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A hallucinatory journey into the heart of darkness, William Friedkin’s pulse-pounding reimagining of the suspense classic The Wages of Fear was dismissed upon its release, only to be recognized decades later as one of the boldest auteur statements of the New Hollywood. In a remote Latin American village, four desperate fugitives—a New Jersey gangster (Roy Scheider), a Mexican assassin (Francisco Rabal), an unscrupulous Parisian businessman (Bruno Cremer), and an Arab terrorist (Amidou)—take on a seemingly doomed mission: transporting two trucks full of highly explosive nitroglycerin through the treacherous jungle. Aided by Tangerine Dream’s otherworldly synth score, Friedkin turns each bump in the road into a tour de force of cold-sweat tension—conjuring a hauntingly nihilistic vision of a world ruled by chance and fate.

4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
New 4K digital restoration, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack approved by director William Friedkin
Alternate 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and two Blu-rays with the film and special features
Friedkin Uncut (2018), a documentary by Francesco Zippel featuring interviews with Friedkin; screenwriter Walon Green; filmmakers Wes Anderson, Francis Ford Coppola, and Quentin Tarantino; and others
New conversation between filmmaker James Gray and film critic Sean Fennessey
Archival audio interviews with Green and editor Bud Smith, from the collection of Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan, author of William Friedkin (2003)
Conversation from 2015 between Friedkin and filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn
Behind-the-scenes footage of Friedkin on set
Trailer
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
PLUS: An essay by film critic Justin Chang

New cover by Nessim Higson

Paramount title?

WB has(had?) the home video rights to this.

WB licensed it from Universal, Universal and Paramount coproduced the film and it took a lawsuit to figure out who owned the rights

I’m gutted Arrow didn’t get to do it as it’s a dream project for me, but them’s the brakes. Disappointing that they didn’t include the deleted scenes from the international re-edit though, or even the whole thing - certainly more worthwhile than the Refn interview (filmed for the otherwise excellent deluxe French edition) which is one of the cringiest things I’ve ever seen.

Maybe it's more of a French film, but the Refn-Friedkin bit has become a running gag amongst French cinema twitter groups and discussion boards, it's such a meme factory, I'll always be amazed it was released like this (though I can't imagine, considering what's in it, what possibly has been cut from it).

it's a conversation between two insufferable filmmakers each making more and more outlandish statements over each other. almost feels like someone at Criterion is trolling by putting it on here

I wish Arrow had gotten to do this, we might've had a shot at a Tangerine Dream related extra! would've maybe gotten me to pick this up, as I do love the score

Why not pick it up for the film itself?

A terrific announcement. I recently revisited this and am slowly moving over to the camp that prefers it to the original. An economic thriller drenched in style, that doesn't attempt to be anything more and thus focuses all its vibrant energy on the ample possibilities of visceral pleasures.

Surely hearing James Gray talk and presumably do his impressions more than makes up for any of Refn's nonsense.

therewillbeblus wrote: Fri Mar 14, 2025 5:38 pm Why not pick it up for the film itself?

A terrific announcement. I recently revisited this and am slowly moving over to the camp that prefers it to the original. An economic thriller drenched in style, that doesn't attempt to be anything more and thus focuses all its vibrant energy on the ample possibilities of visceral pleasures.

I only like The French Connection, otherwise this particular director is one of my most hated of all time!

the James Gray/Sean Fennessy extra will probably good for fans though, I agree

This is a bucket list title for me. Never on earth would I’ve guessed Criterion had the film and seemingly worked on the edition for a while before Friedkin’s passing in 2023 if he was still able to approve the transfer. Absolutely incredible. I would’ve been over the moon with Arrow for obvious reasons but this one couldn’t come at a better time when Criterion does better than ever. Them having been involved with Friedkin is also a good indicator for French Connection and this one being another title a director was seemingly able to convince Disney to license out.

Until I rewatched this last year my favorite of his was Blue Chips. It holds up as a solid sports drama, better than his other work I had seen including 2003’s The Hunted in theatrical release. I am far behind on his stuff relatively speaking, I haven’t seen French Connection in a very long time and remember not being bowled over by it. My patience for older movies is such now that the opinion could change.

DRW.mov wrote: Fri Mar 14, 2025 4:27 pm WB licensed it from Universal, Universal and Paramount coproduced the film and it took a lawsuit to figure out who owned the rights

Isn’t this when Paramount was distributing out catalog stuff on Blu and DVD through WB?

flyonthewall2983 wrote: Fri Mar 14, 2025 6:42 pm

DRW.mov wrote: Fri Mar 14, 2025 4:27 pm WB licensed it from Universal, Universal and Paramount coproduced the film and it took a lawsuit to figure out who owned the rights

Isn’t this when Paramount was distributing out catalog stuff on Blu and DVD through WB?

Nope, it was a one off Universal license. Friedkin requested WB pick it up from Universal because he wanted it out and they were working with him at the time. Check out the back of the WB blu ray https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Sorcerer ... #Packaging

I will admit, the transfer being approved by Friedkin makes me a little woozy and worried it'll be a digitally recolored version. Also, the newer restoration of the film changes the ending a bit by

Spoiler

adding a gunshot to the film's final cut before credits.

This is no where to be seen on the 35mm release prints from the era and a clear Friedkin modification. I have been told that the removal of the N-word in The French Connection was also a late in life Friedkin modification, so if Criterion is releasing that as rumored, I'm curious as to what version they put out.

I do have a very personal, funny memory to this film. I happened to be sitting in the back of the audience for the LA premiere restoration at Cinefamily, the former (and disgraced) theater that started the entire right's investigation when they attempted to program Sorcerer for a William Friedkin retrospective in their early days. Back of the theatre had one empty seat next to us that remained empty until the halfway point where someone sat in it. The movie ended, lights go up, everyone applauds loudly and the person who sat next to us grabs my friend's leg, starts shaking it excitedly, looks at us in excitement and smiles. It was William Friedkin himself.

ryannichols7 wrote: Fri Mar 14, 2025 5:49 pm I only like The French Connection, otherwise this particular director is one of my most hated of all time!

Interesting. I too dislike a lot of his work - The Exorcist and Cruising are two examples of cult films I can't stand - but there's a versatility that's worth digging into, particularly his most recent three films, which are all outstanding and quite different than what he's done before. And To Live and Die in L.A. is basically just The French Connection transported from NY to, you guessed it

As a teen I had the soundtrack but had never actually seen it. It seems to me I waited quite a while for it to be released on blu-ray before picking it up as a regular release (initially there was an expensive digibook). Now it sits in my library unopened as I am usually compelled more to rewatch Wages Of Fear than finally actually watch it. Maybe this edition will help me to finally dive in. Boys In The Band would have been my first pick of his for joining the collection.

therewillbeblus wrote: Fri Mar 14, 2025 6:55 pm

ryannichols7 wrote: Fri Mar 14, 2025 5:49 pm I only like The French Connection, otherwise this particular director is one of my most hated of all time!

Interesting. I too dislike a lot of his work - The Exorcist and Cruising are two examples of cult films I can't stand - but there's a versatility that's worth digging into, particularly his most recent three films, which are all outstanding and quite different than what he's done before. And To Live and Die in L.A. is basically just The French Connection transported from NY to, you guessed it

I'll actually cop to never giving To Live and Die in LA a shot but may have to, especially because I love Dafoe. I loathed Killer Joe though and a lot of the others I've seen, especially The Exorcist but I'm not big on Sorcerer either aside from its score. a lot of his choices just really don't work for me personally, even the "director's cut" of French Connection. moreso though, I hate the usual revisionism no matter who the director is, so I'm glad fans of Friedkin get stuff like the Arrow edition of Cruising

I love To Live and Die in LA more than The French Connection, because it's just a profoundly weird film, and maybe the most fun film he ever did. It was certainly the most accessible for me.

DimitriL wrote: Fri Mar 14, 2025 7:58 pm I love To Live and Die in LA more than The French Connection, because it's just a profoundly weird film, and maybe the most fun film he ever did. It was certainly the most accessible for me.

see I think a lot of Friedkin's weirdness does not really align with my kind of weirdness. but I'm happy to give it a shot and see if it works. I'll report back whenever I do

JamesF wrote: Fri Mar 14, 2025 4:33 pm I’m gutted Arrow didn’t get to do it as it’s a dream project for me, but them’s the brakes. Disappointing that they didn’t include the deleted scenes from the international re-edit though, or even the whole thing - certainly more worthwhile than the Refn interview (filmed for the otherwise excellent deluxe French edition) which is one of the cringiest things I’ve ever seen.

Veteran British editor Jim Clark describes the re-editing in some detail in his fascinating book Dream Repairman - basically, Friedkin wanted nothing to do with the re-edit but he was contractually bound to just suck it up (since the film had flopped disastrously in the US). But Clark makes it clear that he approached the job intelligently and conscientiously - he was on a hiding to nothing in many ways, and only agreed to do it because he was a big admirer of Universal executives Ned Tanen and Verna Fields (who was herself no slouch when it came to salvaging films from near-disaster, Jaws being a famous case in point).

Clark had access to all the footage that had been shot for the film, and used a fair amount of previously unseen material in an attempt at reshaping it, which is why it would have been interesting to see it, even if Clark wasn't thrilled with how it turned out ("at best, passable"). Although he notes the irony that it was just as big a flop in Europe, making him wonder if there'd been any point in recutting it at all. ("If we had left Friedkin's version alone, it would have had exactly the same fate.")

DimitriL wrote: Fri Mar 14, 2025 7:58 pm I love To Live and Die in LA more than The French Connection, because it's just a profoundly weird film, and maybe the most fun film he ever did. It was certainly the most accessible for me.

Few films give me frisson the way To Live and Die Does. I’ve always had issues with its stereotypical Arab villain character, but it’s a kind of “side mission” in the prologue, so it doesn’t detract too much from my overall enjoyment of it.

It took such a long time for it to become recognized as a masterpiece. Astounding how audiences and critics basically shrugged it off in 1985 (a year packed with almost too many classics, IMO)

DRW.mov wrote: Fri Mar 14, 2025 4:27 pm WB licensed it from Universal, Universal and Paramount coproduced the film and it took a lawsuit to figure out who owned the rights

The lawsuit gave it to Friedkin, who took it to WB. Interestingly, he didn’t hand it to Paramount, the studio his wife ran for years (and which kept him gainfully employed during the 90’s)

Also, this really should’ve included a piece on Tangerine Dream’s music. It ushered in a whole new phase of their career and changed Hollywood scores

Yeah, a glaring omission - where's the creativity? Someone must've thought of that

what they call an alternate "2.0" soundtrack; is the soundtrack in 2.0 ?
I don't remember if for this movie, they did a soundtrack without Tangerine Dream (don't get me wrong; the Tangerine Dream soundtrack is amazing)