SORCERER
(1977, Blu-ray released April 22 2014 – MSRP CDN$ 19.99)
THE FILM:
- “Roy Scheider lends his intense talent to this taut action-adventure from director William Friedkin. Set on the edge of a South American jungle, a desperate four-man team, led by Scheider, must transport a volatile cargo of nitroglycerin over 200 miles of treacherous terrain in order to stop a potentially disastrous oil fire. Enter into this explosive mix of split-second strategy and jolting suspense set against an outstanding score by Tangerine Dream.“
REVIEW:
William Friedkin’s (The Exorcist) notorious Sorcerer, a remake of Henri-Georges Clouzot‘s 1953 classic The Wages of Fear, nearly slipped into obscurity after being released against Star Wars way back in 1977. Warner has thankfully seen fit to resurrect this outstanding, tense film about a group of convicts transporting volatile nitroglycerine through treacherous South American jungle terrain and the resulting Blu-ray release is an absolute revelation.
Warner have worked miracles with the restoration and digital transfer of Sorcerer. The detail and depth of the image is jaw dropping. Colour is rich, blacks are inky and grain is film-like. We film fans could ask for nothing more. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is a “re-imagining” of the original stereo but seems quite respectful in most every way, with Tangerine Dream‘s dated-though-exceptional soundtrack sounding more dynamic than ever.
The only crime here is in the complete lack of special features. The US edition of the Sorcerer Blu-ray is packaged in a nice little hardcover book with a note from the director about the restoration and transfer. We Canadians get the usual plastic case and absolutely no context for the creation and release of the film. Sigh. Ohhhhhh Canada….
SCREENSHOTS:
Click to enlarge
(Note: All screenshots are created in the lossy jpg format which may cause additional compression artifacts and noise in the image.)
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- None
