
Sorcerer. 1977. USA. Directed by William Friedkin. Screenplay by Walon Green, based on Le Salaire de la peur by Georges Arnaud. With Roy Scheider, Bruno Cremer, Francisco Rabal, Amidou, Ramon Bieri. 2K digital restoration by Paramount; courtesy Paramount. 121 min.
Commonly, yet mistakenly, described as a remake of Henri Georges Clouzot’s The Wages of Fear (1953), William Friedkin’s adaptation of Georges Arnaud’s novel—the story of four outcasts who embark on a suicide mission to deliver nitroglycerin over 300 miles of barely existing roads—was plagued with production problems due to a mounting budget and adverse shooting conditions in a Dominican Republic jungle. Friedkin’s most ambitious project, it was released soon after Star Wars (1977), and the film was ignored by audiences flocking to adventure in another galaxy. Sorcerer is an extraordinary artistic achievement nonetheless. Friedkin and his crew managed some of the most gripping, mindblowing sequences of the decade, and delivered an enduring portrait of the depth of humanity’s corruption and self-destructive drives.