Cardiac161

Press release :

Burbank, Calif., January 6, 2014 – William Friedkin’s Sorcerer, the cult suspense thriller that has been largely overlooked since its 1977 release, has now been acquired and fully restored by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and will make its Blu-ray™ debut on April 22, 2014. The release, also available on DVD, will be packaged as a 40-page Blu-ray book filled with beautiful images from the film and excerpts from the book, “The Friedkin Connection: A Memoir.”

Sorcerer is derived from the same Georges Arnaud novel that inspired Henri-Georges Clouzot's 1953 French classic, The Wages of Fear. The film, made following the successes of Friedkin’s The FrenchConnection and The Exorcist, tells the story of four men who, for various reasons, cannot return to their own countries and end up in a dismal South American town where an American oil company is seeking courageous drivers willing to haul nitroglycerin through 200 miles of treacherous terrain. The four displaced men have nothing to lose so they agree for a small payment of cash.

Roy Scheider (Jaws), Bruno Cremer (Under the Sun), Francisco Rabal (Dagon) and Amidou (Ronin) star in Sorcerer which Friedkin directed from a Walon Green (The Wild Bunch) screenplay. The haunting music was the first credit for Tangerine Dream, the German electronic experimental band who went on to provide many successful scores for such films as “Risky Business,” “VisionQuest” and “Catch Me if You Can.”

Over the years, awareness of the film has been steadily building as a result of Friedkin fan requests and newly-found praise from critics[1]. Then last year, the director was asked to introduce Sorcerer for its screening at the Venice 70th International Film Festival where he was presented with the Golden Lion Award for Lifetime Achievement.

In a recent L.A. Times interview, prior to the Venice Film Festival, Friedkin offered some theories as to why the film may have failed to achieve commercial success when it was initially released:

"The only known actor, who was not a major star, was Roy Scheider…and people didn't really understand the significance of the title [the name of one of the trucks] -- they thought it was a film similar to 'The Exorcist.’ [But most importantly], the film came out just after 'Star Wars,' a movie that became the template for the future of American film, which it basically still is.

“I have a great fondness for Sorcerer, more than any other film I’ve made.. Sorcerer is the one I hope to be remembered for and the one film that came closest to my vision.”

The film has been remastered by Warner Bros., under Friedkin’s supervision along with colorist Bryan McMahan who has worked with the director since 1994. "The new restoration makes the film appear as if it was just made. None of the essentials — the clothes, the hair — are dated in any way. It looks the way it looked to me when I looked through the lens of the camera," said Friedkin.

The restoration began with a 4K film resolution scan of the original 35mm camera negative.

Ned Price, Chief Preservation Officer of Warner Bros. Technical Operations, who oversees restoration projects for the studio, said, “I was amazed at the brilliance of the original photography. Up to this point, I had only seen poor quality 35mm theatrical prints made from inferior subtitled dupe negatives. Working from the 4K scan allowed us to free up all the information contained in the original negatives.”

The soundtrack was restored from the original 35mm 4-track stereo masters which were in remarkably good condition and contained full dynamic range.

The new restoration allows audiences to appreciate the true visual and aural impact of this film.

inri222

About fucking time.

Solid Snake

FINALLY. This is one film I've specificaly obsessed for close to 2 years now. The shitty DVD that's 4x3 can't contain this beast. I want extensive features on this. I'm super excited for the commentary we're going to get too.

Amazon has nothing on this.... yet.

Ringmaster

Do you guys think Friedkin messed with the color scheme like he did with French Connection?

Solid Snake

He specifically mentioned it, think it was a tweet, that he wasn't going to fuck with the colors.

E Unit

Funny he has to mention it. I guess he got the message the fans were none too happy about that.

Solid Snake

Well apparently French Connection pissed off a lot of people. I never bought the old BD but how were the sales on that one? Did it reflect the public's distaste for Billy's BS revisionism?

The fixed BD is gorgeous.

Jaymole

He also messed with the colors for the Boys in the Band DVD, much to my regret.

Supermallet

I look forward to watching this at work.

Dan

I recently finished the audiobook of Friedkin's memoir, and the chapter on this film was pretty interesting. I'll definitely blind-buy the Blu-ray... but I hope there's a version that doesn't come with the excerpt from the book, since I don't need it.

wakwak007

I have been waiting for this movie as well and will be definitely picking it up when it comes out.

Guru Askew

Yeah I agree, they should release a 2nd SKU of this title so you don't have to buy 10 pieces of paper and a staple.

Giles

never seen this movie - will I like it?

the mere fact that Tangerine Dream scored this:

Dan

I'm sure you're being sarcastic, but as I recall, the latest SE of Exorcist came with an excerpt, and it was/is priced $10 higher than the "standard" edition. $10 for 10 pieces of paper and a staple is kind of a rip-off.

islandclaws

Watched this last year and really dug it. The copy I watched looked like shit, so this is welcome news. Sounds like a killer edition, too.

Solid Snake

I think it's safe to say that all copies of this film have looked like shit since forever on home video.

I want to see the bridge sequence in remastered goodness. Just reading about how they did it sounds crazy.

Brian T

The cover art for this is making the rounds and leaves a lot to be desired. Artwork for a film like this needs to emphasize the journey — in particular the vehicles used to take it — and not the destination. The very title refers to the truck, fer chrissakes! Earlier designs, such as Universal's Photoshop mishmash on the old DVD, weren't exactly great, but they were preferable to this:




The key image most associated with the film provides an excellent starting point for any designer, so hopefully some customizers out there will pick up the ball where Warner's dropped it:

Solid Snake

Look here, my motherfuckering amigo. It's a goddamn miracle we have this now. I don't give a fuck about the cover. Would I like an awesome cover? Sure. But... I don't give a fuck about that. This film has more important shit for us to worry about. Like... Hoping to that white baby Jesus that Friedkin doesn't fuck us over on the image. He said he wouldn't but I don't trust the son of a bitch. I just want this to sound and look solid. Features and all that is dressing to the awesomeness of this bitch.

bunkaroo

Wait a minute - this is starting to sound like there's no magic involved in the movie. WTF!

Why So Blu?

Brian T

Well, if he OK'd this cover, maybe the film will be in motherfucking black & white with a fuchsia tint.

And it ain't no miracle. It was an inevitability.

Don't settle now, amigo.

JumpCutz

I do not care for that cover. Certainly not a deal breaker by any means. This is one of my favorite films. Are we sure that cover is official?

d2cheer

I don't give a fuck about the cover...it could be blank for all I care. Like Snake said it is a miracle that we are even getting this...

HGN2001

16 days to street date.

Harry

hanshotfirst1138

You have the best job in the world, don't you ?