Sorcerer (William Friedkin, 1977)

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Cinephrenic
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 2:58 pm
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Sorcerer (William Friedkin, 1977)

#1 Post by Cinephrenic » Sun Mar 24, 2013 10:36 pm

According to this link, William Friedkin's Sorcerer is getting Blu-ray, but the article doesn't specify who. Criterion?

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Professor Wagstaff
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Re: Sorcerer (Friedkin, 1977)

#2 Post by Professor Wagstaff » Sun Mar 24, 2013 10:47 pm

It had been mentioned previously (I think in the Jeff Wells Thread about aspect ratios) that it won't be Criterion.

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repeat
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Re: Sorcerer (Friedkin, 1977)

#3 Post by repeat » Mon Mar 25, 2013 5:21 am

Yes, WF confirmed on Twitter last month that it won't be Criterion. Exciting news about the Blu-ray - this is first-rate Friedkin, right up there with TLADILA and French Connection.

To get yourself all hyped up in the meantime, this utterly obsessive and amazing blog is a great resource on all things Sorcerer!

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TobyR
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Re: Sorcerer (Friedkin, 1977)

#4 Post by TobyR » Mon Mar 25, 2013 8:58 am

repeat wrote:To get yourself all hyped up in the meantime, this utterly obsessive and amazing blog is a great resource on all things Sorcerer!
As the guy that runs that Sorcerer blog, thanks a bunch!

So far, Friedkin hasn't tipped his hat about who's gonna handle the film from now on. I'm curious to know who it is, of course, but am elated to find out it's coming.

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JamesF
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Re: Sorcerer (Friedkin, 1977)

#5 Post by JamesF » Thu Jun 13, 2013 7:40 am


Salt The Fries
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Re: Odp: Sorcerer (Friedkin, 1977)

#6 Post by Salt The Fries » Sat Jun 29, 2013 2:51 pm

Hi, I'm new here. To answer the OP, it's going to be Warner Brothers and Universal, the deal comprises dvd, bluray, internet streaming and television broadcast. I wonder about its theatrical release, if it's going to be a full-blown one a'la Alien director's cut or just limited to revival houses? I'd also like to applaud Toby for his hard work on his blog and I'd like to encourage you to visit Sorcerer's Wikipedia page edited almost exclusively by me and soon to achieve featured article status.

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ola t
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Re: Sorcerer (Friedkin, 1977)

#7 Post by ola t » Fri Dec 06, 2013 3:45 am

Tangerine Dream will perform the entire Sorcerer soundtrack live at the Tivoli Concert Hall in Copenhagen on April 3, apparently including never-before-heard outtakes. On the same bill are Michael Rother and Dieter Moebius. Info in Danish. Tickets.

LavaLamp
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Re: Sorcerer (Friedkin, 1977)

#8 Post by LavaLamp » Fri Dec 06, 2013 8:04 pm

Great news, and excellent blog.

I've only seen Sorcerer once; it was years ago on the pan & scan DVD. Despite the sub-par print, I enjoyed the film & felt it was one of the best thrillers I've ever seen. Looking forward to the theatrical & DVD/Blu-ray releases next year. It's about time!

LavaLamp
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Re: Sorcerer (Friedkin, 1977)

#9 Post by LavaLamp » Fri Feb 14, 2014 12:32 pm

Re: the blog & Amazon, the Sorcerer BD is scheduled to be released 4/22. Really looking forward to this - the cover looks great, and it looks like there will be a booklet with this as well. Excellent news.

I have intentionally held off on re-watching the pan & scan P.O.S. DVD (which is, IMHO, unwatchable these days) in anticipation of this new release.

I did see the original Wages of Fear for the first time recently, and that was also an excellent film...

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repeat
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Re: Sorcerer (William Friedkin, 1977)

#10 Post by repeat » Sun Apr 06, 2014 3:55 am

Saw the new DCP of Sorcerer at the Copenhagen festival the other day, and it looks and sounds no less than fucking amazing. William Friedkin was present in the screening and received a lifetime achievement award from the Danish Film Academy. (Also a complete retrospective of his films is being presented, sadly could only attend a couple of them: the current French Connection DCP also looks beautiful.)

Is it possible that there is no dedicated thread to Friedkin over here? In a Q&A after To Live and Die in L.A., WF revealed that he is at work on a new film called Fear In the City, based on a true case of a cop turned serial cop-killer.

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ola t
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Re: Sorcerer (William Friedkin, 1977)

#11 Post by ola t » Sun Apr 06, 2014 4:23 am

A new recording of the Sorcerer soundtrack, including outtakes, is now available in the Tangerine Dream web shop.

I was at the concert in Copenhagen where they played this, and I thought it was superb, though since I've never seen the film nor heard the original album, I can't really answer any questions about how different it sounds or how much is previously unheard.

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Drucker
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Re: Sorcerer (William Friedkin, 1977)

#12 Post by Drucker » Fri Apr 11, 2014 5:32 pm


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warren oates
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Re: Sorcerer (William Friedkin, 1977)

#13 Post by warren oates » Fri Apr 11, 2014 5:34 pm

Disappointed about the single layering and the bit rate. But the transfer looks good and we're mercifully spared a director's commentary.

Anthony Thorne
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Re: Sorcerer (William Friedkin, 1977)

#14 Post by Anthony Thorne » Fri Apr 11, 2014 5:44 pm

Friedkin's very first EXORCIST commentary was absolutely fine. I get the point that he's done a bunch that are tedious but I would have been keen to hear him talk more about the movie. Perhaps it was felt the book excerpt and written intro made any further commentary superfluous. I also heard a rumour about a documentary on the disc with other directors - Guillermo Del Toro for one - talking about the movie. Ah well. I'm still very keen to purchase this release.

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sir_luke
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Re: Sorcerer (William Friedkin, 1977)

#15 Post by sir_luke » Fri Apr 11, 2014 6:06 pm

It certainly does make that "jungle-socked" atmosphere look impressive.

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repeat
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Re: Sorcerer (William Friedkin, 1977)

#16 Post by repeat » Sat Apr 12, 2014 5:41 am

Anthony Thorne wrote:Friedkin's very first EXORCIST commentary was absolutely fine. I get the point that he's done a bunch that are tedious but I would have been keen to hear him talk more about the movie. Perhaps it was felt the book excerpt and written intro made any further commentary superfluous.
Probably just didn't want to do one - he expressed a pronounced distaste for audio commentaries in general at the Q&A's in Copenhagen last week (which by the way were very engaging and entertaining).

The Beaver caps look exactly as crisp as it did in the theatre, only of course failing to convey how good it looked in motion!

BTW for background on the film, can't recommend enough this excellent article via the above-mentioned sorcerer1977 blog

Stuart Galbraith IV
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Re: Sorcerer (William Friedkin, 1977)

#17 Post by Stuart Galbraith IV » Tue Apr 22, 2014 8:31 pm

(DVD Savant) Glenn Erickson's review of the Blu-ray is here:

http://worldcinemaparadise.com/2014/04/ ... erer-1977/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Jeff
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Re: Sorcerer (William Friedkin, 1977)

#18 Post by Jeff » Tue Apr 22, 2014 9:38 pm

Don't bother with the DVD says Friedkin.

Image

Image

cinemartin

Re: Sorcerer (William Friedkin, 1977)

#19 Post by cinemartin » Tue Apr 22, 2014 10:33 pm

That may be the most helpful Amazon review ever.

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jbeall
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Re: Sorcerer (William Friedkin, 1977)

#20 Post by jbeall » Wed Apr 30, 2014 5:01 pm


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EddieLarkin
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Re: Sorcerer (William Friedkin, 1977)

#21 Post by EddieLarkin » Wed Apr 30, 2014 6:05 pm

This disc is missing the original 2.0 stereo track. This is important because apparently the 5.1 has new modern sounding gun effects replacing the originals à la Vertigo. Even worse, Friedkin has added a new gun shot to the film where there was none before, which potentially removes the ambiguity of the ending. Details here.

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The Elegant Dandy Fop
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Re: Sorcerer (William Friedkin, 1977)

#22 Post by The Elegant Dandy Fop » Thu May 01, 2014 1:51 am

I saw a Q&A with Friedkin two weeks ago and talks about the ending with the gunshot was meant to be ambiguous and made no mention of adding it. He acted like it was always a part of the film. I'd take the hyperbole of the IMDb with a grain of salt. The new mix sounds like a new mix, which is always a pet peeve of mine, but I can live with it.

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repeat
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Re: Sorcerer (William Friedkin, 1977)

#23 Post by repeat » Thu May 01, 2014 2:40 am

Was that Q&A part of a screening, can you confirm that there was an added gunshot at the end? I can't trust my memory here a 100% because I was very, very tired, but I didn't notice this when I saw the new DCP some weeks ago. I was previously familiar with the ending, the sounds were VERY loud, and it was the 5.1 mix - I'd think I would've been very surprised by any alterations to it.

It would certainly be a baffling decision, even considering Friedkin's previous record for dabbling with his films on re-release, especially as he's repeatedly stated that Sorcerer is the only one of his where he would not change a thing.

(edit: perhaps it's not quite as disturbing as that iMDB guy makes it out to be, as apparently Toby/sorcerer1977 didn't notice it the first time around either. I might've just mistaken it for a part of the score.)

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The Elegant Dandy Fop
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Re: Sorcerer (William Friedkin, 1977)

#24 Post by The Elegant Dandy Fop » Thu May 01, 2014 5:30 am

Q&A was part of the screening and yes, it did have a gunshot at the end. It was projected from the new DCP.

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mfunk9786
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Re: Sorcerer (William Friedkin, 1977)

#25 Post by mfunk9786 » Thu May 01, 2014 6:38 pm

@WilliamFriedkin: Amazon will not let me add a comment, but just know
The SORCERER DVD they sell is terrible and I'm in the
Process of remastering.

Review on Amazon from Friedkin posted today: "This is William Friedkin. I did not authorize ANY DVDs. Only the blu ray. The DVD is just awful. Avoid."

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