The name’s Toby. I’m a writer. A dad. A husband. A movie geek. A record collector. And I really wish I had a hot rod.
My goal for this blog is to create a makeshift Sorcerer archive — news, interviews, photos, whatever. Kinda like bonus material waiting for a DVD. Or maybe it’s just a digital valentine for a movie I love dearly.
My dad and I saw Sorcerer opening night at the Valley Twin in Raleigh, North Carolina (June 24, 1977 — 7PM, according to the ad at right). It remains the most intense evening I ever spent in a movie theater. (I’d just turned 13.) Sadly, the Valley Twin is now an Old Navy store.
My best friend James Graham and I saw it again before it left town.
William Friedkin has steered Sorcerer through the legal jungles of Hollywood, and it’s returned to festivals. A polished-up 4K digital transfer is playing theaters and available on Blu-ray and DVD.
No doubt fueled by news of Friedkin’s efforts to get Sorcerer back in front of those of us dying to see it (and own it), reaction to this blog has been terrific. As its proud parent, and as a self-appointed evangelist for Friedkin’s masterpiece, I’ve really been knocked out by how many people have stopped by. And I was absolutely floored to receive this:
Sorcerer is currently being overseen by Warner Bros. and Universal. I’m not trying to infringe on their copyright or rip anybody off — just geeking out on a favorite film.
The Sorcerer Blog. 
Hi Toby,
Thought since your a fan as I am of Sorcerer, you like these two links:
https://www.facebook.com/SaveFriedkinsSorcerer
I’m trying to build public support the film!
Terrific. William Friedkin is working hard to sort out the legal mess the film’s in.
It’s a shame that a work of art ends up in the hands of the courts.
Has our society come to THAT!
I think it’s great what you gents are doing. Following you both now. Thanks for the links, Neal.
I just went on the Sorerer FB page. It’s says it is Friedkin’s personal favorite. I’ve always read it was JADE! It may not be his best, nor his favorite, but it is certainly his most gut-felt film! That’s for sure!
Hi! I have a 3-page PDF of a critical analysis of Sorcerer published in the film magazine Cinemonkey back in the late 1970s. If you give me an address, I can email it to you for your archive.
Did you just re-post this yesterday?
I for one would be interested: solo_2000@cox.net
I read in a blog that Sorcerer was screen May 11 in LA! Is there any confirmation on this?
By the way, I’m curious if anyone can identify a music cue in Sorcerer. It’s the scene in which the gangsters in New Jersey enter a restaurant to give the bad news about the robbery. There is a short excerpt of a jazz piece, but I’ve never seen it identified. I am guessing it is by Miles Davis, because of some things that Mr. Friedkin wrote in his recent memoir, but that is only a guess.
That interview may be a little tough to get. Recently Mr. Friedkin appeared in public in LA, I think for a showing of either SORCERER or TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A. for a Q & A session. The bio HURRICANE BILLY by Nat Segaloff devotes a chapter to the making of SORCERER. Maybe contact the author through the publisher (Morrow) if he is still living. Much of the cast and crew are either dead, retired or live outside the US. The French-Morrocan actor, Amidou, the last surviving member of our ill-fated quartet, was last seen on American screens in SPY GAME with Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. That was in 2001. He does TV and movies in France.
I am in Scotland and I too was fortunate to see it in it original release and then again on VHS. I am a huge fan of this masterpiece. It amusing that I only got round to watching the original a few years ago and as wonderful a movie as it is I wasn’t as gripped as I know I had been with The Sorcerer. Thanks for this site Toby, and will be visiting very often to check for hopeful announcement of a blu ray release date Maybe ?
Thanks for stopping by.
With a short-lived theatrical release and different versions (and titles) in various countries, I’m always interested in how people discovered this film. Whether we see it in the theater or on video in whatever format, one thing seems consistent — it can grab ahold of you and not let go!
Just love this movie.
I have a 70mm trailer for it.
Maybe it ran before Star Wars in Hollywood!
Bet it’s beautiful. Has the color held up?
Unfortunately the colour has turned a bit.
What I also have is the screenplay. Now this is quite interesting. There are additional scenes not in the film and some scenes are much longer. If all this material was in fact filmed there should be a lot of deleted footage that could be included in the new DVD/Blu-ray releases.
Would love to see the screenplay.
I always get the feeling that Friedkin treats scripts the way John Ford did working to see how little of them he actually needs to use.
Eat your heart out Toby (and other SORCERER fans)! I won a letterboxed 16mm print of SORCERER on eBay a few months ago: http://www.ebay.com/itm/181028746800 It’s a little faded but otherwise in great shaped and uncut. I took a few screen shots as it was projected that I’d like to share for your site.. And next time you’re in Southwest Missouri, I’d be delighted to screen the print for ya! 😉
Congratulations. I was one of the other bidders!
I’d love to see the screenshots.
Don’t see a way to upload images here. Here’s a link for another shot from the print:
That 1.85 framing sure looks good.
A hard-matte 16mm print (of anything) is pretty hard to find.
How did you acquire the screenplay? I know there is a website where it is $15.00 per script. I’m a writer myself. Of course, if you were familiar with the making of the movie, you would know that there was more to what we saw in the film.
There is or once was a link to the script:
http://scripts-onscreen.com/tag/sorcerer-script/
Database error. I already tried this one long ago.
There was also a reprint of the Arnaud novel in 1977 with some stills from the film.
I now recognize you! You are the guy who wrote Film Soleil! Howdy?
Yes. I didn’t know anyone else knew about that book beyond my friends. I also did two books on Tarantino, and a recent one on Guy Maddin.
Toby, here you can download an interview with a screenwriter who was so influenced by Sorcerer, that upon seeing it, he decided to get into this biz:
http://www.mediafire.com/view/?lhxesjng7004i1t
There are his impressions and also how he’d see yet another film adaptation of this story…
I obtained it from EBSCO database, so it couldn’t be freely found on the internet…
My copy of the script came from Script City a long time ago. Their website still has copies for sale.
There is also a paperback version of the film based on the screenplay written by John Minahan. It also has photos (poor) from the film. Available through bookfinder.com
Yep, it’s there.
http://scriptcity.com/index.php?p=product&id=4788&parent=0
When you go into their website–you can’t access it any further.
http://www.efilmcritic.com/feature.php?feature=3550
Check it out, Toby!
And this too:
http://chicagocriticsfilmfestival.com/sorcerer/
Excellent article/review/reminiscence by Mr. Sobcinski. And he is right on target about today’s movies. His only error is that THE DEEP did not have sex.
Two things actually: this is something that has been niggling my mind for some time…Do you think that Nilo in the script was meant to be someone stricken with an illness? Because he sure as hell looks very well, smooth-skinned at the beginning and then as the movie progresses he just looks worse and worse with his hair turning gray…Did Friedkin cut this subplot deliberately to distance himself from Luigi’s character in the original?
Anyway, here’s a recent read on Sorcerer from someone who attended Chicago festival:
http://www.fthismovie.net/2013/04/unsung-sorcerer.html
I’ve wondered that about Nilo myself. His health goes to hell over the course of about 45 minutes. If I ever get a chance to talk to WF…
And thanks for the link. That’s a great write-up. I was about the same age when Sorcerer came out, and he captured by 13-year-old take on it perfectly.
Another very good read and there is a comment by Wallon’s Green son:
http://www.scpr.org/programs/offramp/2013/05/02/31615/rh-greene-reevaluates-wm-friedkin-s-flop-sorcerer/
Not really newsworthy, just some tidbit from Amidou, taken from some interview from 2005:
MT: What is the movie that marked you the most?
Amidou: Actually, two movies left a lasting impression on me. In ‘La Vie, l’amour, la mort’, seven times I put my head on a real guillotine. This leaves a mark. But the memory of the filming of the “Convoi de la peur” is acute. I was young and carefree, I had refused to have a substitute and I paid for it physically! These have become part of cinema history since one is in the French Cineclub and the other in the American Cineclub. It is crazy what the cinema can do of us!
@Jakub, interesting interpretation about Nilo.
And what was the source of the Amidou interview?
Hello John. Yeah, I think it’s an angle very worth considering, and I hope someone will get to ask Friedkin about it. Well, on the second thought, it was Luigi who was stricken with illness in the original but Nilo is mostly modeled after Jo, though obviously still quite removed, but I mentioned that just to clarify that I know what I’m talking about. However, taking into account the deleted scenes his character has been getting somewhat close to the original dynamics of cowardice / redemption but I guess Billy wanted to distance himself from that. I wondered if Mastroianni played, would he get more characterization, or would it be the same?
Anyway, here’s the source for this interview:
http://karimarhanem.skyrock.com/2169165443-Amidou-Moroccan-officials-should-stamp-out-artistic-piracy.html
Thanks for passing that source along. I’ll end up building a post around it before long.
No problem, lately I’ve been working hard on Sorcerer’s wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorcerer_%28film%29
and I’ve been cataloging all the interesting materials I’ve stumbled upon; I’ve read some very interesting reviews / articles in Spanish, Italian or French.
You’re doing a great job on the Wikipedia page.
How about plugging this blog on there?
Thanks and yes, I will. BTW, do you have access to the liner notes from Sorcerer 1998 DVD?
I don’t. Stuck with the laserdisc — I thought the sound was better.
I need a clarification on this passage:
Production notes on the 1998 Universal DVD release tell a different story, noting that the casting of Scheider as Scanlon/Dominguez was a “foregone conclusion” and “the ideal (perhaps the only) choice for the role” since Friedkin had directed him previously in ”The French Connection”.
That goes against everything I have ever heard. I think the movie gods made sure Scheider was in it. He is perfect.
I hate comparing Wages of Fear to Sorcerer, using arguments that Sorcerer doesn’t do this and that. Deleted scenes brought Sorcerer too dangerously close to Wages of Fear and I’m glad Billy distanced himself from it. There’s a new article and there’s a remark that in Clouzot’s movie even driving too slow is perilous, well it is in Sorcerer too, in a deleted scene…
Anyway, here’s the article:
http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-wages-and-the-fear-remain-high-in-william-frie,98144/
Toby, one favor I’d like to ask you for, could you upload these 2 sketches to flickr with Creative Commons license? https://sorcerer1977.wordpress.com/2013/01/02/john-box-production-sketches/
I’d like to feature them on wikipedia and this is pretty much the only way. If you don’t mind of course.
Sure, I will try to do it tonight.
Those sketches are so cool. Hopefully, I can send stuff like that to whoever ends up preparing the new DVD/Blu-ray.
Try these —
Thanks, they are however marked as “all right reserved”. Could you please alter them to Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)? Much appreciated, thanks!
Sorcerer is now available on dvd from Spain. Don’t know what version it is. Does anyone know?
Hey Toby, et. al.
I’ve had that 16mm SORCERER print for over a year and it’s time to let it go to a new home. I just listed it on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=171254034834
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-simon/william-friedkin-why-sorc_b_5129714.html
Anyone here catch the TMC Festival? Friedkin in person at the Cinefamily screening this Wednesday, but unfortunately tickets are SOLD OUT.
Check out the Blu-Ray review at DVD Beaver.
Toby, “Sorcerer” is finally going to be playing in NYC!
http://www.filmforum.org/movies/more/sorcerer
Toby, Sorcerer is playing again at the Castro theatre in SF. Currently it is scheduled to show on September 27, 2015
Theres an interview with Friedkin in the December 2017 edition of Sight and Sound magazine.
Thanks for the tip!
New art for recent French Blu-Ray
Toby, great blog you have regarding such a wonderful film which is one of my favorite thrillers that has the musical score done by one of my favorite artists, Tangerine Dream. I am an avid collector of movie ads, adverts and newspaper articles/reviews which I have digital archives of with ‘Sorcerer’ being one of them. I have many images of various theater ads from newspapers along with some of the reviews which were normally added to the weekend editions of most newspapers. Some are good, some bad but it is all up to the reader to make a decision as to if the film is worth seeing or not, however in this case we all know regardless of the negative reviews it became a very well done adventure film with Roy Scheider and took us on a journey we will never forget. If you are interested in getting my archive, please send me your e-mail as I am currently still working on adding more when I get time away from work and family. I might have some you have seen or have, but I can let you decide what you want to use. Thanks again on your blog and keep up the great work!!
I’m trying to identify the country of origin for a specific Sorcerer poster. I’ve found the image, but have no clue what country issued it. Here is the link to the poster. Any ideas?
https://moviechat.org/tt0076740/Sorcerer
Wow, that’s a new one to me. I’ve never seen it. Anybody out there know?
Can you get a closer shot??? I’ve never seen it before, but if it’s in English, I’m guessng British or Australian. I don’t see it at all on E-Bay.
That’s a 2015 fanart poster done by Stephen Romano.
https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/107642/stephen-romanos-retro-13-sudden-death-sorcerer/
Mr. Toby, after watching this movie, I dove right into The Sorcerer rabbit hole.
I’m trying to find more information on the Dominican Republic film location. All I get is tourism information.
“A 2008 web review says the following:
The section of village where they get stranded was designed and fabricated as an extensive, shabby, outdoor set, unfairly portraying the (unnamed) Dominican Republic as a hopeless hellhole of a country where people lie in the streets, barely alive.”
There’s no denying that filming locations need a little makeup, so to speak, but how much was it natural beauty, again so to speak?
Wikipedia says this from its sources:
After scouting locations with Walon Green and John Box, the production designer, they chose La Altagracia village as the main location. Friedkin described the place as “a prison without walls” with a “sense of timeless poverty and persecution”.
I’m unsure if Friedkin was referring to La Altagracia as he found it, or how he aimed to portray it.
Any thoughts or suggestions on where to look would be appreciated.
Hello there. Rabbit hole is a good way to describe it! It doesn’t seem to have a bottom.
From what I understand, the village was a set and many of the roads were a loop cut through the jungle. I’m not sure what, if any, town was used along with what they built. This was something I researched a long time ago, and that’s what I remember.
Alto Gracia, according to IMBD, but could just be a typo. La Altagracia looks pretty touristy,in more recent photos, it may have been in the outskirts back in 1976 and I have no idea what it may have looked like back then. One interesting thing, either a goof, or not, the national flag scene where you see the black police officer is that of Colombia, not the Dominican Republic. Of course, the country is unspecified or even fictitious in the film.
Mr. Toby, thanks for answering back.
I must leave you with another interesting “goof”: The currency Nilo used was Dominican Republic pesos. The 50 pesos that were shown have a USD value of 91¢ in 2020. Doubt it was better back then!
Hi
I just discovered on youtube by chance the credits of the European version of Sorcerer. it comes from a 35mm czech copy
Thanks so much for sending in the link.
I am also looking for this version, I know that there are vhs but cannot find one 😦
Hello Here is my reconstruction in HD Sorcerer european’s Cut. More détails in the link, enjoy !
https://archive.org/details/wages-of-fear-sorcerer-europeans-cut-reconstruction-1977-hd-1.0