MovieChat Forums > Sorcerer (1977) Discussion > Grim ending? (SPOILERS)

Grim ending? (SPOILERS)

posted 14 years ago by mattjoes
13 replies | jump to latest

So, is the ending as grim as it's been made to be? As it's so eloquently described in the trailer, these four men were "trapped in a life that was also a death". Jackie survived the trip and got his money, but had nowhere to go, knowing that he would be exposed to the mob if he came out of hiding. He had no real opportunity to escape from his misery, except for death, which he earned. Considering the circumstances, isn't that the happiest outcome he could have hoped for? These men's fates weren't sealed when they hopped aboard the trucks, but in the prologue of the film. That is, for me at least, the most grim part of this story.

[–] sgraf_x 14 years ago

Yup they aint lyin. If you are a happy-ending type film-lover then well....

There is NO Gene for the Human Spirit.

[–] SampanMassacre 13 years ago

Orson Welles said something funny about films with happy endings, that they "depend on the movie ending before it's finished."

basically, roy's character was doomed because the mob wanted him - and they usually get what they want. of course, vinnie made this happen quicker, but... the true ENDING of this movie was when roy was offered a job as a driver, and seemed as if he'd have a new life, but, realizing he had nowhere to go, and was stuck in that town, the camera moves in slowly to a close-up as he didn't speak, realizing: he was dead already. vinnie and that cool looking hitman simply sped up the process.

i wonder this though: did they kill the american oil guy, the bartender, the old hag - as in, did they go in shooting everyone or just take out Roy?

[–] sgraf_x 13 years ago

I'm thinking it was more like, "Lets take a walk." with a gun in his side....

There is NO Gene for the Human Spirit.

[–] Noir-It-All 13 years ago

Weren't there armed guards sitting in the bistro at the end? It would have been nice if they defended Scanlon. I know, I know, the mob guys had better guns, they knew what they were doing, etc.

"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne

[–] nitebelow 12 years ago

The ending was open to debate. No way those guys would have gone in and gunned down Scanlon without repraisal. The oil rig chief was pretty much a mafia don himself down there - the fact that he was allowed to pack heat in that banana republic showed that. If the goons decided to whack Scanlon then and there things would have likely gone badly.

The thing is, if they did kill Scanlon, I doubt he would mind.

[–] Noir-It-All 12 years ago

Maybe another reason that Scanlon was ready to die was because, having completed a set of good deeds, he had been redeemed? He helped to refit those old trucks. He was forced to team up with someone, a hit man, who he hated but overcame that and the hit man saved his life. He worked well with the French and Palestinian team. Thanks to his success, the company was able to put out the fire.

"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne

[–] Demarates 10 years ago

For all we know, it was the oil rig chief who informed the mob. If Scanlon gets whacked, he doesn't cash his check and the oil guy pays zilch for the job...

When I'm gone I would like something to be named after me. A psychiatric disorder, for example.

[–] MrBelette 10 years ago

Now that Friedkin decided to add the sound of a gunshot for the blueray edition it's not that much open anymore.

We're supposed to believe that the mafia and the oil company work together so they bribe the local officials and eliminate Scanlon so he will never get money. What reprisal by who ? He's the only one who is marked from thez start, the other ones all work together and pull the strings.

[–] MrBelette 10 years ago

Can't you stop looking for a happy ending ? It's not there ?

[–] Arseweb 12 years ago

I always thought that in that moment, just after he'd looked at the
envelope, Scanlon was thinking "hey, maybe I'll go to Paris".

I don't see why he'd feel trapped there. Now that he had his new
identity backed up with a passport, he'd be better off on the move
again rather than staying there.

[–] jmillerdp 10 years ago

[Obviously, Ending Spoilers from Both "Sorcerer" and "The Asphalt Jungle"]

I write this because it hit me upon just seeing "Sorcerer" again.

When Scheider asks if he has a little time before his plane leaves, he is told yes. Then, he has a dance with a woman from the bar he has been frequenting since he first arrived in town. And, by staying for that dance, his fate is sealed as the thugs arrive to kill him.

In "The Asphalt Jungle," the German mastermind is on his way to escape the law when he has the cabbie he's hired stop at a roadside bar. They were about to leave, when the German wants to stay so he can play one more song in the jukebox and watch a young girl dance. Staying for that extra song seals his fate, as the police show up to arrest him.

That thought gave seeing the ending of "Sorcerer" again an extra jolt for me. Two potentially doomed men sealing their own fates by staying in a bar for one more song.

p.s. How screwed up in the head am I that I had a big smile on my face watching the end of "Sorcerer?" Impossibly bleak endings do it for me, I guess!

"I. Drink. Your. Milkshake! [slurp!] I DRINK IT UP!" - Daniel Plainview - "There Will Be Blood"

[–] seashellz 9 years ago

Maybe the guards and well wishers would have take out the hit-men-or even schnieder, as he would have the upper hand in that friendly place

[–] Badlands1 7 years ago

It's weird the two hitmen at the end 1) the mob guy 2) his buddy who owed him the favour from the beginning, and got him the passport for $2000.. So his buddy double crossed him, and is going to kill him at the end.. Well I guess money talks.