Friedkin's
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Sorcerer
Edward_de_Vere — 12 years ago(February 22, 2014 09:57 AM)
Friedkin's
Sorcerer
reminds me of Herzog's 1972
Aguirre
and even more of his 1982
Fitzcarraldo
. Did Friedkin ever mention Herzog's
Aguirre
as an inspiration, and conversely, did Herzog ever compare
Fitzcarraldo
to
Sorcerer
? -
Edward_de_Vere — 12 years ago(March 11, 2014 08:07 AM)
It's amazing how different all of Friedkin's films are in subject matter, style, and genre (unlike other film directors who focus on a certain genre of films or have a real trademark style that you can spot from miles away). I'd never guess that
Sorcerer
was made by the same film director as
The French Connection
or
The Exorcist
without reading the credits. -
Balthazar Bee — 12 years ago(March 26, 2014 07:15 AM)
You're right. The only common ground they seem to have is the quality of being"unsparing"?
Apparently in Friedkin's autobiography he discusses feeling like a character in a Herzog movie during the shooting of Sorcerer (presumably Fitzcarraldo, though it hadn't been released yet). I haven't read it myself, but that's what the wiki page says. -
Edward_de_Vere — 12 years ago(March 30, 2014 03:20 PM)
You're right. The only common ground they seem to have is the quality of being"unsparing"?
In his early work at least (I think that the quality of Friedkin's films nosedived from the 1980's on), Friedkin also reminds me of Stanley Kubrick, each of whose films was in a different genre, with the only common thread being the sort of detached, clinical coldness that was Kubrick's trademark. If there was a trademark for Friedkin linking everything from
The Birthday Party
to
The Exorcist
to
Sorcerer
, it was his intensity, and the intensity that he brought out of his lead actors. -
Balthazar Bee — 12 years ago(March 31, 2014 05:00 AM)
Speaking of lead actors, as great as Jason Miller is, I'd have loved to see our man Roy as Father Karras (I wonder what Blatty's beef was). On the other hand, just about every 70s leading man probably could've hit that role out of the park.
Especially with Friedkin firing off guns, yanking actors on their backs and covering them in pea soup. -
Edward_de_Vere — 12 years ago(March 31, 2014 06:50 AM)
Speaking of lead actors, as great as Jason Miller is, I'd have loved to see our man Roy as Father Karras (I wonder what Blatty's beef was). On the other hand, just about every 70s leading man probably could've hit that role out of the park
Roy Scheider would have been interesting - I didn't realize that he was even considered for the role. I thought that the other options for Karras were Stacy Keach, Gene Hackman, and Jack Nicholson. -
Edward_de_Vere — 10 years ago(September 18, 2015 12:52 PM)
Especially with Friedkin firing off guns, yanking actors on their backs and covering them in pea soup.
That's yet another aspect of the ruthless directing style that Friedkin shares with Herzog, who allegedly pointed a loaded shotgun at Klaus Kinski when the actor threw a tantrum and threatened to leave the film set for good.