Sorcerer
DVD cover
Directed by	William Friedkin
Produced by	William Friedkin David Salven
Written by	Georges Arnaud (novel Le Salaire de la Peur) Walon Green
Starring	Roy Scheider Bruno Cremer Francisco Rabal
Music by	Tangerine Dream Keith Jarrett Charlie Parker
Cinematography	John M. Stephens Dick Bush
Editing by	Bud Smith Robert K. Lambert
Distributed by	Universal Pictures (USA) Paramount Pictures (non-USA)
Release date(s)	June 21 1977 U.S. release
Running time	121 min
Language	English
Budget	$22,000,000 (estimated)
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Sorcerer is a 1977 film produced and directed by William Friedkin, starring Roy Scheider, Bruno Cremer, Francisco Rabal and Amidou. It is a remake of the 1953 French film Le Salaire de la Peur (Wages of Fear). Image File history File links Sorcerer_Friedkin. ... William Friedkin (born August 29, 1935 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American movie and television director, producer, and writer best known for directing The Exorcist and The French Connection in the early 1970s. ... William Friedkin (born August 29, 1935 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American movie and television director, producer, and writer best known for directing The Exorcist and The French Connection in the early 1970s. ... Roy Richard Scheider (born November 10, 1932) is an American actor. ... Bruno Cremer (6 October 1929, Saint-Mande), is a french actor who made a great part of his career on stage but also made successful performances for the cinema and the television. ... Francisco Rabal ( March 8, 1926 - August 29, 2001) was born in Águilas, a small town in Murcia ( Spain). ... Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. ... Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945 in Allentown, Pennsylvania) is an American pianist and composer. ... Charles Bird Parker, Jr. ... Dick Bush was a prolific cinematographer whose career spanned over thirty years. ... Bud Smith (born October 23, 1979 in Torrance, California) was an American baseball player for the St. ... Universal Studios (sometimes called Universal Pictures or Universal City Studios), a subsidiary of NBC Universal, is one of the major American film studios that has production studios and offices located at 100 Universal City Plaza Drive in Universal City, California, an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County between Los Angeles... Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and distribution company, based in Hollywood, California. ... is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... // Events In the Academy Awards, Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight win Best Actor and Actress and Supporting Actress awards for Network. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. ... William Friedkin (born August 29, 1935 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American movie and television director, producer, and writer best known for directing The Exorcist and The French Connection in the early 1970s. ... Roy Richard Scheider (born November 10, 1932) is an American actor. ... Bruno Cremer (6 October 1929, Saint-Mande), is a french actor who made a great part of his career on stage but also made successful performances for the cinema and the television. ... Francisco Rabal ( March 8, 1926 - August 29, 2001) was born in Águilas, a small town in Murcia ( Spain). ... In film, a remake is a newer version of a previously released film or a newer version of the source (play, novel, story, etc. ... Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Le Salaire de la peur (released in English-speaking countries as The Wages of Fear) is a 1953 film directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot and starring Yves Montand. ...

Sorcerer is noteworthy for being a major commercial failure following on the heels of Friedkin's highly successful films The French Connection and The Exorcist. The budget was estimated to be over $22 million,^{[citation needed]} with a gross of just $12 million.^{[citation needed]} Also notable is the electronic score by Tangerine Dream. This film was a co-production of Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures, with Universal handling U.S. distribution and Paramount handling the international release. The French Connection is a 1971 Hollywood film directed by William Friedkin. ... The Exorcist is an Academy Award-winning 1973 American horror and thriller film, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl, and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her daughter through an exorcism conducted... It has been suggested that Electronica be merged into this article or section. ... Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. ... Universal Pictures is the main motion picture production/distribution arm of Universal Studios, a subsidiary of NBC Universal. ... Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and distribution company, based in Hollywood, California. ...

Plot

Four criminals on the run, living in an isolated, hellishly poor town in South America, are given a risky but lucrative opportunity to escape their self-imposed exiles by driving a pair of trucks through a grueling 200-mile jungle region, carrying dangerously unstable nitroglycerin in order to put out an oil fire. On the way, they meet up with various hazards blocking their journey, including rope-suspended bridges swinging violently in a huge storm, massive trees that must be cleared by explosion, and desperate rebels curious about the loads they are carrying. It ends on an appropriately nihilistic note, as did the original French film. Nitroglycerin (NG), also known as nitroglycerine, trinitroglycerin, and glyceryl trinitrate, is a chemical compound. ...

Reaction

• Steve McQueen was the director's first choice for the role of Jackie Scanlon, and McQueen loved the script and wanted very much to do it, but he didn't want to leave the country due to marital problems he was having with Ali MacGraw at the time. Friedkin insisted that the film had to be shot in the Dominican Republic, so McQueen asked if MacGraw could be a producer on the film (giving her a reason to be on location with him). Friedkin refused, and McQueen turned down the role, which went instead to Roy Scheider. The director regretted his decision years later, realizing that McQueen's star power might have made it a box office success.

• Roy Scheider was angry that, in the final cut, Friedkin had removed a subplot that had his character showing a more sympathetic side, befriending a small boy from the village. For that reason, Scheider has to this day refused to comment on the film.

• Despite it's being one of the most infamous financial "flops" of the 70s, it gained a cult following from pay television showings in the 80s, to the extent that it was finally released to VHS and DVD in the 90s. Today, it is considered by many (including the director himself) to be Friedkin's best film, a bold statement considering his other works include The French Connection, The Exorcist and the also underrated To Live and Die in L.A..

• The film today is more positively received by film critics; Rotten Tomatoes gives the film 77% fresh on its Tomatometer. [1]

Steve McQueen (March 24, 1930 – November 7, 1980) was an Academy Award-nominated American movie actor, nicknamed The King of Cool.[1] He was one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s due to a popular anti-hero persona. ... Alice MacGraw (born April 1, 1938 in Pound Ridge, Westchester County, New York) was an American model and actress. ... Roy Richard Scheider (born November 10, 1932) is an American actor. ... The French Connection is a 1971 Hollywood film directed by William Friedkin. ... The Exorcist is a horror novel written by William Peter Blatty first published in 1971. ... To Live and Die in L.A. is a neo-noir American film released in 1985 and directed by William Friedkin. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Spoofs

An episode of The Simpsons entitled "Mr. Plow" featured a parody of this movie as Homer crosses a rickety bridge. The short scene is scored with very Tangerine Dream-like music.^{[citation needed]} Simpsons redirects here. ... Mr. ... Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced by Dan Castellaneta. ... // Music is an art form consisting of sound and silence expressed through time. ...

DVD release

The DVD has been released in the U.S. and Canada in a non-widescreen version, but which is the proper aspect ratio for the film, as it was originally released to theatres in 1:33 format. Currently, there are no plans for a newly remastered release, however Friedkin's infamous 1980 film Cruising has just been released to deluxe DVD in 2007, and he has indicated that Sorcerer might get the same treatment at some point. Cruising may mean: Cruising (maritime), leisurely travel by boat, yacht, or cruise ship. ... Look up sorcerer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

External links

• Sorcerer at the Internet Movie Database
• Wages of Fear at the Internet Movie Database
• The "Lost" Theme information about a rare NON Tangerine Dream selection from the soundtrack
• Interview: William Friedkin
• On Wages of Fear and Sorcerer

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