Finally saw this, had some issues with the plot

You raise some interesting points, especially the ones about the characters' confusing motivation and the off-beat ending with the cleaning lady. Sorcerer sort of disappointed me mostly because the plot in the first hour was way too scrambled and disorienting. The second half is somewhat better for having more thrills and suspense but it went on for too long, the hallucination scene didn't really do that much for me, and to top it off, Victor's death was very predictable (once he started talking about his family and life in Paris, you knew he was gonna get it).

The good parts include Tangerine Dream's excellent soundtrack, references to Pazuzu from The Exorcist (I don't understand why they were there but it was a nice little easter egg), and excellent performances from everyone involved. I'll probably get to seeing the 1953 version soon so I can compare them.

Sorcerer gets a 7,5/10 from me.

Both dudes above me are wrong, the hallucination sequence is great, really well done. The ending, with Schneider just KNOWING he is dead no matter what he does next, is incredibly classy and well executed.

I can understand minor quibbles over character motivation. Other than that, the film is a 99% masterpiece. Anyone who comes away from it for the first time not amazed is missing it. It is reprehensible for a person to see that movie and proceed right to a message board and talk *beep* about it.

"Nobody knows anybody, not that well..." - Miller's Crossing

I think the OP is needlessly nitpicking a film that is open-ended and intentionally murky. There are many things in the periphery that are never shown i.e. the size, budget and logistical capabilities of the drilling firm and the bar scene. And I think when it comes to point one, he missed the beautiful irony of the main setting. Here there were these disparate individuals who had escaped from the peril of their crimes. Crimes which obviously would have landed them in prison for the rest of their natural lives. This jungle was chosen as a location by the director because it was like a "prison without walls". So in effect the main characters never "escaped" their punishments after all. A case could be made that this really is a prison film.

As for the fourth point, c'mon, that is really really nitpicking. It's in no way a stretch to imagine that an ex-investment banker is smart enough to rebuild an engine. Again, despite the background info given in the beginning of the movie, there is much we do not know about the characters. Maybe he once had some sort of automotive background experience in his youth and those old trucks after all are hardly complicated automobiles. He was an especially astute educated European man who had to have also had some street smarts to make it out and survive as long as he did in that sh*thole.

Most of these did not bug me, but my number one complaint is in agreement with #2. Why not just blow the worthless stuff, and buy some good dynamite!? Why keep it SO far away? Heck for the price of the gas for the helicopter, plus the 40,000 pesos (originally 20,000) why couldn't the boss just buy new dynamite. Weird.

#4: I disagree that Manzon was "effete" in any way. Also, his "skills" in mechanics can be explained by the fact that he came from a blue-collar/working class background...remember in the fancy French restaurant, Manzon's wife tells her galpal that "Victor's father was a fisherman". So in reality, he's going back to his roots in some grotesque way.

[whitecat]
Tuco Benedicto Pacifico Juan Maria Ramirez

I saw it for the first time today and i have to say sorcerer is over the top in the second half of the movie. The end of the movie happens too fast. And i don't believe in roy sheider character, i agree he is considered as a miscast.

Bruno Cremer was one of the finest french actor and in this movie his talent is not shown the way he deserves
the other character played by Amidou is even worst lol

the hallucination scene is a complete joke, ridiculous.

One other thing really, really was a problem for this movie : make up !!, it got me out of the movie......close-ups on the faces made the actors just look fake :(


well, it is a lot for this sorcerer movie and of course i think clouzot wages of fear is way waaaay better, there is not even a fight between the two of them.

I must say that I personally liked the second half better. But you have some valid points, why you hated it, and I want to try to answer to these points!

to 1.
I didn't pay too much attention at the beginning of the movie, but I thought, they wanted a passport, so they could stay in the country - not to flee. As for the little village/town/something: In my opinion they couldn't get a job there and were stuck.

to 2.
The nitro was old and poorly maintained. That's why I thought it was from an older drilling location. It felt abandoned.

to 3.
I never thought, the company was "big" in a global way. Just the local big thing. I didn't know that the helicopter came a long way and thought it was already close by. Even without nitro the flight might have been dangerous though, concerning the weather conditions.
It still remains a question, if you could easily acquire nitro in the country at that time. No mobile phones, no internet and some hints through the movie that the country is in chaos.

to 4.
It didn't look like many locals are actually capable of driving at all. Also you can see that the skills are different between the main characters, but you are right though, that their overall skill is strangely impressive. When they start the journey however, the fear of exploding might have forced them to best their best.

to 5.
I actually didn't notice too much strange behaviour and character turns. The scene with the Mexican you described perfectly displayed the fear in him.

to 6.
A matter of taste. I didn't think it was poorly done, but I admit that it is some sort of an oddity.

to 7.
That one was annoying. However keep in mind, that they couldn't have cleared the way without additional nitro. It was a big let down, that 1 crate was enough in the end.

to 8.
Besides all their mechanic/driving skills they simply don't seem to be experts for explosives :D
They just don't know how much the crates can take. The drunken-like delirious staggering was the first time, somebody handled a crate with less care. It shows how frightfull everybody was before.

to 9.
My take on the ending: I can't find the quote, but Friedkin somewhere said that the name "sorcerer" derives from the evil wizard that represents fate. He also said that "fate" and the things you cannot control (like birth and death) are something he is devoted to. This is somewhat expressed in the last scenes.
It could be over at any time and you don't have control over it. When he drinks the whiskey he is reminded of that. He is so terribly afraid that his life could end in a splitsecond (which definatly is a sideeffect from the constant fear of exploding) and he wants to make the best of the very seconds by dancing with even the ugly cleaning lady. But when he finally calms down, gets distracted and his fear vanishes, the assassins arrive. The fear had kept him alive so far.

First let me say I am glad I do not go to the movies with you. Talk about sucking the life out of what is supposed to be an entertaining experience. I saw this movie in a theater when it first came out and searched diligently for a video tape copy every year until I finally got one in 1990 or 1991. I have the DVD and several digital copies now and watch this movie 2 or 3 times a year. I often watch this movie back to back with Le Salaire de la peur.
Most of your criticisms fall into the category "I do not have any imagination". Movies do not have to literally explain everything. You are supposed to be able to add something of your own, making the film a personal experience.
Questions should come to mind as you watch the movie such as:
Could I ever be so desperate, so afraid, that I could do something like this?
Have I ever felt so alone that suicide was an alternative?
Have I ever been in a place so foreign, so alien, surrounded by people but disconnected from reality?
This film combines so many elements, so perfectly that I feel all those emotions and even physical effects of those emotions every time I watch it.
The cinematography is stunning. The soundtrack augments and builds and builds to an almost hypnotic point.
The locations push the feeling of isolation and reinforce the theme of one man fighting for a chance at another day, albeit another day in hell.
I could go over your "issues" with this film, but I know that my explanations will never give you an imagination.