On March 24, the DGA Special Projects Committee treated members to a rare screening of Director William Friedkin’s 1977 cult classic thriller Sorcerer. Presented in the Guild’s Los Angeles Theater complex, the evening opened with a reception and ended with a Q&A between the director and the audience.
Selected by Friedkin as his personal favorite, Sorcerer tells the story of four unfortunate men (Roy Scheider, Bruno Cremer, Francisco Rabal and Amidou) from different parts of the globe, forced by their various misfortunes to work in a dangerous oil-drilling operation in South America. After an industrial accident, these outcasts are given the opportunity to earn enough money to escape this situation if they undertake a perilous mission of transporting crates of unstable high-explosives through 200 miles of treacherous jungle terrain in two ancient trucks. The film has been lauded by critics as an overlooked masterpiece and was nominated for an Academy Award for best sound.
Following an introduction by DGA Special Projects Committee Chair Jeremy Kagan, Friedkin spoke about the film he has called the most difficult movie he ever made. He then opened the room to questions from the audience.
In addition to Sorcerer, Friedkin’s work includes the feature films The Night They Raided Minsky’s, The Boys in the Band, To Live and Die in L.A., and Killer Joe. Friedkin earned DGA and Academy Award nominations for his classic horror feature The Exorcist, and won both the DGA and Academy Award for his crime drama The French Connection. Friedkin was also nominated by the DGA for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Specials for his 1997 television version of the courtroom drama Twelve Angry Men, which also garnered six Emmy nominations. He has been a member of the DGA since 1962.