Boing boom tschak (peng)

ONE: you could, if you so wished, "turn your brain off" when watching this; it's most famous for its tension and visual spectacle, and there's plenty to enjoy there. it's also a bit tempting to, since there isn't a lot of dialogue and you're likely to watch it with the volume low in a home setting since there are a lot of very loud portions. however, you'll also miss a lot of details and the story may seem less tight than it is.

TWO: eg nilo's whole deal. the mobsters in the beginning say they'll need to get someone "from the outside" to catch scanlon, so we're meant to assume that's why nilo, the hitman in fancy clothes, comes to the village. but then he applies for that truck-driving job, and kills marquez to take his place when he doesn't get it. he's not there for a hit, he's in as much in need for money as the rest of them, he's just less willing to show it. he's the closest sorcerer has to a direct analog to a character in wages of fear (jo, the businessman who acts tough and well-off, but is actually a broke coward who falls apart over the course of the movie). we also don't know if nilo is his real name! it's never said in the opening!

THREE: i'd inferred it the first time around, but having english subtitles makes it clearer that victor manzon is from a working class background and had married into wealth because in the paris segment, his wife mentions that his father was a fisher. near the end, he talks about how he's not originally from paris, and his wife is his only family there. (edit: rewatched the scene and i think he says he's from bretagne)

FOUR: what i didn't catch the first time was that dominguez was hoping the sorcerer duo would die right up until they had their teamwork moment at the fallen tree. he was convinced that the other truck wouldn't make it across the bridge and was awfully excited about him and nilo getting double shares lol. this makes the "good luck serrano" note less playful and more sinister (i suspect the double shares bit originally came directly after that, but got re-cut to after the bridge)

FIVE: i really do like the sorcerer duo. it's well discussed what a shame it is that this movie had such a negative impact on friedkin's reputation and career, but it's also a shame it didn't boost cremer's and amidou's careers either.