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Movies / On DVD / The Wages of Fear
The Wages of Fear

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The Wages of Fear (1952)

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Reviews Counted:6

Fresh:6

Rotten:0

Average Rating:8.8/10

Consensus: An existential suspense classic, The Wages of Fear blends nonstop suspense with biting satire; its influence is still being felt on today's thrillers.

Runtime: 2 hrs 28 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Synopsis: Henri Georges Clouzot directed this tense and suspenseful drama about four men so desperate for freedom that they willingly risk their lives to deliver a dangerous cargo. In a small, isolated, hot... Henri Georges Clouzot directed this tense and suspenseful drama about four men so desperate for freedom that they willingly risk their lives to deliver a dangerous cargo. In a small, isolated, hot and dusty Central American village, there's only one thing to do: dream of getting out. An opportunity for escape presents itself -- but only to those with nerves of steel. An American oil company has offered to pay big bucks to get two trucks filled with nitroglycerin over to a well fire. The catch: the unpaved terrain contains enough bumps and crags to make the unstable material explode... and instantly kill the driver. Nonetheless, the company has many applicants hungry for work, and a quartet of the coolest are chosen. But even these stalwart men will discover that fear of their deadly payload can ignite even the most frozen emotions. [More]

Starring: Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Vera Clouzot, Peter Van Eyck

Starring: Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Vera Clouzot, Peter Van Eyck, Folco Lulli, William Tubbs

Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot

Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Screenwriter: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Producer: Raymond Borderie, Henri-Georges Clouzot
Composer: Georges Auric

[See More Credits]

Reviews for The Wages of Fear

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1 - 4 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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An extraordinarily gripping thriller from Henri-Georges Clouzot that establishes and maintains a level of tension rarely equalled elsewhere in cinema.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
04/24/09
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A nail-biting drama that's a must-see.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
03/01/07
Patrick Peters
Patrick Peters
Empire Magazine
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A reeking bandana movie, with all the expected thrills, but a vision of men as scurrying insects with no redeeming features.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
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A harrowing odyssey of four derelicts inching two trucks loaded with nitro-glycerine over a tortuous terrain puts this in the strong meat department with a downbeat theme of fear and its manifestations.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/01/07
Variety
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The excitement derives entirely from the awareness of nitroglycerine and the gingerly, breathless handling of it. You sit there waiting for the theatre to explode.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
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The film's extended suspense sequences deserve a place among the great stretches of cinema.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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1 - 4 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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