Sorcerer Is the Pick of the Week

Seeing clips, trailers, and reactions from fellow film lovers, it seems that Sorcerer, the late, great director William Friedkin’s 1977 reboot of the Henri-Georges Clouzot 1953 suspense classic The Wages of Fear is a bold and uncompromising vision of Hell.

Although it does have the same premise of four men from different walks of life, a New Jersey gangster (Roy Scheider), a Mexican assassin (Francisco Rabal), an unscrupulous Parisian businessman (Bruno Cremer), and an Arab terrorist (Amidou), transporting barrels full of nitroglycerin across highly dangerous terrains where one false step can spell doom for all of them, it looks like it has its own disturbing and intense atmosphere.

Being a film that was largely overlooked and dismissed when first released, it sounds like one that is definitely ripe for rediscovery. Every time I see those clips that I mentioned above, they make me want to see it more and more. The fact that it was created by Friedkin, one of the edgiest and genius New Hollywood filmmakers, should itself be proof that it is something worth experiencing (if your nerves can handle it).

Rescued by the always terrific folks at Criterion, I’m sure the 4K UHD and Blu-ray releases looks incredible and will elevate the suspenseful material. The supplements also sound wonderful. They include Friedkin Uncut (2018), a documentary by Francesco Zippel featuring interviews with Friedkin, screenwriter Walon Green, filmmakers Wes Anderson and Francis Ford Coppola, and others; a new conversation between filmmaker James Gray and film critic Sean Fennessey; a 2015 conversation between Friedkin and filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn; archival audio interviews with Green and editor Bud Smith from the collection of Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan, author of William Friedkin (2003); behind-the-scenes footage; and a trailer. There is also a new essay by film critic Justin Chang.

So, if you’re just as interested in seeing the film as much as I am, or if you just want a proper new release, then Criterion definitely has you covered.

Other fantastic releases:

Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (Criterion): A bold, unorthodox documentary/biopic about the late Canadian musical prodigy Glenn Gould. Read my review.

Dark City (Arrow): A brand new (and stacked) release of Alex Proyas’ acclaimed 1998 sci-fi neo-noir thriller starring Rufus Sewell as John Murdoch, a man who wakes up in an icy bathtub near a dead woman’s body. He discovers that the key to the mystery is the presence of mysterious creatures called the Strangers, beings who toy with the memories of human in the city.

Splendor in the Grass (Warner Archive): Natalie Wood’s searing Oscar-nominated performance fuels Elia Kazan’s 1961 Depression-era portrait of sexual repression among a small town in 1920s Kansas.

Palindromes 4K (Radiance): A new edition of provocateur Todd Solondz’s queasy 2004 dramedy about 13-year-old Aviva Victor (played by multiple actresses of different races and sizes) who is desperate to be a mom. She does all she can to make it happen, but her plans hit a detour because of her rational parents (Ellen Barkin and Richard Masur).

Executive Suite (Warner Archive): Robert Wise’s ruthless and star-studded 1954 adaptation of a 1952 novel about big business backstabbing after the president of a corporation unexpectedly dies and no one knows who should take over his job.