An extraordinarily gripping thriller from Henri-Georges Clouzot that establishes and maintains a level of tension rarely equalled elsewhere in cinema.
The Wages of Fear (1952)
Tomatometer
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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
Reviews for The Wages of Fear
A reeking bandana movie, with all the expected thrills, but a vision of men as scurrying insects with no redeeming features.
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.
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.
The film's extended suspense sequences deserve a place among the great stretches of cinema.
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