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IMDb > Sorcerer (1977)
Sorcerer
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Sorcerer (1977) -- Open-ended Trailer from Universal

IMDb Holiday Movie Guide

Overview

User Rating:
7.4/10   2,265 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
No change in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Walon Green (screenplay)
Georges Arnaud (novel)
Contact:
View company contact information for Sorcerer on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
24 June 1977 (USA) more
Plot:
A group of outcasts from different backgrounds/nationalities are forced by misfortune to work in a remote oil drilling operation in South America... more | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. more
User Reviews:
Original Is Good, This Is Better more (72 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Roy Scheider ... Scanlon - 'Dominguez'
Bruno Cremer ... Victor Manzon - 'Serrano'
Francisco Rabal ... Nilo
Amidou ... Kassem - 'Martinez'
Ramon Bieri ... Corlette
Peter Capell ... Lartigue
Karl John ... 'Marquez'
Friedrich von Ledebur ... 'Carlos' (as Fredrick Ledebur)
Chico Martínez ... Bobby Del Rios (as Chico Martinez)
Joe Spinell ... Spider
Rosario Almontes ... Agrippa
Richard Holley ... Billy White
Anne-Marie Deschott ... Blanche (as Anne Marie Descott)
Jean-Luc Bideau ... Pascal
Jacques François ... Lefevre (as Jacques Francois)
more
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Wages of Fear
more
Runtime:
121 min | Sweden:93 min | Japan:92 min
Country:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Cinematographer Dick Bush found Friedkin so demanding and difficult to work with that he left the film halfway through. Friedkin used second unit cinematographer John M. Stephens for the remaining production. Both received screen credit. more
Goofs:
Continuity: The monetary amount paid to the drivers is inconsistent throughout the film. The oil company first says they will pay "8,000 pesos to each driver". The driver's later demand double that amount (which would be 16,000 pesos). Later when Scanlon crosses the rope bridge he boasts that the two of them will get "double shares of 20,000 apiece" (double shares would actually be 32,000 apiece). At the end, Scanlon is given a check for 40,000 Pesos which would only amount to 10,000 per driver. more
Quotes:
Scanlon: You wanna tell me where I'm going?
Vinnie: I swear to Christ I don't know.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in A Decade Under the Influence (2003) more
Soundtrack:
Spheres (Movement 3) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
38 out of 54 people found the following review useful.
Original Is Good, This Is Better, 31 October 2005
9/10
Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

Here's one exception to the general rule or opinion that re-makes are not as good as the originals. This is even better than the 1953 "The Wages Of Fear."

"Sorcerer" (a better title might have helped in the status of this film) is divided into three segments. The first part deals with the various criminal acts committed by the four principal characters in their particular part of the world.

The second part shows the seedy life these criminals must now endure in a poor South American town after they are forced to flee their respective countries.

The third segment is the major part of the story. An oil well fire rages out of control and these men are selected to do something that can solve the problem, in exchange for enough money to get them out of that hellhole. The job: transport cans of extremely-volatile nitroglycerin in a truck in a harrowing 218-mile trek through jungle terrain to the site of the disaster.

This long segment is one of the most suspenseful and well-photographed scenes I've ever seen on film. This is good stuff, particularly for the first-time viewer. There are some amazing scenes that just about wear you out.

Added to the no-nonsense story directed by one of the best, William Friedkin, is some unique electronic music by "Tangerine Dream." If you are thinking of the kids watching, there is no sex and very little profanity but some of the violence is very bloody.

Was the above review useful to you?
more (72 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Sorcerer (1977)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
William Friedkin cameo? tony_good
So Sad... jscanlon
PG??? neal2zod
The ending where Vinnie shows up colin-117
Great Image nrobertb
Anybody agree with Friedkin? prohibited-name-2541
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