WHV Press Release: SORCERER (Blu-ray Book) (1 Viewer)

[skylark68]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I just picked this film up after stumbling on a mention of it on another site. One of my all time favorite films now, even though I hadn't heard of it until a month or so ago. I ended up purchasing from Amazon Canada because the price on the USA site is just about out of control. I assume it's either out of print or nearing the end of its print run. This is for the standard packaging, not the digibook.

The tension in this film is incredible and the cinematography was simply amazing. Even with my old 46" Sony XBR I felt like I was in the jungle on one of those worn out trucks.

EDIT: This film further solidifies the 1970's as one of the best decades in film in my opinion. I wish I had been born about 10 or 15 years earlier so I could have seen these pictures first run.

 

[Harry-N]

As a frequent contributor to this thread, welcome to the world of SORCERER fandom. This film's history as available/not available has been like a rollercoaster. For years it was only out in a 4:3 DVD that put that format to shame - it was essentially a port of an old LaserDisc transfer that Universal trew out into the marketplace.

The Blu-ray digibook surfaced back in April of 2104. This was the one I longed to own as it was the very first time I would see the movie in its proper aspect ratio. Then Warner Bros. did a weird thing of releasing at the same time a port of the old 4:3 DVD with the new cover artwork. This confused the hell out of everyone including Mr. Friedkin, who promptly went all of the Internet to warn people away from that.

Months later, a proper widescreen DVD appeared with little fanfare, and served only to muddy the waters further as the first crappy DVD was still out there.

Then, the Digibook began to disappear from the marketplace and prices for what was left - or even used - began to spike. All the while, a Canadian Blu-ray with a standard plastic case was available for a reasonable price. While that's still true, regular, old, US Amazon is selling SORCERER on Blu-ray in standard packaging (not Digibook) for $14.97. A quick check says they had 15 currently available.

Bottom line here is to get this film from wherever you can, especially if you've never seen it and think you might - or should - like it. Many respondents in this thread admitted to never having seen the film, bought it on a blind buy and ended up loving it.

I'm the one who posted images earlier in this thread that gave the appearance that the film's color palette may have been tilted toward the green. As others have mentioned, when you watch the Blu-ray on a properly adjusted television, it has no funny color artifacts at all. It's a natural, vibrant color palette that will make your TV look like it did in "torch" mode in the store! The colors and images just pop off the screen.

 

[Angelo Colombus]

I still have my laserdisc and the blu-ray when it came out. A great film and i always see this and Clouzot's Wages of Fear (1953) together for a interesting comparison.

 

[skylark68]

Question as I have never seen Wages of Fear either... Must see?

 

[SAhmed]

As far as I am concerned Wages Of Fear is a must see and better than SORCERER even though it's a great movie in it's own right! May well be because I saw Wages Of Fear first

Regards,

 

[TonyD]

Picked this up recently for, iTunes for $5.
Watching it now.

I’ve never seen it before and like Ron wanted to see it based on all the talk.

I’m not finished yet but I wanted to comment on the color saturation.
Early in I saw lots of bright green and teal and maybe pink. Looked unnaturally brightly colored.
The only scene that to me this effected negatively was when they are leaving the camp.
There a shot seen from behind one of the trucks out into a field that is pretty green.
I see some digital “buzzing” in the green of the field.

Welp,that was the only thing I saw that looked digitized and unnatural.
Very riveting movie. Intense.

Btw I had a channel on tv that has old show and one was Little House on the Prairie.

The episode was exactly this plot.

Four men, two Horse drawn vehicles had to Movie liquid nitro 100 miles or so.
There was even a tree blocking the road.

 

[Worth]

...I’m not finished yet but I wanted to comment on the color saturation.
Early in I saw lots of bright green and teal and maybe pink. Looked unnaturally brightly colored.
The only scene that to me this effected negatively was when they are leaving the camp.
There a shot seen from behind one of the trucks out into a field that is pretty green.
I see some digital “buzzing” in the green of the field...

I saw the DCP of this in the cinema and that's exactly how it looked - oversaturated and a little unnatural.

...Btw I had a channel on tv that has old show and one was Little House on the Prairie.

The episode was exactly this plot.

Four men, two Horse drawn vehicles had to Movie liquid nitro 100 miles or so.
There was even a tree blocking the road...

Sorcerer is a remake of the 1953 French film Wages of Fear, so Little House lifted the story from that.