Sorcerer (1977)

Director:

William Friedkin

Writers:

Walon Green (screenplay)
Georges Arnaud (novel)

Release Date:

24 June 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

Plot:

A group of outcasts from different backgrounds/nationalities are forced by misfortune to work in a remote oil drilling operation in South America...

Plot Keywords:

Fire | Jungle | Truck | Aerial Photography | Bombmaker

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Roy Scheider	...	Jackie Scanlon - 'Juan 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 Deschodt	...	Blanche (as Anne Marie Descott)
Jean-Luc Bideau	...	Pascal
Jacques François	...	Lefevre (as Jacques Francois)
André Falcon	...	Guillot
Gerard Murphy	...	Donnelly
Desmond Crofton	...	Boyle
Henry Diamond	...	Murray
Ray Dittrich	...	Ben
Frank Gio	...	Marty
Randy Jurgensen	...	Vinnie
Cosmo Allegretti	...	Carlo Ricci (as Gus Allegretti)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Frank Pesce	...	Married Man (uncredited)
Tom Signorelli	...	Bystander (uncredited)

Directed by
William Friedkin

Writing credits
Walon Green		(screenplay)
Georges Arnaud		(novel "The Wages of Fear")

Produced by
William Friedkin	....	producer
Bud S. Smith	....	associate producer (as Bud Smith)

Original Music by
Tangerine Dream

Cinematography by
Dick Bush
John M. Stephens

Film Editing by
Robert K. Lambert		(co-editor)
Bud S. Smith		(as Bud Smith)

Production Design by
John Box

Art Direction by
Roy Walker

Set Decoration by
Robert W. Laing		(as Bob Laing)

Costume Design by
Anthony Powell

Makeup Department
Verne Caruso	....	hair stylist
John Norin	....	makeup artist
Robert Norin	....	makeup artist (as Bob Norin)
Ben Nye Jr.	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Roberto Bakker	....	production manager
Patrick Gordon	....	unit production manager
Gerard Murphy	....	unit manager
Rony Yacov	....	production manager: Israel
Lindsley Parsons Jr.	....	executive production manager: Paramount (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Newt Arnold	....	first assistant director (as Newton Arnold)
Miguel Gil	....	first assistant director
Mark Johnson	....	second assistant director
Albert M. Shapiro	....	second assistant director (as Al Shapiro)
Bud S. Smith	....	second unit director (as Bud Smith)

Art Department
John Alvin	....	poster artist
Barry Bedig	....	property master
Leslie Tomkins	....	draftsman

Sound Department
Gary Alexander	....	supervising sound re-recording mixer: stereo version
Charles L. Campbell	....	supervising sound editor
Larry Carow	....	sound editor
Jean-Louis Ducarme	....	sound
Robert Glass	....	sound effects editor
Robert Knudson	....	sound re-recording mixer
Dennis Maitland	....	sound mixer
Colin C. Mouat	....	sound editor
Jean-Paul Mugel	....	boom operator
James Perdue	....	boom operator
Roger Sword	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Tony Parmelee	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Marv Ystrom	....	optical effects

Stunts
Bud Ekins	....	stunt coordinator
Nick Dimitri	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Pat Blymyer	....	lighting gaffer (as Patrick R. Blymyer)
Shaun O'Dell	....	clapper loader
Bernie Schwartz	....	grip
Michael Simpson	....	assistant camera

Editorial Department
M. Scott Smith	....	apprentice film editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Robert K. Lambert	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Steve Bonner	....	driver mechanic
Gene Clinesmith	....	transportation co-captain
Alberto Gutierrez	....	transportation co-captain
Salvador Gutiérrez	....	transportation captain (as Salvador Gutierrez)
Hugh Kelly	....	transportation dispatcher
Ricardo Gallarzo Jr.	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
John Franco	....	script supervisor
Hugh Kelly	....	dispatcher
Toni St. Clair Lilly	....	secretary to the director
Luis Llosa	....	assistant to director

Thanks
Henri-Georges Clouzot	....	dedicatee (as H.G. Clouzot)

Production Companies

• Film Properties International N.V.
• Paramount Pictures
• Universal Pictures

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1977) (USA) (theatrical)
• Paramount Pictures (1977) (USA) (theatrical)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1990) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan for MCA Home Video)
• Universal Studios Home Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (????) (Argentina) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

121 min | Sweden:93 min | Japan:92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish | French | German

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

UK:AA (1978) | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1978) | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

Angel Peak National Recreation Area, Bloomfield, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Film Properties International N.V.

Trivia:

The robbery of the church in the Elizabeth NJ prologue was based on a real life church robbery that took place three blocks from where the church in the film was shot. The perpetrator of that crime was Gerard Murphy a former ex-con who became an actor. Friedkin gave him the part of the head of the robbery/Donnelly mob.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: One of the soldiers killed by Nilo is seen breathing and moving after dead.

Quotes:

[after he has just killed Marquez]
Nilo:When the money's up, I'm just as good as any of you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Decade Under the Influence (2003)

Soundtrack:

I'll Remember April

Lost Classic

Sorcerer is a unique, brutal, brilliant film burdened underneath a terrible, wholly unappropriate title. Watching this film, it is not only easy to see why the film was both a huge financial and commercial disaster, it is downright obvious. This is the most un-american/ hollywood/ commercial film backed by a major studio I have ever seen. It is a tough, gruelling 126 minutes that goes nowhere fast, yet holds you firm in its tight grip and beats you senseless throughout. I was exhausted when the film finally arrived at it's rather downbeat ending. The multi-national cast is faultless. Scheider is magnificent. This is an exceptionally demanding, difficult role and he hits it head on, creating an anti-hero who is very, very real: desperate, frightened and desructable. Taking this role, at the height of his fame, was either very brave or very stupid. I'm going with brave. His performance here is a million miles away from his work on Jaws and Jaws 2, yet equally compelling. The photography is in a league of it's own (I only wish the DVD came with an original 2:35:1 print, assuming there is one, as the current disc is presented in a 4:3 full frame), and the music from Tangerine Dream complements the vision perfectly. This is a brilliant piece of film making from the most daring decade of cinema, made by one of cinema's true unpredictable's. Tense, dazzling, dark and fresh, this is an underated film that deserves to be re-evaluated.