Sorcerer
1977
Drama
Suspense/Thriller
2h 1m
Based on the French film Salaire de la peur, Le (1953), this production begins with the individual beginnings of outcasts of different backgrounds who are forced by fortune to work in a remote oil drilling operation in South America (imdb)
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Sorcerer
1977
Drama
Suspense/Thriller
2h 1m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 69.94% from 821 total ratings
Ratings & Reviews
(821)
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Rated 13 Oct 2014
81
90th
Yeah? Try driving to Grandma's with a two year old screaming in the back. I've prayed for wooden bridges like that.
Rated 13 Oct 2014
Rated 29 Jul 2015
70
75th
When people ask me why I have never learned to drive, I now send them a youtube clip of Sorcerer's bridge scene. Before, I just kidney punched them.
Rated 29 Jul 2015
Rated 04 Dec 2014
81
73rd
If Webster defined "gritty" as "uncomfortable closeups of sweaty unattractive people", Sorcerer is possibly the grittiest story ever told!
Rated 04 Dec 2014
Rated 28 Oct 2014
85
63rd
Incredibly gorgeous and sweaty. The infamous sorcerer on the bridge scene is on the damn poster for a reason. It's a shot that shouldn't even exist.
Rated 28 Oct 2014
Rated 18 Apr 2017
4
70th
One of the most tactile films I've ever seen; every frame seems to drip with rain, sweat, grime, mud, and blood. The environment, so hostile and overwhelming to the protagonists, seems to pulse off the screen. It takes a while to get going, but boy, once it does...that bridge sequence is jaw-dropping.
Rated 18 Apr 2017
Rated 22 Jun 2015
54
46th
The movie takes ages to introduce all the characters, and a few seconds to kill them off. Frankly, I found the plot of the film very confusing for no good reason. I just couldn't get into it. There are some tense scenes, and the overall scope of the film is very impressive, but I could hardly believe it is only two hours long, because it felt twice as much.
Rated 22 Jun 2015
Rated 22 Aug 2023
100
98th
Making a movie in the jungle is the key to having an absolute miserable time, get misunderstood and finally flop but baby years later when everyone is giving it a 5 on letterboxd - it's all worth it. An absolute masterclass in tension, it's just trucks driving through a jungle and you're terrified the entire time.
Rated 22 Aug 2023
Rated 18 Apr 2011
95
97th
Both films succeed in different ways than each other; while The Wages of Fear is fascinating as a scathing anti-American film, Sorcerer manages to attack the condition of Western imperialism with more bite. The scene in which the charred bodies from the oil well explosion are passed amongst the rioting civilians is haunting and powerful. That rickety bridge over the river scene is one of the most thrilling things I've ever seen. There really needs to be an abundant "Nitro Truck" genre.
Rated 18 Apr 2011
Rated 21 Jul 2014
60
62nd
Virtues are the major spectacular sequences (bridge, tree, oil well fire scenes) and some of the smaller details (a New Jersey priest, upon the robbery of his parish, says "We've been hit!", a chicken at a police station, a naked boy in the mud and so on). Its human aspects are weaker: characters are too ill-defined, probably due to dialogue scenes being cut, and the intended cinema verité grittiness does not always extend to the acting. Scheider is OK but Warren Oates would have been better.
Rated 21 Jul 2014
Rated 14 Aug 2007
43
31st
Skip Friedkin's disappointing remake and watch Henri-Georges Clouzot's original, Wages of Fear, instead.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
Rated 25 Dec 2023
75
64th
The set pieces gain atmosphere and visceral impact, but missed are the charged dynamics among the characters. Partly by design: WAGES was concerned with manly interrelations; here it is the distinctly post-Vietnam conception of the relationship between self-interest and (self-)immolation. But even on its own terms the characterization isn't there, and undercuts the brilliant bits. The action feels less like a climax of the build-up than an apology for the prologue. Don't get me wrong: see it.
Rated 25 Dec 2023
Rated 11 May 2020
80
84th
Hadn't seen Wages of Fear going into this (although I want to now), so I didn't have a reference point. This was good, very good; genuinely tense, effectively cast, and beautifully shot. It felt like the protagonists were on a different planet at times. Always had a soft spot for Tangerine Dream. I think this one might prove divisive, but for me this is one that Friedkin got right.
Rated 11 May 2020
Rated 28 Jan 2012
94
98th
I love the transformation and and desperation of the characters as they grow more and more isolated from the world. The bridge sequence is incredible, and so is everything in this film. A new favourite, a masterpiece.
Rated 28 Jan 2012
Rated 24 Mar 2018
88
88th
A stunning and exciting remake which holds up to the original, if only for the lush jungle scenery, the pulsating score, the delirious editing and sound design towards the end, and the triumphantly staged and shot bridge sequence. Takes even longer than the original to get going (with character back-stories less interesting than it thinks they are), but the band grouping together to escape against the odds of survival is so palpable -- the troubled production really added that extra element.
Rated 24 Mar 2018
Rated 24 Apr 2014
74
90th
I have not read the source material or seen the original, but I have to say , I was not disappointed here. Friedkin had something going in the `70's and it is in full effect here. There is palpable tension throughout, and I love the soundtrack.
Rated 24 Apr 2014
Rated 16 May 2014
100
98th
Friedkin goes the full Herzog and yet births a masterpiece of heart-stopping tension. I'm still shaking a little bit from the bridge sequence. One of the best movies I've seen in quite a while, and much better than the original.
Rated 16 May 2014
Rated 30 Apr 2023
88
95th
"Sorcerer" is the pinnacle of man vs. nature, it's a white knuckle thriller in the purest form and does so with a subject that I never thought could be so gripping: trucking. But the truth is, with a box full of unstable dynamite crossing a jungle, even a mule ride would have had me clenching my cheeks.
Rated 30 Apr 2023
Rated 23 Jul 2022
86
97th
i'm never handling old dynamite in the jungle again
Rated 23 Jul 2022
Rated 28 Nov 2010
60
39th
Story is not always involving. No real emotional investment in the characters. Mainly made interesting through some bravura set pieces, such as the crossing of a rickety suspension bridge, and the clearing of a tree blocking the road. Friedkin is a superior film technician.
Rated 28 Nov 2010
Rated 30 May 2012
84
81st
Provides a sense of desperation that is matched only by a few films that I've seen. Not only are the characters nastier, but the setting pretty much feels like hell on earth. It may be worse overall than The Wages of Fear, but it does it's own thing extremely well.
Rated 30 May 2012
Rated 18 May 2010
82
83rd
Very good. I was skeptical that the premise would work--that it would be suspenseful--but the character development and atmosphere do it. The locations are amazing, too; there were several sequences that reminded me of Fitzcarraldo. There's good acting all around, an awesome and unique soundtrack, and top notch cinematography. I did not like the ending.
Rated 18 May 2010
Rated 13 Jul 2022
5
73rd
friedkin's self-proclaimed crown jewel reimagines clouzot, but it's also as much an answer to herzog as APOCALYPSE NOW. i always assumed the poster was stylised but it really is that vivid, tactile, foreboding. its deluge of sensory stimuli seems without human guidance, and the characters stand a chance only 'cause they're already reduced to undiluted survival instinct by years navigating the jungles of capital--at least this one's honest about what it is. the most intimidating of all thrillers.
Rated 13 Jul 2022
Rated 29 Oct 2013
70
35th
Remake of the French classic Wages of Fear doesn't hold a candle to the original, but it retains the riveting tension. More of a pulpy action film than the original. At first it seems to be quite different with 30 minutes of backstory to open the film, but once the story is set up it basically tells the same story albeit with slightly different obstructions the drivers to face.
Rated 29 Oct 2013
Rated 14 Dec 2022
91
92nd
Friedkin, you absolute maniac
Rated 14 Dec 2022
Rated 24 Jul 2021
90
32nd
-1 long to warm up Great housegames movie
Rated 24 Jul 2021
Rated 12 Jun 2022
65
42nd
More effective in its hour-long setup than its 1953 predecessor, but the effort to recreate the tension falls short. Mundane phases of the journey are terrifying in Wages, but here are skipped to focus on the "big" threats, levelling them with the baby steps of Wages and leaving itself with nothing to build upon. It's well acted and beautifully shot, and the last 15 minutes are nearly flawless; but this is undercut by a needlessly bleak ending reeking of unwarranted pessimism.
Rated 12 Jun 2022
Rated 12 Oct 2012
80
81st
I preffer the original french version, but this is a very good reinterpretation [more than a remake]. It feels like the older brother of "Apocalypse Now".
Rated 12 Oct 2012
Rated 11 Aug 2014
70
50th
Well made, beautiful & interesting movie. Plot sometimes confusing and unclear. i.e., Roy S's character is in a car wreck, tries to crawl away but is clearly found and called attention to, collapsed in a pile of stolen money; later he is said to have "walked away from the accident." Long sequences of "adventures" w/ the impossibly difficult task beset by obstacles became a bit ridiculous & tedious. The ending was lost on me, had to be explained; it is very fatalistic. "Crime doesn't pay!"
Rated 11 Aug 2014
Rated 06 Apr 2024
94
84th
The cinematography is incredible. Simply stunning looking movie. More harrowing and heart tightening thrilling than French Connection. The gruesome and horrific violence in the beginning sets up a stifling sense of dread for the rest of the film. You're just waiting for the next horrific jolt. Barely a flicker of French Connection's black humor. The tone here is grim throughout.
Rated 06 Apr 2024
Rated 24 Apr 2011
80
78th
Clouzot's storytelling is cleaner, but Friedkin gets much, much more mileage out of the setting. Features some great, claustrophobic POV shots.
Rated 24 Apr 2011
Rated 09 Jul 2019
70
73rd
Rapid cuts and sparse character introduction, leading to a high-intensity driving sequence. Gradually gets more haunting towards the ending.
Rated 09 Jul 2019
Rated 20 May 2014
95
53rd
very intense and suspenseful film with some terrifying,brutal and vertigo inducing cinematography, Sorcerer is a lost gem of 70's film-making. Roy Scheider is great as 'Juan Dominquez ' and the soundtrack done by Tangerine Dream is awesome. One of William Friedkin's best. Really worth checking out.
Rated 20 May 2014
Rated 04 Mar 2017
90
95th
Soderbergh says "Anybody I know who's any good is always stealing from SORCERER." Now I know why. It's truly a existentialist masterpiece.
Rated 04 Mar 2017
Rated 13 Mar 2013
88
97th
Just as tense as the original. One of the few cases where an American remake doesn't disgrace its predecessor.
Rated 13 Mar 2013
Rated 24 Jul 2017
90
80th
Viewed July 23, 2017.
Rated 24 Jul 2017
Rated 14 Apr 2024
80
82nd
A tale of unnecessary human resilience at a desperate climax, Sorcerer remained a hidden 70s gem for me up until now. Read my full review here: https://boxd.it/6hh1Vd
Rated 14 Apr 2024
Rated 08 Jul 2019
86
86th
Gripping and suspenseful, beautifully shot and with inspiring stunt work.
Rated 08 Jul 2019
Rated 28 Apr 2009
95
94th
An atmospheric and brilliantly made suspense picture that acts as a nice counterpart to Clozout's original.
Rated 28 Apr 2009
Rated 19 Apr 2014
100
97th
Its initially tepid response is baffling. This is as intense a movie as you'll ever see. And while it isn't exactly an improvement on its predecessor, it certainly does it justice. It is expertly shot, edited, and performed. The audience is practically swimming in the characters' sweat. I had to remind myself to breathe. Expertly crafted in every way, especially in sound design. The Tangerine Dream score combined with the sharp snaps and creaks, the tension continues to rise.
Rated 19 Apr 2014
Rated 11 Dec 2017
73
28th
Bizarre for Friedkin to follow up his big hits with such a B-movie. It's pretty nonsensical stuff about volatile cargo being trucked through the Amazon. Hard to believe any of it, particularly as the characters are a bunch of bland but strange fruit, and the atmosphere is lacking in all but the most high-concept of tension-building scenes. And I kept waiting for the sorcery. Had potential, but whatever creepy magical realism horror vibe was intended, it didn't come off. Brutal, but boring.
Rated 11 Dec 2017
Rated 11 Feb 2018
80
68th
I knew a lot about this film's history, William Friedkin's follow up to a couple of huge hits... initially not well received, now critically reappraised, but I knew almost nothing about the actual film. Motley crew end up in a terrible place, and take on a dangerous job. (The French foreign legion reference early is very appropriate in some ways.) There are so many amazingly tense scenes, the most famous one is even on the poster. It's gripping, and excruciating.
Rated 11 Feb 2018
Rated 06 Aug 2015
8
76th
Sorcerer is one of the most misunderstood and criminally unsung gems of all time. This is another impressive piece of filmmaking from William Friedkin and I appreciate this film more and more with every viewing. Roy Scheider gives one of his best performances and the Tangerine Dream soundtrack is a worthy mention also. The cinematography is spectacular and considering the limited dialogue, the mounting tone of dread and desperation makes for an incredibly compelling and suspenseful experience.
Rated 06 Aug 2015
Rated 24 Mar 2017
94
82nd
A-
Rated 24 Mar 2017
Rated 15 Jan 2024
60
72nd
Memorable for its depiction of filth, destitution, and exploitation. However, the characters' backstories, which prominently occupy the first 30 or so minutes of the film, seemed underutilized. The rest of the film, supposedly the main attraction, felt condensed.
Rated 15 Jan 2024
Rated 08 Mar 2024
88
71st
Still a heartstopper near fifty years later. Films like these deserve preservation because you simply cannot make them anymore; and that's not a "back in my day" old man sentiment, it's a point of fact: no matter how you went about it, Sorcerer today would lack the immediacy of a film that could not be aided by CGI in any capacity. Can't remember the last time I outright gasped during a film. That's the stuff, man. That's what it's about.
Rated 08 Mar 2024
Rated 19 Jul 2011
35
25th
Leslie Halliwell's assessment is timeless, and spot on: "Why anyone should have wanted to spend twenty million dollars on a remake of The Wages of Fear, do it badly, and give it a misleading title is anybody's guess. The result is dire."
Rated 19 Jul 2011
Rated 10 Aug 2014
80
73rd
There are a few scenes here that are as tense and desperate as I've ever seen in a film. It's unfortunate that the character development seems a little clumsy, because if there were more emotions invested into them once they set out in the trucks and I'd be left more unstable than the explosive cargo. Or more blown away at the very least.
Rated 10 Aug 2014
Rated 30 Sep 2018
75
65th
Although a laudable effort, Sorcerer ultimately doesn't deliver the goods as a whole. The photography and lighting are fantastic, the effects and stunts are among the very best I've seen, the acting is good all around and there are riveting scenes, locations and suspense, but something is amiss. Problems with the structure of the film aside, Sorcerer would have benefited from additional use of music. The great but seldom heard theme song underscores the lost possibilities in this area.
Rated 30 Sep 2018
Rated 02 Aug 2020
94
97th
Good god. There are certain films that are made by their settings - I just want to live in their world - this, Only Angels Have Wings, To Be or Not To Be... This movie is obviously so much more than its location, but... I just love it! Watched it for the first time during the pandemic, on a makeshift outdoor screen on my back patio.
Rated 02 Aug 2020
Rated 24 Jul 2014
88
97th
Visually stunning in the grittiest possible way.
Rated 24 Jul 2014
Rated 28 Apr 2014
2
59th
Old news, but the worst title for a film, ever. Feels quite dated, even on Bluray. It's an interesting film, but I feel it's overrated. The 'bloodcurdling' scene pictured on the poster isn't really bloodcurdling at all, which is supposed to be the money shot. Scheider is cool as always and unlike Friedkin, who didn't see him as a good lead, I think he's great. In all honesty an unnecessary remake of The Wages of Fear.
Rated 28 Apr 2014
Rated 19 Feb 2023
71
76th
"It's five minutes before nine, in Paris." When Sorcerer was good, it was really good, I've never felt such suspense in a cinema. It's just such a shame that it took so long to get there.
Rated 19 Feb 2023
Rated 16 May 2014
65
41st
I prefer the original, but it's not a disgrace to the source material.
Rated 16 May 2014
Rated 12 Mar 2009
25
22nd
When I first saw this in its original theatrical release I was quite taken with it. But that was before I saw (or even knew about) Clouzot's original -- which I hardly need to say is hugely superior. Funny how things change. I have to wonder why Friedkin bothered.
Rated 12 Mar 2009
Rated 20 Jun 2014
87
91st
A remarkably tense and visceral thriller. Friedkin takes the bare outline of "The Wages of Fear", tones down the focus on character and amps up the desperation and horror inherent in the premise. There are some amazing setpieces here, especially the should-be-iconic rope bridge scene.
Rated 20 Jun 2014
Rated 05 Sep 2023
80
78th
Nail-biting update of The Wages of Fear. While the first part was interesting in giving some backstory behind the eventual drivers (without, oddly, building up much sympathy for them), it took away time on the road. Weirdly, it reminded me in spots of some of the blockbuster Vietnam War movies with all those explosions. Certainly, the bridge scene is memorable, but my favorite scene is the comedic test of the drivers.
Rated 05 Sep 2023
Rated 20 Apr 2017
80
86th
The whole movie is just me saying 'oh my God! Oh fuck!' That's some good shit.
Rated 20 Apr 2017
Rated 02 Apr 2020
80
75th
Under Quarantine Film Reviews #20: An overlooked gem of the New Hollywood era. No heroes nor villains, just 4 down on their luck dudes on a stressful road trip across the jungle.
Rated 02 Apr 2020
Rated 05 Aug 2022
6
0th
my dad made me watch this and holy shit I've never had a film grab me and turn me inside out, extract my senses and organs, fold me up and put in the closet of darkness and fear and anxiety. Maybe one day I'll try to watch this movie again, but it'll take a couple decades to recover from the first time
Rated 05 Aug 2022
Rated 28 Jun 2015
85
94th
Though not quite as fantastic as the original ('The Wages of Fear'), it's still amazing!
Rated 28 Jun 2015
Rated 04 May 2012
70
51st
Wonderful setting and some great setpieces. But it's a bit absorbed in its characters' masculinity, possibly at the expense of the viewer's sense of involvement, though not so much mine. The music feels misplaced and dated, though it makes one or two moments marvelous. An ancillary yet still valid disappointment is the film's title: nonsensical, pretentious, misleading and disrespectful of its source material.
Rated 04 May 2012
Rated 17 Aug 2013
75
89th
Very good, I prefare this to the original.
Rated 17 Aug 2013
Rated 19 Jun 2023
94
94th
Olağanüstü bir macera. Bir başyapıt. Bu film bugün çekilemez!
Rated 19 Jun 2023
Rated 02 Aug 2014
70
53rd
Some genuinely impressive cinematography,great scenes of storytelling with minimal dialogue as well.
The music has some horrible synth unfortunately, a lot of the movie goes unsocree though.
Rated 02 Aug 2014
Rated 24 Aug 2023
89
94th
A movie dripping with sweaty desperation. Its long prologue establishes a brutal point of no return for each of its protagonists, and over the next 90 minutes the film slowly unravels the last threadbare strands of their sanity and dignity. Physically punishing, uncommercial, and brilliant.
Rated 24 Aug 2023
Rated 10 Jul 2021
100
96th
In the 1970's, Friedkin was a pioneer of a very different kind of thriller that, to a great degree, dispensed with the psychological and made things entirely about people doing things. "Sorcerer" really ratchets up the tension around the truck driving and is really a masterpiece of the kind of thriller that Michael Mann would pick up in the 1980's.
Rated 10 Jul 2021
Rated 24 Apr 2014
70
69th
lots of great individually great scenes, and although the film isn't flawless as a whole some of the images are wonderfully composed. Roy Scheider wayward nose was very distracting, though.
Rated 24 Apr 2014
Rated 10 May 2014
88
95th
Incredible movie for its time.
Rated 10 May 2014
Rated 30 Aug 2023
65
43rd
Wages of Fear, but not as good.
Rated 30 Aug 2023
Rated 09 Apr 2023
80
86th
(Istanbul Film Festival | Fransız Kültür Merkezi - 04/09/2023)
Rated 09 Apr 2023
Rated 15 Oct 2023
86
97th
I preferred this to the wages of fear, a film that I dearly love. This remake caused more tension than even the original. Roy scheider was great despite what the director thought. All of the principal actors were excellent. The bridge seen alone is worth the price of admission. You will never see anything so raw and real in today's cinema.
Rated 15 Oct 2023
Rated 25 Oct 2008
95
93rd
Example #1 of remaking a classic and somehow surpassing it.
Rated 25 Oct 2008
Rated 10 Nov 2018
74
85th
Uneven though meticulously shot, staged and acted. The bridge scene couldn't be better. And just look at that poster!!
Rated 10 Nov 2018
Rated 30 Jan 2021
62
76th
This is a mysterious, odd, textured, enchanting movie. It's a simple enough concept, but there are questions in the details, and the pacing doesn't stop to answer those questions. There is an unknowable quality here that keeps it from greatness, but it is an original ride that I can fully recommend.
Rated 30 Jan 2021
Rated 11 Aug 2014
99
96th
Unlike Clouzot's incredible original film, Friedkin doesn't allow for easy identification with any of the central figures, and despite Roy Scheider's impressively physical central performance, it remains emotionally aloof. But that doesn't matter. Seeing each man's prior exploits tells so much, voyeuristically, about their behavior when they happen upon each other in the thirsty alien setting where they're all out of their elements. We also see how regular joes can be monsters.
Rated 11 Aug 2014
Rated 18 Sep 2020
70
57th
its a movie i guess
Rated 18 Sep 2020
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