The spellbinding, suspenseful adventure of “Sorcerer” is life-changing

William Friedkin’s undersung 1977 film screens in a DCP restoration at UW Cinematheque on February 7.

In the last 20 years, I’ve witnessed some moments at UW Cinematheque that I look back on and now realize they have changed the way I view cinema. Even most recently, I had a spiritual experience at the campus screening program’s local premiere screening of The Brutalist (in Vilas Hall, a brutalist building, no less).

However, several years ago, Cinematheque hosted a screening of one of William Friedkin’s lesser-known works, Sorcerer (1977). I left the theater feeling changed somehow, as if I was not entirely sure what I just witnessed but knew I was in the presence of greatness simply by having been there that day. This stunner of a film has come around again, and shouldn’t be missed when it returns to 4070 Vilas Hall on Friday, February 7, 7 p.m., as it may just provide a transcendent experience for you as it did for me.

Many people are well-familiar with The Exorcist (1973) as one of Friedkin’s most popular entries, but Sorcerer might be one of his finest works, period. Friedkin uses his skill as a master of the horror genre to depict real, grounded horrors in this adventure-thriller—one of which is a fire erupting at an oil well, burning several of the Indigenous people of Porvenir (in South America) beyond recognition. Anger and resentment swell from the crowd of locals, who demand justice and blood for a Western-owned oil company’s continuing exploitation of the land and people for profit. Compounded with that, several of the film’s crew members were actually injured, came down with illnesses, or contracted gangrene, and eventually had to leave the production that was scattered across different countries.

The story, loosely based on a Georges Arnaud novel and film adaptation The Wages Of Fear (1953)—recently rescheduled to screen at Cinematheque on Friday, February 7, at 4 p.m.—follows four ne’er-do-wells from all over the globe. A French banker engaged in a financial scandal (Bruno Cremer), a gangster who carries out armed robberies (Roy Scheider), a Middle-Eastern terrorist (Amidou), and a hitman (Francisco Rabal) all need to seek refuge after their wayward deeds. They all end up in a remote part of South America where there is a high price to flee. Poverty, lack of regulations, and corrupt officials make for a dangerous combination. The crew attempts to earn money to escape by driving two rickety trucks filled with unstable dynamite, also leaking nitroglycerine, into a mountain pass in order to put out a refinery fire.

At the core of Sorcerer is a steady battle between man and nature, and that narrative conflict has never been more enthralling cinematically than it is here in Fiedkin’s film. Anxiety coursed through me in the utterly riveting scenes of trucks trying to pass through rotting bridges and rough mountain terrain. The biblical phrase “For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23) pops up intermittently during some of the more violent scenes as well, foreshadowing an ambiguous ending. While, at first, the men are adversaries, they depend upon each other to make the shipment safely and survive. However, larger forces at play in the world bring a rough sort of justice for those who pursue the wages of sin.

Roy Scheider’s performance is commanding and towering, especially for someone with a smaller stature. Just like in Jaws (1975), that taut jawline and furrowed brow convey so much more than any amount of expository dialogue. Unlike the other lost souls who have fled from their crimes, Scheider’s character seems to be the only one who is actively struggling with his conscience and PTSD-like symptoms. Returning to the States is not an option, at least not at this point, and the tension we see in just his facial expressions shows a searing agony. There is no reprieve for what he has done, and living in a remote South American jungle may still not provide the escape he is looking for. Carnage stalks him wherever he goes.

The whole cast of Sorcerer turn in excellent performances, but it’s Scheider in particular who really feels like he’s taking risks, during a time when directors like Friedkin weren’t beholden to large production companies and their bottom lines. Which may partly account for this film’s life-changing power.