Cruising (1980)

     The original theatrical cut of William Friedkin's controversial giallo-style thriller set in the New York gay leather bar underground scene is getting a two disc 4K release from Arrow films with a bunch of new and archival extras.

A serial killer is preying on members of New York's gay underground scene, stabbing them to death in a particular way. Meanwhile body parts are being found in the river and are thought to be linked to the murder spree.

Because of his physical likeness to the killer's preferred type of victim, rookie cop Steve Burns (Al Pacino) is asked to go undercover by his boss (Paul Sorvino). He accepts the job with enthusiasm but as his immersion in his role becomes ever deeper he runs the risk of losing his own identity, much like A SCANNER DARKLY's Bob Arctor or SHOCK CORRIDOR's Johnny Barrett.

A cold, dark, grim thriller that pulls no punches in its unflinching portrayal of the scene Pacino's cop has to infiltrate (or rather Friedkin's own personal creation of it), Arrow's uncut 102 minute print will have you wondering how the director got away with so much back in 1980 (he had to cut a lot, too, which is discussed in the commentary tracks and other extras). It's not exactly a gruelling watch but to anyone not familiar with that particular scene it's certainly an eye-opening and educational one, and the educational element also extends to some of the extras as well.

Arrow's CRUISING set consists of two discs. Disc one is a 2160p UHD with a brand new 4K restoration of the film from the original 35mm camera negative by Arrow Films. To accompany this are three sound options (mono, 2.0 stereo and 5.1) and a further four audio tracks including two archival commentaries by Friedkin, one from 2007 and the other from 2019 moderated by Mark Kermode. There's also a track in which various individuals are interviewed about the film's eclectic soundtrack and finally a new music track, the 'Heavy Leather' alternate score by Pentagram Home Video which is synth heavy and a good listen if you like electronica but this option doesn't allow for the film's dialogue.

Disc two is a Blu-ray with a battery of interviews and other bits and pieces. These include a new interview with star Karen Allen (38 minutes), and actor and police advisor Randy Jurgensen who over a whopping 71 minutes talks about not just his involvement with the film but his own experiences as a cop going underground in the New York gay underground scene. 

Archival material is mainly a bunch of interviews from 2017 including editor Bud Smith (55 minutes), and actors Jay Acovone (14 minutes), Mike Starr (47 minutes), and Mark Zecca (37 minutes) with a piece from 1990 in which Wally, Wallace,  the manager of the Mineshaft club, is interviewed (33 minutes).

The BeyondFest Q&A from 2022 is actually a good place to start these extras as it's a 41 minute on stage interview with Friedkin who is a little frail here but in good spirits and exhibits a good sense of humour. Stop the Movie is a short silent film about the protests to CRUISING's release. Finally, and one of the best extras here, is David McGillivray's piece on gay 'coding', going at greater length (ooer) to explain the handkerchief code than the film does, as well as talking about the history of queer coding. Who would have thought the classified ads of Films and Filming were once such a hotbed of such things?

Finally, the set comes with a 120 page perfect bound book featuring archival articles , essays, interviews and an introduction from William Friedkin. You also get a reversible sleeve. It's a fantastic set for a unique, eye-opening and unsettling film.

William Friedkin's CRUISING is out as a 4K restoration in a two disc set from Arrow on Monday 24th February 2025

Sorcerer (1977)

"Green Hell Drivers"

William Friedkin's remake (although he - sort of - denies it) of Henri-Georges Clouzot's THE WAGES OF FEAR (1953) gets a 40th anniversary Blu-ray release courtesy of Entertainment One.

Four men with good reasons to leave their different countries of residence (an embezzling Parisian banker, a hitman from Vera Cruz, a terrorist from Jerusalem and the driver for a New Jersey church-robbing gang) end up in the same town in the Dominican Republic. 

There's an explosion at an oil refinery 200 miles away. The only thing that can plug the blaze is a bigger explosion triggered by the nitroglycerine the oil company has handy. The problem is, the gelignite hasn't been stored properly and has reached the 'sweaty' stage, meaning the slightest movement could set it off. 

The bigger problem is that the only way to get it to the refinery is along some of the most treacherous roads the South American jungle has to offer (including one of the most rickety bridges ever committed to film). 

Keen to escape their self-imposed prison with the aid of the substantial payout the oil company is offering, our anti-heroes set off in two lorries containing three boxes of dangerously unstable explosive apiece. Will they make it?

A box office disaster when it was released (partly due to its critical reception, partly because STAR WARS came out pretty much the same week), time has been kind to a film that was really pretty good to begin with. It takes a little while to get going as we get the background on the protagonists, and perhaps another way to do this would have been to integrate the backstories into the context of the primary narrative.

Then again, maybe not. Because once we get into the jungle, the mix of Cy Enfield's HELL DRIVERS (1957) by way of Herzog's AGUIRRE, WRATH OF GOD (1972) will have you on the edge of your seat as the lorries teeter and threaten to topple from crumbling mountain roadways and collapsing bridges.

eOne's Blu-ray looks smashing. There's only one main extra, but it's a goodie, as Nicolas Winding Refn discusses the film with William Friedkin for nearly eighty minutes. It makes for a fascinating listen and both men are eloquent, personable and never less than interesting in what they have to say.

With a real feel of 'Up the Creek Without a Paddle' movies like Coppola's APOCALYPSE NOW (1979) which one cannot help but feel was influenced by this, eOne's new Blu-ray of William Friedkin's SORCERER deserves to be on everyone's must-see list. 

William Friedkin's SORCERER is out on Blu-ray from eOne on Monday 6th November 2017. It's also getting a limited cinema release from Friday 3rd November.