Four unfortunate men from different parts of the globe agree to risk their lives transporting gallons of nitroglycerin across dangerous Latin American jungle.Four unfortunate men from different parts of the globe agree to risk their lives transporting gallons of nitroglycerin across dangerous Latin American jungle.Four unfortunate men from different parts of the globe agree to risk their lives transporting gallons of nitroglycerin across dangerous Latin American jungle.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 3 nominations total
Friedrich von Ledebur
- 'Carlos'
- (as Fredrick Ledebur)
Chico Martínez
- Bobby Del Rios
- (as Chico Martinez)
Anne-Marie Deschodt
- Blanche
- (as Anne Marie Descott)
Jacques François
- Lefevre
- (as Jacques Francois)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBesides internal on-set conflicts, William Friedkin said that approximately fifty people "had to leave the film for either injury or gangrene," as well as food poisoning and malaria. In The Friedkin Connection he added that "almost half the crew went into the hospital or had to be sent home." Friedkin himself lost fifty pounds (23 kg) and was stricken with malaria, which was diagnosed after the film's premiere.
- GoofsDuring the tree sequence, after the dynamite is lifted out of the wooden crate, it is kicked to the side and (apparently) falls off the tree.
Weeping dynamite is leaking out the nitroglycerin as a liquid which will readily soak through untreated materials such as the wooden case, shelves upon which they sit and so on. Old stocks of dynamite usually require destroying the entire building in which they are found for safety.
However, as illustrated in this scene, and earlier in the film when the boxes are being inspected, each wooden box has a lining of what appears to be some sort of treated paper, which the film shows to be watertight. When it is inspected early in the film, the worker places his hand within this paper barrier to get nitroglycerin on his fingers, and at the felled tree, this wrapping is not soaked through and is in fact strong enough to support the weight of the dynamite and liquid inside. Kassem uses a sharp stick to poke a hole in it, whereupon liquid nitroglycerin begins to flow out.
- Crazy creditsThe only opening credits at the beginning of the film are the studios' names followed by the film's graffiti style font title. Although by the late 1990's it was quite common to not have credits at the beginning of a film, in 1977 it was very unusual.
- Alternate versionsThe European version of the film was re-edited and shortened by CIC, the European distributor, without director William Friedkin's permission. The prologue sequences set in New York, Paris, Vera Cruz and Israel that show what happened to the main characters and why they had to flee to South America, were changed to flashbacks running throughout the film.
- SoundtracksSpheres (Movement 3)
Performed by Keith Jarrett
Used under license from Polydor Incorporated and through the courtesy of ECM Records
Featured review
A remake of Henri-George Cluzot's 1953 film The Wages of Fear (also on DVD in a lovely Criterion Disc), this William Friedkin film stars Roy Scheider (at his weary, doomed finest) as one of four men exiled to an unnamed South American country by their mistakes and crimes. Trapped in squalor (and it's damn convincing looking squalor, too, far beyond the sunbaked black-and-white compositions of Wages of Fear; this film looks like it's leaving mud on your shoes), unable to return to the lives they abandoned, they're driven by circumstance to accept a normally unthinkable job. They have to drive old, unstable dynamite from its storage site hundreds of miles over mountain terrain and washed-out roads to the location of an oil well fire so the blaze can be snuffed out. The pay is exorbitant -- but it's commiserate to the danger. The risks are colossal ... and they ultimately have no choice.
Sorcerer is tense, suspenseful film-making at its finest; you become physically uncomfortably during this film thanks to the incredible sense that at any minute our heroes would literally be blown to hell. (I mean, we all walk around with the philosophical knowledge we could die at any moment, but talk about your concrete metaphors ... ) Friedkin creates a palpable sense of place, and Scheider is immensely powerful as a man whose every move suggests that he knows he's doomed. Taut with suspense, completely convincing and breathtakingly human, Sorcerer is an unfairly maligned film that delivers in every way.
And the Score is unique and nightmarish. A new DVD would be welcome to many happy fans.
Sorcerer is tense, suspenseful film-making at its finest; you become physically uncomfortably during this film thanks to the incredible sense that at any minute our heroes would literally be blown to hell. (I mean, we all walk around with the philosophical knowledge we could die at any moment, but talk about your concrete metaphors ... ) Friedkin creates a palpable sense of place, and Scheider is immensely powerful as a man whose every move suggests that he knows he's doomed. Taut with suspense, completely convincing and breathtakingly human, Sorcerer is an unfairly maligned film that delivers in every way.
And the Score is unique and nightmarish. A new DVD would be welcome to many happy fans.
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Wages of Fear
- Filming locations
- Papaloapan River, Veracruz, Mexico(bridge crossing scene)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $22,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $9,914
- Runtime2 hours 1 minute
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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