicholson, among others. Despite the success of Jaws, Scheider was never a box office draw, and Friedkin considered him strictly "second banana" material. (The two had fallen out when Friedkin refused Scheider the part of Father Karras in The Exorcist.) Sorcerer might have performed better on initial release with a big name as headliner, but it has aged well precisely because there are no obvious stars making an effort to "de-glam" for a role into which they can never completely disappear. Over the course of the film, Scheider and his co-stars effectively become the men who are so far over the edge that they'd actually take on the suicide mission of driving trucks packed with nitroglycerine 218 miles over wild and treacherous terrain. Their believability and commitment to such a lunatic project is a big part of what makes Sorcerer fascinating to watch. Despite the lack of extras and low bitrate, highly recommended.
Le salaire de la peur
1953
1972
Filmmakers Signature Series | Remastered
1971
1971
Import
1978
Special Edition
1975
1969
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1961
1987
1971
1959
1971
Limited Edition to 3000
1954
2009
1971
2006
1972
1971
2012