• Sorcerer

6/26/24 (Wed)

Friedkin’s exhilarating 1977 adaptation of the novel The Wages of Fear, which had already served as the source for a highly regarded French film back in 1953. I had assumed from the (terrible) English title that it must have some kind of supernatural element like the director’s The Exorcist, but that was happily not the case. For the record, it’s the name of one of the trucks used to transport the dynamite, but the name has absolutely nothing to do otherwise with this realistic suspense film.

The film opens with segments showing the four men carrying out terrorist attacks or assassinations variously in Veracruz, Jerusalem, Paris and New Jersey. All manage to escape their pursuers by the skin of their teeth, ending up in a tiny South American village dominated by an American oil company. They live in poverty, not even having enough money to leave.

The unexplained explosion of an oil well in a town some 200 miles away has set off a fire that can only be put out by dynamite. While the village has dynamite, the nitroglycerin has become unstable due to improper storage, so that even the least vibration can set it off. The desperate company offers a huge amount for men to drive the dynamite to the site over unknown and treacherous roads. The four fugitives are themselves desperate enough to agree.

That journey, which doesn’t begin until an hour in, is jaw-dropping in its intensity. The highlight is the crossing of a rotting, fragile bridge during a thunderstorm, which could have been melodramatic in lesser hands. It’s one of the most harrowing sequences I’ve ever seen on film. The scene where the men come to a massive tree in the road is also memorable, but I was basically holding my breath throughout the perilous trip. It was amazing how Friedkin was able to maintain the tension for such a sustained period. I was exhausted. The final seconds of the film offer yet another twist that reminded us of life’s unpredictability.

All the actors were very fine, especially Roy Scheider and Francisco Rabal. That said, while it’s not productive to dream of other casts, I can’t help wondering how this would have turned out with the original choices of Steve McQueen and Marcello Mastroianni.

Incredible photography and sets, and some of the greatest action sequences ever. I read that the film was overwhelmed in its day by the success of Star Wars, pitting fantasy against gritty, sweaty reality. I get it, but surely there’s room for both. I think this film is incredible and loved every minute. Will definitely check out the lauded French version.