Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

classicsoncall As a kid watching TV shows and movies in The Fifties, I can't tell you how many I ran across that had nitroglycerine as part of the plot. There were at least a couple of Westerns along with straight dramas, but it didn't seem to matter the genre. A souped up hot rod carrying four quarts of nitro that just happened to be hanging around was used by the main character to destroy "The Giant Gila Monster" in a campy 1959 monster flick.Whatever the fascination with nitroglycerine, and it had to be it's unpredictability, the idea of carrying around a ton of it was the premise of this film, "The Wages of Fear". Actually, it was two trucks carrying a ton of nitro between them, I guess to heighten the drama and provide twice as much in the way of nerve shattering tension. The thing is, unlike a host of reviewers who hold the picture in the highest regard, I really didn't get a whole lot out of the movie.For starters, the first forty five minutes or so was used to introduce characters and situations that eventually had nothing to do with the outcome of the story. Yves Montand portrayed his character Mario well enough, but the guy was just a reprobate for the most part. He consistently berated the lovely saloon gal Linda (Vera Clouzot), and actually threw her in the dirt when he drove off on the mission to deliver the goods. Same thing with his partner Jo (Charles Vanel), who started the picture as one of film's ruggedest macho men, and turned into a cream puff when the going got tough. I just didn't understand how characters would just suddenly switch their basic personas as the story progressed.Then there's the adventure on the road. Maybe I missed it, but what was the rationale for that wooden bridge turnabout that both drivers had trouble with? Was it that the size of the trucks wouldn't allow for a smooth ninety degree turn? Even so, after the first mishap with the truck driven by Bimba (Peter van Eyck), why would Mario feel compelled to back his truck right to the very edge of the unstable platform? It didn't make sense to me.And then, showing his contempt for Jo, Mario runs him over in that manic oil pit scene. I have to admit, that was the stunner for this viewer. That scene had both actors earning their paycheck, and it rivals the clay pit scene in "The Defiant Ones" with Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis for sheer insanity, in another Fifties action flick. Both are just hellacious, you be the judge.Except for that scene, most of the rest of the story didn't hold the same amount of interest for me. When the truck with Bimba and Luigi (Folco Lulli) blew up, I thought that it would have been better served if there was a close-up of the two men in the truck hitting a rut and offering a grimace just before fading to black and then showing the explosion. That would have better sealed their fate; I had to wonder why no one thought of it.With all that, I don't mean to imply this was a terrible picture. It's watchable enough, but just doesn't seem to measure up to the accolades it's given as an IMDb Top 250 film. But that's the case for a lot of others as well, so in this case, maybe it's just me. On another day I might have seen it in an entirely different light.

851222 Greetings from Lithuania."The Wages of Fear" (1953) is highly involving thriller / drama with very simple story and premise, but because of great movie making from director Henri-Georges Clouzot who also wrote the script, this is a must see. Acting was very good by all involved, especially by the 2 leads and 2 supporting characters although Véra Clouzot overplayed her role a bit in my opinion. But again it is the director who did amazing job in creating tense and very involving movie from not maybe very start but when the "delivery job" begins, it is one very tense ride till the very end which i think was cynical, as it is the world we live in.Overall, "The Wages of Fear" is a great film must see for everyone who loves realistic as possible and tense movies. Everything works here greatly making this a true classic.

Tweekums Opening in a remote South American town we are introduced to a group of expats who have gone there seeking their fortunes but ended up broke; what little work they find might be enough to feed them but it won't get them out of town let alone back home. The town supplies workers for the American Southern Oil Company (SOC). When there is an explosion at one of SOC's wells it is determined that the only way to put the fire out will be to blow it out using nitro-glycerine… the problem is they don't have specialised transporters and the well is a few hundred miles away over rough roads. Four men are required to drive two trucks there; the slightest bump could cause an explosion that would mean instant death but the $2000 per man would pay for them to get home.The four men are a young Corsican named Mario, an older Parisian named Jo, who travel in the larger truck, and Italian named Luigi and Bimba, a Dutchman who had survived being a prisoner of the Nazis, in the second truck. Once they set off the tensions rise, especially when Jo gets more and more afraid as they come across various dangers.This film may be over sixty years old but it is still impressively tense. The first half serves to introduce us to the characters and show the boredom and desperation of their lives… this is emphasised when one of the expats who is not offered the job hangs himself and Jo does something, we don't see what, to ensure one of the selected drivers doesn't turn up so he can go himself. The characters aren't particularly likable; they are frequently arguing and protagonist Mario treats the woman who loves him with contempt… still once they are on the road it is hard not to care for them and wonder who, if any, among them will survive. The cast does a fine job, most notably Yves Montand and Charles Vanel, as Mario and Jo, in whose company we spend most time. They are able supported by Folco Lulli and Peter van Eyck, as Luigi and Bimba, and Véra Clouzot as Mario's lover Linda. Overall I'd certainly recommend this tense classic film.

morrison-dylan-fan Since becoming a fan of his work after seeing the astonishing 1949 movie Manon,I was thrilled to spot a 3 disc boxset of auteur film maker Henri-Georges Clouzot on Amazon UK. Struggling to decide which one to watch first,I found an excellent review on IMDb's Film Noir board,which led to me putting all my wages on fear.The plot:Stuck in a dead end town, Mario,Jo, Bimba and Luigi try to make ends meet,as a big US corporation (boo!) controls the nearby oil fields. Taking part in "shady" dealings,the company gets a tight grip on the town,which forces the people to stay silent over the abuses,due to it offering the only jobs in town.Discovering that one of the oil fields has erupted,the company decide that the only way to stop it is to use nitroglycerine.Going round town offering a handful of cash,the company grab the attention of ex-gangster Jo,the quiet Bimba,the quick-witted Mario and the warm, hard working Luigi. Getting told that they have to drop the nitroglycerine off to the oil field in trucks,the gang soon discover one major,risky problem:the oil field is 300 miles away on a road of death.View on the film:Flying in at 2 and a half hours,co-writer/(along with Jérôme Géronimi) director Henri-Georges Clouzot (who broke a leg whilst filming) and cinematographer Armand Thirard sink the trucks into an engulfing Film Noir atmosphere,where low-lighting allows the smallest glimmer of hope to be seen in the town. Keeping a close eye on every turning of the wheels,Clouzot brilliantly uses tightly held,lingering shots to build a mood brimming with anxiety over the title.Stomping down the Film Noir road, Clouzot makes every sharp turn land with an unrelenting thump,by blazing down scorching hot whites with mud and grit gathering every drop of sweat,which is burnt away by the oily Film Noir doom being lit on the horizon.Piped down from Georges Arnaud's novel,the screenplay by Clouzot and Géronimi beautifully spends the first hour giving the viewer an opportunity to (almost) interact with each character,from Mario's abrasive,Film Noir loner nature, to Jo's sincere desire to drive by the Film Noir darkness. Expanding on one of his major themes drawn from the very beginning of his credits,Clouzot gives the characters an inability to escape from the Film Noir oil fields that they are driving into,by making each pedal pressed pull them all away from a paternally safe "stop point",into a decaying road of ruthless doom,paved with grubby cash. Grabbing the role after Jean Gabin turned it down for the character being a "coward", Charles Vanel gives an incredible performance as Mario,thanks to Vanel keeping Mario's humble roots shining as the oil of Film Noir streams over Jo and Mario. Crushed into a million pieces, Yves Montand gives an incredible performance as Mario,whose rough edged smile Montand chips away at to hit a Film Noir loner who will roll over anyone who gets in the way of a handful of cash,as Jo and Mario rage with fear.