Sorcerer

Sorcerer (1977)

  • 76% of critics liked it
    (21 reviews)

  • 79% of users liked it
    (2,853 ratings)

The plot of William Friedkin's suspense thriller originated with the same Georges Arnaud novel that inspired Henri-Georges Clouzot's French suspense classic The Wages of Fear (1953). Roy Scheider, Bruno Cremer, Francisco Rabal, and Amidou play four men who, for various reasons, cannot return… More

Play Trailer

PG,
Directed By
Written By
Georges Arnaud, Walon Green
Genres
Mystery & Suspense, Action & Adventure
In Theaters
Jun 24, 1977 Wide
Universal/Paramount Pictures

Critic Reviews

  • Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine

    The new movie is handsomely shot and crisply edited. Why, then, does one rather distantly respect it instead of just plain liking it? It is an odd, disappointing feeling to take away from a summertime movie.

  • Variety Staff, Variety

    William Friedkin's Sorcerer is a painstaking, admirable, but mostly distant and uninvolving suspenser based on the French classic The Wages of Fear.

  • , Time Out

    Friedkin hints at political themes, but the film suffers most from condescendingly over-emphatic direction, and a generally tedious, relentless grimy realism in the opening half hour.

  • , TV Guide's Movie Guide

    Friedkin's Sorcerer is just as gripping and spine-tingling an adventure film as The Wages of Fear and, at times, surpasses the original film with breathtaking photography and a superb use of sound

  • Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion

    Friedkin's maldit analysis of The Wages of Fear retains Clouzot's perverse punchline and adds plenty of its own

Read all 12 critic reviews

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Reid V


    Being an immense fan of the Clouzot's Wages of Fear, coupled with knowing Friedkin's hubris, made me not to thrilled to give this movie a whirl. However, my love for Scheider got the best of me and I finally spent some time with the film. And man am I glad I did. Does… More

  • Pierluigi P


    As the characters in the picture, maybe William Friedkin was doomed from the instant he decided to tempt providence going back to H.G Clouzot's masterpiece. His most ambicious project was, from early stages, development hell, plus a terrible distribution date that condemned it to… More

  • Ken S


    Wicked underrated

  • Steve B


    This movie is universally panned, but I kind of liked it.

  • Lanning :


    One of the best "tough guys," no one sweats better on the way to winning or losing than Roy Scheider. This great movie, an American reworking of the Yves Montand thriller LE SALAIRE DE LA PEUR, highlights Scheider's knack for playing characters who live life moving… More

Read all 7 featured audience ratings

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Cast

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Trailers & Clips