Sorcerer 4K 1977

William Friedkin's most ambitious, auteur, quixotic film exceeded its original budget tenfold, alienated Friedkin from the entire world, failed miserably at the box office, but may have been the pinnacle of the director's career. Such is life.

Everyone knows that this is a remake of Henri-Georges Clouzot's 1953 film The Wages of Fear, based on the novel by Georges Arnaud. Few people know that Friedkin obtained Clouzot's permission to make a film based on his story, saying, “I could never make it as well as you.” When disappointed movie bosses recalled Friedkin's words after watching Sorcerer, William replied, “That's right, I kept my word!”

The plot of Sorcerer revolves around the attempt of several desperate people to transport a couple of trucks loaded with nitroglycerin through dangerous mountainous terrain.

The film was supposed to be a small, low-budget production with a budget of $2.5 million. However, Friedkin wanted to make a real auteur film, competing with Francis Ford Coppola. And so, Coppola went to the Philippines to shoot Apocalypse Now, and Friedkin went to South America in search of authenticity.

After a long search, Friedkin invited Roy Scheider to play the lead role, which he later regretted. He said that the actor did not fit the character. But according to the director, the task was grandiose: to achieve "the transmission of the genuine feelings and experiences of the peoples of the Third World, oppressed by transnational corporations!

Sorcerer was filmed in France, Israel, the Dominican Republic, and New Jersey. The film's budget grew to $22.5 million. Friedkin personally inspected the most remote filming locations, found a couple of minor details he didn't like, put everyone on alert, and didn't start filming until he got them fixed. His passion for perfectionism came at a high price. It is said that dismissals followed one after another during the filming. For example, he fired cameraman Dick Bush for wanting to illuminate “this damn jungle.” First, the entire camera crew left, then the drivers, then the stuntmen.

The film turned out to be heavy and naturalistic. Friedkin said that was what he wanted. The problem was that no one listened to him.