Sorcerer (1977) 121 Minutes

The first pick of 2007 found Wiener on the road again, so his Selection went

to none other than WildCard Slim! The patient Brandon had waited for this

moment for some time, and though he’d been close to presenting on the

Stucco before, tonight was finally his turn to shine.

Netti was still in Japan this Wednesday, but the rest of the Crew assembled

to kick the New Year off. Joining us in the Back Yard were Bobbi, Johnnie G.,

and the still gimpy Chris Pratt.

The evening got off to a very somber start as the Crew raised a glass to our

departed friend Abbey. This marks the first Movienight without her, and our hearts were heavy as we took our seats. Still we persevered, and WildCard Slim stood up to set the stage for this evening’s pick.

In his carefully scripted preamble, WildCard called this film “a solid work of art that takes you to a place and doesn’t let you leave till it tells you that you can leave.” As he pointed out, that’s what Movienight is all about.

Still, the increasingly silent sound system was not aided by the simple stereo presentation of this film. It took Tooda three mid-screening triages to get the sound up to snuff.

Whether it was the quiet sound or the energy of a New Year, without question this was the chattiest Movienight in our Crew’s history. While that may sit well with our Englewood set, it reminded others of the infamous screening of ‘Network.’

‘Sorcerer’ marked the return of two cinema legends who both debuted on the Stucco in Tooda’s ‘The French Connection.’ The magnificent Roy Scheider and director William Friedkin both join the ranks of Movienight returnees. Also returning was Joe Spinell who first appeared as Gazzo way back in Coolbaugh’s ‘Rocky.’

“We're carrying three cases each. One is enough to blow out your fire, six cases will blow out the whole field. That means you don't think all the trucks will make it, one of us is a backup.”

Written by: Walon Green

Directed by: William Friedkin

BBD Comments:

WildCard Slim lived up to his name with his first pick. The film sure was a wild card, but in too many way it was slim pickings.

Without question, the third act of this film is electrifying movie making. The quest to cart the nitro glycerine across that ridiculous bridge was phenomenally engaging. As always, Roy Scheider creates a protagonist who seems embedded in the story and we are treated to a hell of a ride at the end of this film. But for all of the third act’s power and virtuosity, the preceding moments of the film are a confused and confusing mess.

After the pick, I spoke with Slim about Hitchcock’s “Mac Guffin.” Simply put, the element of the story that sets it in motion, but has no real purpose or value beyond that. I speak more clearly about the device in my Comments on ‘The Third Man’ so if you’re interested go check it out. In this film, we are surrounded by Mac Guffins. The Oil Fire is the most text book example in the picture, but there are many more. In preparing to write this review I found out that Friedkin spent so much time telling the stories of all the other drivers so that you wouldn’t know who lived or died at the end. Ultimately, every other story told throughout the confused opening of the film is a Mac Guffin. The film tells you to care about all of these people, even though the film itself does not care. The lack of focus in the storytelling while purposeful, derails this film before it ever gets going.

We’ve never had a more unruly crowd then the one Slim faced Wednesday. It was partly due to the maddeningly quiet audio, but it was also due to the film itself. ‘Sorcerer’ gives no indication as to where it is headed, what it is about or why we should care. The title itself is complete misdirection. When the third act began, the crowd was silenced and you could of heard a pin drop, but until ‘Sorcerer’ started to tell us a story, it failed to hold on to almost anyone’s attention.

The good news is, I love seeing films for the first time in the Back Yard, and Slim joins the rarified ranks of SELECTOR’s who brought a pick unseen by anyone else in attendance. He scores even more points for his carefully scripted preamble. I endured alot of heat this weekend from a drunken acquaintance who mocked my love of rules and disrespected me in my home. WildCard Slim is all class, and he approached this Selection with great respect and affection for this unique group we have created. Simply put, he is one of us. And as one of us, here comes my honest summation on ‘Sorcerer’ - close, but no cigar. It finished strong to be sure, but I wished I had seen act one and two on Tuesday. Wednesday night is for Slam Dunks. Good job popping your cherry Slim, next time swing for the fences.

Nubs Comments:

I’m willing to accept that just because Pratt and I didn’t care for it, that doesn’t mean ‘Sorcerer’ wasn’t a good pick. As affirmation, there are a slew of long, slow, tedious, tagged by the 70s, picks that Wiener, Coolbaugh, and Davis just can’t get enough of. Some famous Movienight picks are ‘Papillon,’ ‘Midnight Express,’ ‘Gallipoli,’ ‘Straw Dogs,’ and ‘Yojimbo’ (60s), the controversial ‘Wings of Desire’ and even ‘The Treasure of the Sierra Madre’ (40s) are all movies I have not reviewed because they had put me to sleep. I thought it to be unfair to review a movie I had not seen entirely, and furthermore, my dozing should have expressed my opinion for me. I don’t consider myself to be narcoleptic, nor the type that usually can’t finish a film. However, I often play poker until very late, past 2 am on Tuesday night and then, wake-up early to go all day till 9:30 pm Wednesday when I get a chance to relax in my chair, attenuate the lighting, and…zzzz. Most of the time a good slam dunk of a pick keeps this from becoming an issue. I can’t totally blame Brandon or ‘Sorcerer’ for my slumbering, as much as myself for failing to prepare for the drop in temperature which caused my body to shutdown and go into hibernation.

Now, that I’ve taken a lot of the responsibility, lets ask Mr. Friedkin to do some ‘splainin. Would it be so wrong to give us some storytelling? Perhaps rather than take an excruciatingly long half hour to introduce characters, he could also tell us what the hell is happening in that village, or what that nitro is for? I was completely thrown off by the title and opening title card. The name Sorcerer with that scary mask behind it led me to believe I would be watching a horror film. That combined with the early scene in the holy land, Jerusalem, with Friedkins’s fame for ‘The Exorcist,’ Brandon’s love of the horror genre, the full moon, and I expected something more mystical that is not at all in this movie. It is the flaw in our system. As was the case with ‘Straw Dogs,’ I am often at a loss to enjoy the film because I don’t have previous knowledge of what kind of film I am watching. Even in post-discussion the others had little idea as to the connection or the meaning of the beginning or the title. It didn’t seem to be a hindrance to the average Movienighter because people were getting shot and shit was blowing up all over the place. The talkiness of the crew and our pause for sound gave Brandon a chance to tell us it was all setting up the characters which helped my confusion immensely..I realized it would be a long time before we got to our actual plot. I tried to prepare, switching from beer to diet coke, I added another layer of clothing, I…zzz.

When I awoke for most of the second and third acts there was a lot to be said for this, “gem”. The bridge scene is truly amazing in every way. The acting is wonderfully committed and realistic, despite that IMDb claims Friedkin credits Roy Scheider as the worst casting mistake of his career. In post-discussion I began to devise an interesting meaning of the characters intro’s showing their sins they had to pay for in their journey, but no one else seemed to confirm my ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ theory so, like me, it was only half-baked. The movie had heart and definitely had guts, and if that’s what pumped up Davis and Coolbaugh like they were watching a ‘Rocky’ film, then it has to be commended. I will defer to my peers and congratulate Brandon on bustin his cherry.

SELECTOR Comments:

“Managua...shit, there’s no way I can go to Managua.”

Ah, yes, my first official ‘go’ at being SELECTOR, and my attempt at wowing the Crew was met with mixed reviews (according to my inside source). To me, the mid-to-late 1970s was the apex, the zenith, the true high point of American cinema, and ‘Sorcerer’ is right up there - in my book - as one of the top ten from that period.

During the first 20 minutes the Crew seemed a bit restless at the varying subtitles flashing across the Stucco, but once the plot-ball started rolling, and Roy Scheider took to the screen, only the sound of people breathing and cigarettes being lit could be heard from the audience. I personally feel that ‘Sorcerer’ is an amazing film, laden with messages of redemption, salvation, death, and rebirth. All of the main characters leave their various lives behind due to myriad reasons, most of them bad, and they find themselves in South America working at an oil refinery. This alone would have made a great film, but it’s the climax - the hour-long climax - that turns this film into a masterpiece. And even though it was the topic of a great debate after the film, with half of the Crew stating the truck-driving act was not needed, and the other half saying the truck-driving climax should have been the whole film, I would have to agree with the latter: driving two beat-up trucks filled with nitroglycerine through the bumpy, windy, savage roads of a South American jungle provides enough taut tension to make any ex-smoker a current-smoker.

So, no matter the reviews, I believe ‘Sorcerer’ is a remarkable film from an amazing director, starring the always-incredible Roy Scheider. And to Nubs, I still stand by my statement that Tim Robbins is a wretched actor, and I would put $10 on my boy Scheider in an acting competition between the two any day. And that's ten American dollars!

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