Better on DVD: In 2014, the movie, upon its release on Blu-ray and DVD, was digitally restored, greatly enhancing the quality of the gorgeous cinematography, while also being the director's cut, making the movie the way Friedkin always wanted to.
Cult Classic: The movie, due to its poor financial performance, was very cheap for cable stations to air, and then the VHS release happened. Without needing to fight for a piece of the pie in cinemas with A New Hope, it found a dedicated audience soon enough. Stephen King and Quentin Tarantino are among the film's fans.
Germans Love David Hasselhoff: The film was extremely popular in the Eastern Bloc and remained as such till the early 2000s.
Older Than They Think: Certain modern reviews criticized The Great Repair sequence, unfavorably comparing it with something out of The A-Team. The thing is, production on the film started nine years before the first episode of The A-Team was made.
Signature Scene: Both scenes of the dynamite-filled trucks driving precariously on a ramshackle bridge, during a storm, over a rising river, are incredibly tense scenes and are often singled out as the best part of the film.
Vindicated by History: A massive bomb panned by critics upon release, the film steadily started gaining recognition just a few years after release, then its VHS release helped a lot.
The Woobie: Victor's wife. On their tenth wedding anniversary, her husband, unbeknownst to her, is indicted on various charges of embezzlement and fraud, along with her brother. The latter opts to evade arrest by shooting himself outside a restaurant where she and her husband are dining, forcing Victor to flee France without giving her a proper goodbye. She never sees her husband again, given his death on the expedition.
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