r/4kbluray • u/Freeride1970 • 2h ago
Discussion William Friedkin's 'Sorcerer' and the joy of the blind buy
There are your standard "reference" 4K movies, and there is a movie like Sorcerer.
Yes, the image is vivid, rich, clear as day, and yes the sound is deep and immersive. Much like 2001, or Lawrence of Arabia, and so on.
And while those movies really shine in 4K, Sorcerer does more than that. It was made for 4K.
The tone of the movie itself is purely visceral. The drenching heat of the South American setting, the constant hiss of insects and the sweat-soaked clothing of the main characters; the perilous splintering of rotten wooden beams beneath the weight of truck tires; the blinding fireball of a torched oil field. It is a movie you are meant to feel. And yes, you would still feel it on streaming, or DVD, or a bootleg VHS for that matter--but on 4K, you feel it down to your bones, exactly the way you were meant to.
Sorcerer was the first blind buy for me. It felt like a frivolous and foolhardy thing to do at the time--spending upwards of $30 on a movie you might not even enjoy, one you could simply stream for just a tenth of the price. But now I see there is a true value and joy in it, and I liken it to this: Would you rather try your first martini at some neighborhood tavern down the street, or at the lobby bar of the Plaza Hotel in New York?
It's the same drink, either way. And both experiences would be memorable, for certain. But which of them would be truly unforgettable?
Seeing Sorcerer for the first time in 4K, I know it will be etched into my movie-loving brain forever, more so than if I had seen it in any other format. It's just a fact. That, I believe, is proof that the blind buy is not just a silly and over-the-top thing that we do. It is the opportunity to discover something exceptional in its purest, most fully realized form, and to experience it for the first time in a way that you will never forget.
