This film is a miracle of cinema. Let me explain.
After struggles making the film, including production delays, cast conflicts, and more, William Friedkin’s tense masterpiece of a thriller Sorcerer was finally released in cinemas in 1977. Another film released during that same time would become a massive blockbuster and contributed to Sorcerer being considered a huge commercial and critical failure. An adaption of Georges Arnaud’s novel The Wages of Fear (which was also adapted into a film by the same name in 1953 by Henri-Georges Clouzot which was hailed as a masterpiece), Sorcerer follows four outcasts — an assassin, a gangster, a businessman, and a terrorist — as they flee to a Central American village and are assigned to transport two trucks of aged dynamite across a treacherous terrain in exchange for payment. Simple plot, simple mission. However, what makes this thriller so great is that its execution, from its layered characterization to its no-nonsense thrills to its tense direction, is anything but simple. Boasting a terrific synth neon score from Tangerine Dream (it is stated by Friedkin himself in the liner notes of the vinyl release that the revered band has never actually watched the film — another miraculous discovery) and starring a fantastic, against-type Roy Schneider (Jaws), Sorcerer is a hallucinatory “heart of darkness” tale that deserves all its critical and audience reassessment and more.
Francisco Rabal as Nilo in SORCERER. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
From the onset, it is understood that director William Friedkin (The Exorcist) and screenwriter Walon Green (The Wild Bunch) are not out to hold anyone’s hand. A horror-like theme from Tangerine Dream rises forth as we are introduced to the film’s title, setting the tone of a supernatural thriller. Then, we are thrust into Veracruz off the Gulf of Mexico, as Nilo (played by a fantastically sinister Francisco Rabal) causally executes a target in cold blood. Then, we are transported to Jerusalem as a group of Palestinian resistance fighters cause an explosion with two being killed, one being captured, and one, Kassem (played by Amidou), managing to escape. Then, we travel to Paris where we meet Victor Manzon (a great, understated Bruno Cremer in the prologue’s longest vignette) who is accused of fraud and flees his loving wife and company after his partner commits suicide. Then, finally, we land in New Jersey as we meet Irish gangster Jackie (Roy Schneider) and his ragtag crew as they rob a Catholic Church with Italian Mafia connections. As ambulances and cop cars come on the scene after a fatal car crash, Jackie flees. With an audacious 23-minute prologue showing how these men have been hoisted by their own petards, Sorcerer proves itself to be a film you catch up to rather than wait for it to explain itself. Its unique characterization and casting paired with its tense thrills demand its audience’s attention and doesn’t underestimate its audience’s intelligence either. This is a harsh, unforgiving world that Friedkin presents. The village is unforgiving, the task is unforgiving, the journey is unforgiving — one could argue that this world could be a personal hell for each of these characters, forced to pay for their sins with a Sisyphean task. Friedkin has been known to say that he doesn’t really believe in heroes or villains, saying there’s good and bad in everyone and Sorcerer is undoubtedly considered a masterpiece in its characterization solely off the fact that it puts bad characters into an unbelievable situation and, above all else, actually makes its audience care about what happens next for each of them in an elaborate Sympathy for the Devil situation, if you will.
Amidou as Kassem in SORCERER. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
Friedkin’s tense, fierce direction of Sorcerer sets it apart from any exotic thrillers made then or now. Never giving the audience an extended reprieve from the tense situation at hand, Friedkin’s direction effectively keeps the audience on their toes. Characters who we think may survive get snatched away at a glance, redemption is a fleeting joke of a dream, and the threat of being blown to bits could become a reality at any waking moment. That’s not to disregard the small moments where Friedkin does choose to let the film breathe. There are two key instances: two characters sharing a moment of humanity as one talks about his loving family back home and if he would go back (this tender moment is cut short by an explosion, causing the saddest death in the film — I told you, the reprieve is short) and a sad moment where we get an extended, slow closeup on Roy Schneider’s drained face, the look of a man who has been through hell and … not necessarily back … but likely still be there mentally. Friedkin knows when to take the foot lightly off the gas and when to floor the sucker back to 100.
Roy Scheider as Jackie Scanlon in SORCERER. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
To understand Sorcerer’s remarkable story of redemption and reassessment in the public eye is to understand the context of when it was released. Friedkin himself being a representation of the “New Hollywood movement,” a time where films were more director-focused than studio-focused, there was unfortunately a turning of the tide around the time of Sorcerer’s release. The time was slowly morphing into the age of the “modern blockbuster.” Enter: George Lucas’s Star Wars (the film that released around the same time as Sorcerer and went on to spawn sequels, spinoffs, and more). To say that Friedkin had a chance in hell against George Lucas’s revelatory sci-fi fantasy is like thinking Ang Lee’s The Ice Storm had a chance against James Cameron’s monumental Titanic in 1997. But unlike Ang Lee’s subversive classic, the initial critical reception towards Friedkin’s Sorcerer was jaded. The criticism ranged from those believing this adaptation paled in comparison to Henri-Georges Clouzot’s film from the ‘50s, that its title was misleading (audiences were somewhat disappointed that the film was not a horror follow-up to Friedkin’s massively successful Exorcist (1973) or at least a fantasy film … again, the Star Wars effect) or that the editing was too abrupt. As said by director Walter Hill in the excellent documentary Friedkin Uncut (2018), Sorcerer’s failure marked a change where studios decided to be more focused on entertainment that was less challenging to audiences, a polarizing decision that has been affecting cinema to this day.
A scene from the film SORCERER. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
Fast forward to today, taking the film out of its unfortunate reality as being put against one of the biggest films of all time, it is respected and admired as being one of the best films of all time. Its influence is wide-ranging. The introductory robbery sequence in The Dark Knight (2008) being inspired by the robbery scene in the prologue, the haunting prologue of the Safdie Brothers’s Uncut Gems (2019) mirroring the haunting sequences of chaos and riots in the Central American village, and the terrific neon vibe of Nicholas Winding Refn’s Drive (2011) taking inspiration from Tangerine Dream’s memorable score.
SORCERER packshot. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
This release by Criterion is no less than a monumental event for all physical media lovers and cinephiles. Focusing on the resolution alone, the contrast in the film’s key sequences is sharper than in Warner Brothers Home Entertainment’s previous 2016 Blu-ray release. The iconic rainy bridge crossing sequence is clearer than ever in its resolution, the climactic drive through madness sequence is darkly gorgeous, and Roy Schneider’s face in full frame is as much of a massively rich dramatic canvas as it’s ever been. The bit rate is also stronger at between 35 to 39 Mbps while the bit rate on WBHE’s 2016 release is between 12 to 30 Mbps. The supplements are great here: in addition to Francesco Zippel’s fantastic 2018 documentary Friedkin Uncut about the life and career of Friedkin, there’s a hilarious, fascinating conversation between Friedkin and Refn in 2015, a conversation between director James Gray (Ad Astra) and film critic Sean Fennessey, behind-the-scenes footage, archival audio interviews with screenwriter Green and editor Bud Smith (The Exorcist) and an essay by film critic Justin Chang. For any lovers of adventure, nail-biting thrillers, or just great cinema in general, this release is a non-negotiable must-have.
Sorcerer Blu-ray Features:
- *NEW* 4K digital restoration, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack approved by director William Friedkin, and alternate original theatrical 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- Friedkin Uncut (2018), a documentary by Francesco Zippel featuring interviews with Friedkin, screenwriter Walon Green, filmmakers Wes Anderson and Francis Ford Coppola, and others
- *NEW* conversation between filmmaker James Gray and film critic Sean Fennessey
- Conversation from 2015 between Friedkin and filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn
- Archival audio interviews with Green and editor Bud Smith, from the collection of Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan, author of William Friedkin (2003)
- Behind-the-scenes footage
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by film critic Justin Chang
- New cover by Nessim Higson
Available on 4K UHD and Blu-Ray June 24th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official The Criterion Collection Sorcerer webpage.
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Categories: Films To Watch, Home Release, Recommendation
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