Sorcerer
WANTED. Four men willing to drive a cargo of death to escape a life in hell.
Country
Budget
$22 000 000
Box office
$9 000 000
Director
Actors
Scenario
Producer
Camera operator
Dick Bush
Composer
Artist
John Box
Audition
Louis DiGiaimo
Editing
Robert K. Lambert, Bud S. Smith
Whole Team (90)
Whole Team (90)
Short description
Four men from different parts of the globe, all hiding from their pasts in the same remote South American town, agree to risk their lives transporting several cases of dynamite (which is so old that it is dripping unstable nitroglycerin) across dangerous jungle terrain.
What's left behind the scenes
- Clint Eastwood and Jack Nicholson were invited for the lead role, but neither was willing to undertake the extensive travel (some filming took place in Paris and Jerusalem, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic). The choice of Roy Scheider, with whom Friedkin had previously worked on 'The French Connection,' was, according to the director, the biggest mistake of his career. Scheider, Friedkin said, is a good actor, but he is not a star, because every film for him is just another job. Actor Amidu, who played the Arab Kassem, turned out to be the only one cast immediately, without having to compete with other actors. The others were chosen only after reviewing four to six candidates for each role.
- The musicians of the German ensemble Tangerine Dream composed the music for the film without seeing it, having only the script at their disposal.
- Filming in the jungle was very often postponed (once due to a hurricane that completely destroyed the set), resulting in the initial budget of $15 million growing to $22 million.
- The church robbery scene featured in one of the prologues is based on real events that took place three blocks from where it was filmed. A participant in that crime, Gerard Murphy, later became an actor and was cast as the leader of the robbers in 'The Exorcist' (The Conjurer).
- During the sound editing, the sound operator added a tiger's roar to the roar of the 'Sorcerer' truck's engine, and a jaguar's growl to the sound of the 'Lazarus' truck's engine. In addition, in some places, the creaking of the rope bridge is replaced by the sounds of a viola.
- The church robbery scene featured in one of the prologues is based on real events that occurred three blocks from where it was filmed. A participant in that crime, Gerard Murphy, later became an actor and played the leader of the robbers in 'Sorcerer'.
- The musicians of the German ensemble Tangerine Dream composed the music for the film without seeing it, and having only the script at their disposal.
- During the sound design process, the sound engineer added a tiger's roar to the engine revs of the 'Sorcerer' truck and a jaguar's growl to the noise of the 'Lazaro' truck. Additionally, in some places, the creaking of the rope bridge is replaced by the sounds of a viola.
- It was very difficult for cinematographer Dick Bush to work with Friedkin due to his incredible demands. After shooting half of the film, Bush left the project. He was replaced by John Stevens, a cinematographer from the auxiliary filming crew. Both Bush and Stevens are credited in the titles. Initially, Friedkin intended to shoot only one prologue dedicated to the main character, Jackie Scanlon. But then, both he and screenwriter Waloan Green came to the conclusion that in this case, viewers would immediately understand which of the characters would survive. Therefore, it was decided to shoot four different prologues. In foreign distribution versions of the film, the prologues were either cut, shortened, or moved to other places as “flashbacks.”
- Friedkin wanted Steve McQueen to play the lead role. McQueen was willing to accept the offer, but only on the condition that Eli McGrow, who was his wife at the time, would also appear in the film. Friedkin refused, and McQueen then declined to participate in the project. Later, Friedkin regretted not fulfilling McQueen's demands.
- Friedkin wanted the car crash in the prologue to look as realistic as possible. Ultimately, twelve cars were wrecked before the scene looked the way the director envisioned it. The rope bridge, specially constructed for the filming, was a rather complex structure with numerous safety devices and hydraulic lifts that allowed it to be moved. Building the bridge cost a million dollars. However, shortly after its completion, the river in the Dominican Republic, on which the bridge was built, completely dried up (this happened for the first time in history). As a result, the bridge had to be dismantled and rebuilt in Mexico. This required another million dollars. By some mystical coincidence, the once-turbulent river there also began to dry up rapidly. The film crew had to guard the site around the clock, as superstitious locals threatened to blow up the bridge, convinced that it was causing the river to become shallow. By the start of filming, the river had become very shallow and did not look threatening enough. However, the filmmakers no longer had the time or money to move the filming location. Friedkin then ordered the use of helicopters, wind machines, and giant hoses to create a strong current and downpour. The bridge turned out to be so unstable that, despite all precautions, a truck (often with an actor in the cab) slipped into the river five times during rehearsals and filming. Because of this, filming the episode on the bridge took three months. Friedkin once noted that it was the most difficult scene he had ever filmed.
- Due to the subtitles used at the beginning of the film, viewers complained that they were not warned that it was a foreign film. To clarify the situation, special posters with the following text were placed in the cinema lobbies: “ATTENTION! To more fully reveal the characters of the main heroes, two episodes appearing at the beginning of the film were shot in foreign languages and are therefore accompanied by subtitles. Otherwise, 'The Sorcerer' is an English-language film.”
- Friedkin wanted the car crash in the prologue to look as realistic as possible. In the end, twelve cars were destroyed before the scene turned out the way the director envisioned. The rope bridge, specially constructed for the filming, was a fairly complex structure with many safety devices and hydraulic lifts to set it in motion. Building the bridge cost one million dollars. However, shortly after construction was completed, the river in the Dominican Republic upon which the bridge was built dried up completely (which, by the way, happened for the first time in history). Consequently, the bridge had to be dismantled and rebuilt in Mexico. This required another million dollars. By some mystical coincidence, the once-raging river there also began to dry up rapidly. The crew had to guard the site around the clock because superstitious locals threatened to blow up the bridge, convinced that it was the cause of the river running dry. By the start of filming, the river had become very shallow and did not look threatening enough. However, the filmmakers had neither the time nor the money to move the shoot elsewhere. So Friedkin ordered the use of helicopters, wind machines, and giant hoses to create a strong current and a downpour. The bridge proved to be so unstable that, despite all precautions, the truck (often with an actor in the cab) slid into the river five times during rehearsals and filming. Because of this, filming the bridge episode took three months. Friedkin once remarked that it was the most difficult scene he had ever shot.
- Cinematographer Dick Bessik found it very difficult to work with Friedkin due to his incredible demands. After filming half of the movie, Bessik left the project. He was replaced by B-camera operator John Stevens. Both Bessik and Stevens are listed in the credits. Initially, Friedkin intended to film only one prologue centered on the main character, Jackie Scanlon. However, both he and screenwriter Wallon Green later concluded that doing so would immediately reveal to the audience which characters would survive. Therefore, it was decided to film four different prologues. In the international theatrical releases, these prologues were either cut, shortened, or moved to other parts of the film as flashbacks.
- Filming in the jungle often had to be postponed (once due to a hurricane that completely destroyed the set), as a result of which the original budget of $15 million grew to $22 million.
- Clint Eastwood and Jack Nicholson were considered for the lead role, but neither wanted to make the long journeys (some filming took place in Paris and Jerusalem, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic). The choice of Roy Scheider, with whom Friedkin had previously worked on 'The French Connection,' was, according to the director, the biggest mistake of his career. Scheider, Friedkin said, is a good actor, but he isn’t a star, as every film for him is just another job. Actor Amidou, who played the Arab Kassem, was the only one who was approved immediately, sparing him from competition with other actors. The rest were only chosen after viewing four to six candidates for each role.
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Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
