# Sorcerer (1977)

### reviewed by
Nick AMado

    Review: Sorcerer

Starring: Roy Scheider, Bruno Cremer, Francisco Rabal, Amidou

    Directed by William Friedkin

    Approx 121 min

It is said that Hollywood remakes seldom acheive the quality of the original (especially when the original was NOT a Hollywood picture.) Sorcerer stands out as one of the sparkling exceptions. It is based on Georges Arnaud's "The Wages Of Fear" which was filmed by Hitchcockian French director H.G. Clouzot in 1952. With some minor differences, the stories are the same. Four cons, desperate to leave the poverty stricken town to which they have exiled themselves, are chosen for a life or death job. They must transport highly volatile nitroglycerine from one part of the mountainous and swampy Southern American terrain to the other. If they make it, they get the money they need to escape, if they don't they are dead. The nitro is packed in sand in the backs of trucks to help reduce shock, the slightest jostle can end it all.

Friedkin does a fantastic job of making the two trucks into a combined fifth character. We see them being reconstructed from complete junk early on in the film. As the picture progresses, tension is created by close up's of the wheels as they roll gently over unstable ground. We get a feeling of exactly how much each truck can take. The sound of the trucks are constant, and it is a well crafted soundtrack mix that lends to the character each.

Schieder shows why he is one of the more underrated performers in the industry. Though the film is not loaded with dialogue, he does a marvelous job of showing how his character runs the gamut of emotions (similar to his character in Jaws.) But Schieder's is not the only good performance in this film, all of the actors do a great job.

The 1952 version, The Wages Of Fear, is certainly worth a look, but it is longer, not as tense, and spends more time on the relationship of the men, rather than the suspense of the situations in which they find themselves. Another nifty element of Sorcerer is its score by Tangerine Dream. The funky synthicized tunes are haunting and very appropriate. It is a great example of how important to a film good music is. This is a severely underrated film from the most explosive decade in film history. It was released in 1978 and is a great film for everyone to see, but it is a can't miss for Friedkin fans.

    * * * 1/2 out of * * * * stars
    ©1998 Nick Amado

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