Sorcerer (1977)

"Green Hell Drivers"

William Friedkin's remake (although he - sort of - denies it) of Henri-Georges Clouzot's THE WAGES OF FEAR (1953) gets a 40th anniversary Blu-ray release courtesy of Entertainment One.

Four men with good reasons to leave their different countries of residence (an embezzling Parisian banker, a hitman from Vera Cruz, a terrorist from Jerusalem and the driver for a New Jersey church-robbing gang) end up in the same town in the Dominican Republic. 

There's an explosion at an oil refinery 200 miles away. The only thing that can plug the blaze is a bigger explosion triggered by the nitroglycerine the oil company has handy. The problem is, the gelignite hasn't been stored properly and has reached the 'sweaty' stage, meaning the slightest movement could set it off. 

The bigger problem is that the only way to get it to the refinery is along some of the most treacherous roads the South American jungle has to offer (including one of the most rickety bridges ever committed to film). 

Keen to escape their self-imposed prison with the aid of the substantial payout the oil company is offering, our anti-heroes set off in two lorries containing three boxes of dangerously unstable explosive apiece. Will they make it?

A box office disaster when it was released (partly due to its critical reception, partly because STAR WARS came out pretty much the same week), time has been kind to a film that was really pretty good to begin with. It takes a little while to get going as we get the background on the protagonists, and perhaps another way to do this would have been to integrate the backstories into the context of the primary narrative.

Then again, maybe not. Because once we get into the jungle, the mix of Cy Enfield's HELL DRIVERS (1957) by way of Herzog's AGUIRRE, WRATH OF GOD (1972) will have you on the edge of your seat as the lorries teeter and threaten to topple from crumbling mountain roadways and collapsing bridges.

eOne's Blu-ray looks smashing. There's only one main extra, but it's a goodie, as Nicolas Winding Refn discusses the film with William Friedkin for nearly eighty minutes. It makes for a fascinating listen and both men are eloquent, personable and never less than interesting in what they have to say.

With a real feel of 'Up the Creek Without a Paddle' movies like Coppola's APOCALYPSE NOW (1979) which one cannot help but feel was influenced by this, eOne's new Blu-ray of William Friedkin's SORCERER deserves to be on everyone's must-see list. 

William Friedkin's SORCERER is out on Blu-ray from eOne on Monday 6th November 2017. It's also getting a limited cinema release from Friday 3rd November.