Nearly 50 years after it flopped at the box office, Sorcerer deserves recognition as an overlooked masterpiece of 1970s cinema. In 1977, director William Friedkin delivered the epic and ambitious thriller Sorcerer follows four strangers living outcast lives in Central America who take on the perilous job of driving trucks carrying unstable explosives through the treacherous jungles of their area. The movie was originally conceived by Friedkin as a relatively small production, but the budget eventually ballooned to $22 million.
Despite the financial risks, Sorcerer had a lot going for it. Friedkin had just come off the back-to-back successes of The French Connection and The Exorcist, while leading man Roy Scheider was fresh off the success of Jaws. However, Sorcerer ended up being a box office flop, earning only $9 million and being regarded as one of the movies that persuaded studios to move away from auteur-driven pᴀssion projects and focus more on mainstream hits. However, decades later, Sorcerer is now regarded as one of the last great masterpieces of 1970s movies.
Sorcerer Is A Forgotten Gem From The 1970s
William Friedkin Creates One Of The Most Suspenseful Movies Ever Made
Sorcerer was a bold undertaking, presenting a big-budget story of brutality, guilt, and survival with a cast of desperate characters. It is the kind of movie that could only come from the 1970s, yet proved even too much for the audience at the time. Thankfully, its brilliance has been discovered over time, giving it a reputation as one of the most underrated movies of all time. Indeed, it is an engrossing and thrilling experience that audiences should continue to seek out. It also makes for one of William Friedkin’s most impressive works as a filmmaker.
While Sorcerer may not have been accepted as one of the great thrillers of the time, the infamous bridge sequence remains one of the most impressive set pieces in any action movie ever made.
The movie is unbearably suspenseful, with every bump in the road felt by the viewers as these characters make the dangerous journey. The brilliant premise, inspired by the movie Wages of Fear (which was remade as a Netflix movie in 2024), naturally creates a lot of that tension, but it is the immersive direction from Friedkin that really puts the audience in this nerve-wrecking scenario. He uses guerrilla filmmaking style and authentic settings to make for the most visceral experience. Yet even with the realistic feel, he also manages a surreal aspect, like a literal descent into Hell.
It captures the danger and boldness of movies from the 1970s as well as the thrilling set pieces that were becoming a part of the burgeoning blockbuster movement. While Sorcerer may not have been accepted as one of the great thrillers of the time, the infamous bridge sequence remains one of the most impressive set pieces in any action movie ever made. The practical effects and the rising tension of the characters trying to cross the mᴀssive truck across a rickety bridge in a torrential downpour can put anyone on the edge of their seat.
Why Sorcerer Wasn’t Appreciated More At The Time Of Release
Sorcerer Faced Some Stiff Compeтιтion And A Change In Audience Desires
As with many great movies that were overlooked in their time, there are a number of factors that worked against Sorcerer when it was released in 1977. Perhaps the most significant reason was the poor luck that Sorcerer opened weeks after Star Wars had premiered and become a pop culture sensation. With all eyes still on George Lucas’s movie, Sorcerer had little chance to make an impact at the box office. It quickly became seen as a flop, making it even harder to get people to go see it.
Hollywood was changing its tastes, and Sorcerer was one of the first movies to become a casualty of that.
However, Star Wars did not just affect the box office of Sorcerer but also the public perception of such a movie. With all of Hollywood focused on the fun escapism and adventure that Star Wars delivered, audiences just weren’t in the mood for a bleak and intense experience like Sorcerer. It may deliver thrills, but it was still an emotionally cold look as desperate and flawed characters embark on a quest that seemed destined to end on an unhappy note. Hollywood was changing its tastes, and Sorcerer was one of the first movies to become a casualty of that.
There was no longer room for dark and challenging movies of that scale from directors who had complete control over their vision. It was the end of an era in Hollywood, and one that has never truly returned. However, the popularity and appreciation that Sorcerer has gained over the years are proof that these movies will always be sought out, even if it takes a while for audiences to find them.
