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Sorcerer
1977 122 min United States of America, Mexico, Dominican Republic, France, Israel PG 12+
★7.8
Thriller, Adventure, Drama
Director: William Friedkin
🎭 Based on
«Le Salaire de la peur»
byGeorges Arnaud
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Description
Four men from different parts of the globe, all hiding from their pasts in the same remote South American town, agree to risk their lives transporting several cases of dynamite (which is so old that it is dripping unstable nitroglycerin) across dangerous jungle terrain.
Budget:
$22M
Worldwide:
$9M
Starring
Roy Scheider
Actor
Bruno Cremer
Actor
Francisco Rabal
Actor
Awards
Academy Awards 1978
— Best Sound
Saturn Awards 2015
— Best Special Blu-ray/DVD Edition
Key opinion
William Friedkin's Sorcerer is a polarizing yet ambitious thriller that swaps the psychological tension of the 1953 original for a visceral, fatalistic, and quasi-documentary exploration of human desperation. While many critics laud its technical mastery and immersive atmosphere, others find its pacing indulgent and its character development insufficient to support the long journey.
| Score | The Tangerine Dream score provides a pulsating, electronic soundscape that perfectly captures the film's dark and hypnotic atmosphere. | |
| Cinematography | The film utilizes hyperreal, practical effects and vivid cinematography to create an intense, tactile sense of place in the jungle. | |
| Direction | Friedkin’s direction effectively shifts the tone from the psychological focus of the original film to a more existential, pessimistic meditation on inescapable fate. | |
| Acting | The lead casting choices are subject to debate, with some viewers appreciating the grounded, non-star performances while others feel the leads failed to fully inhabit their roles. | |
| Pacing | The film's heavy, naturalistic pacing rewards viewers who engage with its contemplative tempo, but frustrates those seeking a tighter, more traditional adventure narrative. | |
| Screenplay | The screenplay is criticized for being the film's weakest link, with detractors arguing the lengthy backstories fail to create sufficient sympathy for the protagonists. |