MovieChat Forums > Sorcerer (1977) Discussion > Why all the love??

Why all the love??

posted 10 years ago by fulci_fan2000
7 replies | jump to latest

There were a few interesting scenes like the ones on the bridge but over all I found it really dull. Don't get me wrong, I love some slow going films like THE DEER HUNTER and APOCALYPSE NOW but this was far from being in the same league and I thought the main drawback was the characters. None of them were likable because we didn't really know that much about them. There should have been more of a backstory on each of them imho. Of course I heard so much about this film over the years that I probably built it up to something in my mind that it couldn't live up to. If you love this film, tell me why. Did you see it in the theater when you were young and is it more about nostalgia and is it one of those films that you grew to appreciate? Maybe with time I will see what you see but for now I was underwhelmed.

[–] rabbitmoon 10 years ago

I feel exactly the same way. Some of the set pieces were interesting, but overall it took way too long to get to the story. I had a horrible time in the first hour trying to figure out what I was watching and suss out the relevance of things. I honestly think you could just watch the last hour and get a more efficient mini-film without all the establishing guff beforehand.

[–] Mazito_Roots 10 years ago

I love it because in my opinion it has one of the best cinematography ever. Since the beginning of the movie you can see that its perfectly filmed. It is one of those movies where you would like to pause just to appreciate the image. Every scene is unique in its own way. Yes maybe the story is a little confuse, but that was in the 2nd plan for me.

[–] balthazar_bee 10 years ago

I love Sorcerer because it's arguably the most down and dirty "men on a mission" movie ever. It's leaner than the original Wages of Fear (particularly with respect to dialogue), but it's every bit as textured as far as the personalities of its characters and its environment.

There's not a shred of sentimentality in the entire movie. And the performances are dynamite, led by Scheider's long suffering, everyman-cum-scumbag driver. Tangerine Dream's score is moody and etherial. As another poster mentioned, the cinematography is very striking.

At least I think it is -- I can't say for sure, because i've only ever seen it in its crappy full frame DVD and VHS presentations. Even there it managed to come across as a rough diamond.

[–] independent-tek 9 years ago

You hit every nail squarely on the head.

[–] lorenzb-2 10 years ago

I love this film. Ever since I saw it in the theater in 1977. Some parts a very funny too. Especially Jackie's stupid accident caused by them squabbling, and the Indian dancing around the truck having fun with Jackie and Nilo. I think those were intentional laughs too.

[–] ccr1633 10 years ago

I share your love of Sorcerer, but I don't think Friedkin purposefully injected even a single moment of levity into the film. Jackie's car crash in Elizabeth is something I see as an amplifier of just how small time he was. His companions in crime were a bunch of squabbling fools who didn't even have the sense to stick to business and at least conclude a clean escape before threatening to kill one another (which shows that Mr. Pink was wrong about at least one thing). The dancing Indian I saw as a mockery of the complications that accompany the white man's technology and general mode of being (i.e. having to transport volatile explosives just to compensate for a different explosion).

[–] lorenzb-2 10 years ago

You may be right. I don't know if Friedkin put that stuff in there to be funny. However, I have a morbid sense of humor and I think it's hilarious. Robbing a church is very stupid to begin with. And a la cosa nostra boss's parish is even more so. Then on top of that they cause a fatal accident by bickering and pointing guns at each other. They got what they deserved. I'm sure you've observed the fact that Jackie was the ultimate survivor. For awhile anyway. Four men are in the accident, and he's the only one who survives. Then he gets chosen out of dozens of men to go on the nitro mission. Then he and Nilo get in the altercation with the guerrillas. Six men are involved and he's the only one to come out alive. And finally out of the four men on the nitro mission he's the only one to come out alive. But that's what Friedkin meant by the title.
Fate is an evil sorcerer. After all that Jackie gets knocked off by some hoodlums, one of which was suppose to be his friend. Irony.