Stephen Romano’s Retro 13: Sudden Death – Sorcerer
Stephen Romano
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What’s this? SUDDEN DEATH?? Yes, kids, we’re not quite done with the Retro 13. As I hinted at last week, we have one last bonus nugget. And for our really-and-truly FINAL entry, I’ve saved the absolute best. Scroll down to the end of this article to see my all-new poster tribute to one of the greatest films ever made: William Friedkin’s existential macho-zen journey through the ultimate heart of darkness.
Yes, it’s SORCERER.
Somewhat overlooked by the critical mainstream during its initial release, but since “rediscovered” time and again by generation after generation of die-hard film fans who know the real deal when it explodes in their faces, Friedkin’s pitch black retelling of George Arnaud’s classic book The Wages of Fear is one of the rarest films of its kind. Spare on dialogue, long on directorial vision and deeply affecting on about a hundred levels, it charges for the finish line in a high-octane fever-dream and damn the pedestrians. It remains Friedkin’s own personal favorite of his remarkable body of work. No small assessment, speaking as we are about the man who gave us of The Exorcist, The French Connection and Killer Joe. Guys like this are legends, of course, and it’s often hard for guys like me to be truly objective about their work. But one thing is certain. Love it or hate it, Sorcerer is Billy’s darkest, most personal film.
This is ironic, considering it hails from a source novel—and is even, in itself, a “remake” of the 1953 French film version, which was also called The Wages of Fear. It is the story of four men and their quest to extricate themselves from a self-imposed exile in a steaming third world shithole—a metaphorical hell on earth where they have ended up as a punishment for their past-life sins as criminals. One is a mad bomber, another a gangster. A crooked French banker and a stone cold assassin round out the crew, as they volunteer their lives to transport two trucks filled with nitroglycerine across a treacherous jungle terrain, where one wrong turn could send them all up in flames.
While the original Wages of Fear is truly an inspiring film, Sorcerer is its dark mirror image: a unique and deeply felt statement coming on hard from a place of agony and even cynicism, which challenges us to examine the worst in man, and how that worst can survive or perish in the darkest places. In the end, it is a brutal vision, an uncompromising vision. Only the thinnest ray of humanity shines. And along the way, it also manages to become of one the most suspenseful and ingenious thrillers ever conceived, with endless energy and innovation. Its impeccable production value and seamless performances are accentuated by the impish techno-chill refrains of electro-rockers Tangerine Dream, which becomes the ice-cold/hotter-than-hell soul of the movie, seemingly in perfect synch with the slow build of madness on screen. It is difficult, sometimes even impossible, for an avante garde synth score to reach such delirious heights. Here, the images and the music become a single living thing, transcending the art of film. At the time of its original release in 1977, there had never been anything like Sorcerer.
Unfortunately, the theatrical poster for the film (pictured above) never really approached the genius of the movie, in my opinion. It features the truck, called “Sorcerer,” in one of the film’s most famous sequences and certainly captures the dark-on-dark tone. But at the end of the day, it isn’t really artwork. It’s a photograph from the set. So it was time to come up with an all-new approach that would celebrate the characters and their quest to earn the wages of fear. This remarkable cinematic journey was virtually “lost” for many years, but recently re-surfaced on an amazing new Blu-ray, which contains the definitive version, re-mastered and remixed for the future. It is an astonishing tour-de-force restoration. If you are fan, seek this version out. It will make you cry. If you’ve never seen Sorcerer, you are in for something truly special and rare. It is my hope that my poster represents that rarity in some humble way.
I can think of no better way to end Retro 13, kids.
And as we leave, I’d like to dedicate this last entry to my good friend Leif Jonker, the legendary director of Darkness, who may be this film’s number one fan. I painted this poster for Leif, in honor of his screening of Sorcerer last year, in which Friedkin himself made a Skype appearance. The film has had many screenings since its new release, including even a run here in Austin. I, of course, was in the front row when it bowed downtown at the Alamo.
Thanks, Leif, and all of the fans of Sorcerer, for keeping the fire.
And my thanks to all of you, for checking out the Retro 13.
Goodnight, from the heart of darkness.
Click here for the full-size image.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: This poster is intended as FAN ART only and is designed to be shared, for free, for anyone who wants to own it for themselves. Download it, share it, spread the horror! And come see me at my website for more fun.
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