A Masterpiece - Friedkin's Trilogy complete, a top film of all time
Picture this ...
It seems a quick year forward from the Bicentennial Summer, AM radio chock-ful of one hit wonders, all kinds of jams from every genre played on the same station no doubt!
Too young at that time to have any meaningful understanding of the Vietnam War & it's conclusion, except that all the adults didn't seem to miss it one bit and again, the radio was playing "Could it be I'm falling in love" by the Spinners back to back with "Fly like an Eagle" by Steve Miller band.
There was no electronic media except a 19" TV set with rabbit ears, color if you were lucky and the coolest show on was Night Stalker starring Gavin McCloud.
Every now and then you could learn a new movie was coming out when a movie ad trailer would play between shows ...
Out of nowhere drops a commercial movie trailer that starts out with Tangerine Dream's Betrayal as soundtrack to these intense images jumping all over the place from images of gangsters, car accidents, things blowing up and this crazy truck crawling across this impossible bridge in some completely unknown jungle place!
From the first microsecond the Sorcerer movie trailer screamed Danger! Future! Exotic! Survival against impossible forces! It was so intense the movie ad that it seemed like everything was hovering off the ground about 3 feet or so!
Time stopped! What is this movie?!!! Where?!!!! When?!!!!
Then, since it probably had an R rating, ... How in the heck are we gonna get in this movie!!!
For the next several months it seemed a vast mystery this movie, like only adults could possibly know about this film.
In the meantime, Star Wars went supersonic and by the end of the Summer they were playing a hit disco theme song of Star Wars on the radio!
Then very quietly, William Friedkin's Sorcerer was getting a quiet one week run at the local 1 screen movie house in the small downtown ...
It was a school nite no less in the 5th grade as the remnants of the Summer of 1977 weather was leading into the Fall
Couldn't find anyone who could go. By the good disposition of my Mom who said were all my priorities and paper route job done well, I could go ... The movie's TV ad trailer old history now as Star Wars seemed to obliterate all time for 6 months, but that image of the truck on the bridge with this far out Tangerine Dream soundtrack wailing along, kept me intrigued.
Walk down to movie house on the plaza, no one is there, walk up and by a ticket. Walk in and grab a few things at the snack bar, place is empty and walk into the grand and old fashioned movie house where it seemed completely empty ...
And then the movie called Sorcerer came on ....
From the start it was on! It was as though Friedkin's famous French Connection car chase was being redone except it was the individual characters and their impossible situations coming along like a hurricane.
So many concepts so far over my head, impossible to understand but the gritty scenes, the dialogue and the switch up of locations, it was done so well it didnt matter ....
And then they all end up narrowly escaping each of their insane predicaments and are now in this funky ass jungle place where their condition and living quarters are appalling and there seems much more sinister and deeper danger they will all share....
Pt 1 of this review ...