I FIRST saw Sorcerer a couple of years ago during the Belfast Film Festival, when William Friedkin's 1977 cult classic received a rare public screening at their 'Beanbag Cinema'.
Despite a technical cock-up causing us to miss the opening minutes of the film – scenes which are critical in establishing its main characters, I later discovered – this jungle-set thriller instantly became one of my favourite films.
Yes, it's that good. So why have you probably never heard of it before?
Friedkin gave us The Exorcist and The French Connection, two of the most celebrated examples of 1970s cinema. However, despite his pedigree, a starring role for the late great Roy Scheider (then red-hot off the back of The French Connection and the original blockbuster, Jaws) and a dynamite plot – a retooling of 1950s European hit The Wages of Fear, Sorcerer is literally about the perils of transporting decomposing sticks of gelignite across treacherous jungle terrain – Sorcerer was a flop in 1977.
Beset by Apocalypse Now-esque production difficulties, its budget ballooned. Then it opened the same week as a little known sci-fi flick called Star Wars, the box-office equivalent of Alderaan going up against the Death Star.
Thankfully, 40 years on, Sorcerer is becoming more widely appreciated as the gritty, grimy, sweaty-palm-inducing nerve jangler it always was – and the best way to experience it is in its newly restored form at the cinema as part of an audience collectively holding its breath.
Just don't arrive late.
Sorcerer is showing at QFT Belfast on Tuesday December 5 and Wednesday December 6. Tickets and times at Queensfilmtheatre.com
