Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Fulke Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

project717-629-119383 A list of the exquisite and unrecognized little details of Friedkin's towering existentialist masterpiece: Pazuzu's head in the wall (Viva La Exorcist!) the split-mirror close-up, the glazed pig in the French restaurant, the blackened eye of the bride in the church about to be robbed, "with one gesture of his hand, he removed them from this world", the native in the road, mocking the trucks and inviting them deeper into the jungle, "this isn't what you expected, is it?.... No, it's exactly what I expected...." "Have you met our ex-Reich Field Marshall?", the painting of kittens, the little cardboard arrow in the middle of nowhere, pointing downwards, "Poza Rica is dead", Nature itself conspiring againist them by putting the obstacle of the giant tree in their way, the gold timepiece with "In The Tenth Year Of Forever" inscribed on the back, which denotes one of the most subtle yet powerful symbols in the entire film, insofar that the only act of kindness between any of the men, other than what is necessitated by acts of co-operation with one another for the sake of their individual survival, is when the watch's inscription is shown for the last time when recollecting the memory of their children or their lover and at that exact second of rare camaraderie they die, the surreal purple sky and the laughter of a corpse echoing through the canyons, "I don't think I'll be going to Managua", the last dance in the cantina to Charlie Parker's "I'll Remember April". For further reference: "No Exit" by Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus's "The Myth of Sisyphus", Louis Ferdinand-Celine's "Journey To The End Of Night"

avik-basu1889 I don't think I'll be able to review William Friedkin's 'Sorcerer' without comparing it to Henri-Georges Clouzot's 'The Wages of Fear' since both are adaptations of Georges Arnaud's novel. Both the films are similar in structure. They are both divided into two respective halves. In the first half we get to know about the characters and in the second half we follow them in their thrilling adventure. However there is a marked difference in the way the two filmmakers make us familiar with the characters. Clouzot's film starts off with all the characters already in exile in the South American country and we get to know about them through their interactions with each other. Friedkin takes a different route. In 'Sorcerer' we get extended individual flashbacks of the major characters to convey the reasons behind their exile in an unknown country which actually works very well. Friedkin also does very well to capture the morbid and monotonous nature of life that the primary group of characters have to lead in Porvenir. Then the second half commences and the differences in directorial styles become even more apparent. Although the theme of desperate men willing to go to any lengths to achieve freedom from their present pointless existence is present in both films, but the style of execution of the set-pieces in the two films differ. There is a surgical precision to Clouzot's set-pieces. He uses meticulous editing to create Hitchcock-esque tension as we watch the characters solve problems and overcome obstacles with deduction, logical planning and presence of mind. Friedkin stays true to his creative roots and quite akin to 'The French Connection' and 'The Exorcist', what we get in the second half of 'Sorcerer' is unflinchingly visceral. Instead of prioritising tension and suspense, Friedkin makes the group's mission a 'Man versus Nature' struggle. The set- pieces are not about tension, but about showing these men getting constantly beaten down by nature's forces. Their only ally is perseverance and mental strength. One can't help but get reminded of Werner Herzog(and especially 'Aguirre: The Wrath of God' due to the jungle setting) because of Friedkin's choice to showcase nature in its most merciless, brutal and unforgiving light. Roy Scheider's character could easily be a protagonist in a Herzog film because of his unflinching persistence in trying to overcome nature at all cost and this persistence leads to hysterical paranoia which is again not uncommon in Herzog's protagonists. 'Sorcerer' retains the darkly humorous irony of 'The Wages of Fear'. I have to say that both the films are equally good in their respective ways and deserve recognition.If there is anything wrong in 'Sorcerer', it's that the transition from one mood/tone to another at times is a bit abrupt and clumsy. But in the overall context, it is a very minor complaint. Highly recommended.

morrison-dylan-fan Being a big fan of Henri-George Cluzot's extraordinary Film Noir The Wages of Fear,a friend gave me the US remake on my birthday. Whilst keen the see the remake,I found myself just going back to the original when I would get a chance to. Taking part in an ICM film exchange project,I was happily caught by surprise,when the title was chosen for viewing,which led to me finally casting a spell.The plot:Caught partaking in various crimes, Nilo, Kassem, Victor, and Jackie each live/hide in a town that has been destroyed by poverty.Wanting to get their hands on any serious cash,they each accept an offer from a company to each take stacks of dynamite to the other side of town in order to close an oil well. Setting off,the drivers soon begin to fear that a fuse has been lit on their lives.View on the film:Backed by Paramount and Universal,the DVD transfer from Universal is shockingly poor,with the print looking like it has been used as a brush,and the original mono soundtrack having a slightly muted quality.Driving deep into the jungle,director William Friedkin & cinematographers Dick Bush and John M. Stephens shred the Film Noir anxiety of the original,to light an Action flick fuse. Building the bridge for real, (with added,hidden safety features!) Friedkin drips the tension of the drivers across the screen with elegant wide shots swaying to the surrounding jungle and picking up every wrong turn that takes place. Turning the wheels with a rapid-fire opening giving each of the drivers an intro,Friedkin blends ultra-stylised overlapping close-ups with Tangerine Dream's great, spidery score to give the jungle a peculiar,other worldly atmosphere. Going down a different road to the original,the screenplay by Walon Green delves into the background of the drivers with a frantic crime edge opening,that reveals the deal that has led to the drivers deciding to put their hands on dynamite. After setting everyone up,Green is disappointingly unable to bridge the action with the personal,as a lack of building any type of bond between Nilo and Jackie Scanlon (played by a very good,tough Roy Scheider and a playful Francisco Rabal) leading the action to look enticing,but lacking a much needed psychological depth to make this sorcerer cast a magical spell.

Woodyanders Four desperate men agree to transport two trucks containing volatile explosives across a hostile South American jungle. Director William Friedkin, working from a gritty script by Walon Green, keeps the gripping story moving at a steady pace, ably crafts an unsparingly harsh and grim tone, offers a vivid depiction of a hellish third world country in which chaos and corruption reign supreme, and builds a substantial amount of nerve-wracking tension (the scenes with the trucks driving across a rickety rope bridge during a fierce rainstorm are positively harrowing). Roy Scheider brings a strong sense of exhausted fatalism to his meaty lead role as cynical fugitive criminal Jackie Scanlon; he receives sterling support from Bruno Cremer as affable banker Victor Manzin, Francisco Rabal as ruthless hit-man Nilo, Amidou as the scruffy Kassem, Ramon Bieri as huffy oil company foreman Corlette, and Peter Capell as the hard-nosed Lantigue. The sharp cinematography by Dick Bush and John M. Stephens astutely captures the grungy desolation of the dangerous landscape. The pulsating score by Tangerine Dream and the overall mood of nihilistic despair both further enhance the gut-wrenching suspense. A real nail-biter.