the first film that william friedkin released after “the exorcist” (which despite its fame i have never seen and likely never will as i am unable to deal with horror films thank you very much!), sorcerer is a remake of the wages of fear authored by none other than the redoubtable french author georges arnaud. i went to see the film when it was first released in 1977 simply because it had a soundtrack by german electronic group tangerine dream. 
with this soundtrack, tangerine dream stepped much closer to the forefront of north american musical consciousness. its powerful melding of relentless sequencer lines and emotionally charged synthesizer, mellotron and treated guitar painted a powerful backdrop against which the film pales ever so slightly.
the story line is compelling though and worthy of viewing. a south american oil well owned by an american company catches fire, so the company hires four men, down on their luck, to drive two trucks over mountain dirt roads, while carrying the nitroglycerine needed to extinguish the fire. the journey across mountains and through the jungle keeps you on the edge of your seat as you know that at some point the nitro is going to be wobbling and getting knocked around and well . . .
for more information about the connection between the wages of fear and sorcerer and some very interesting tidbits about the making of sorcerer, you might like to read this.
here’s an excellent overview of the film and some intriguing comments by friedkin himself regarding the extraordinary and unforgettable “bridge sequence” which you will see in full later on . . .
more information can be found at this page which details some of the fascinating trivia about the movie . . .
if you’d like to see bits of the film then here’s the theatrical trailer with what i consider one of the more powerful tunes on an excellent soundtrack . . .
as a teaser, here are five exquisite stomach-clenching minutes from the film . . .
intrigued?! alright then, here are five more minutes . . .
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