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Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Peter van Eyck, William Tubbs, Véra Clouzot ... see more see more... , Folco Lulli , Darío Moreno , Jo Dest , Antonio Centa

Together with Diabolique, The Wages of Fear (Le Salaire de la Peur) earned Henri-Georges Clouzot the reputation as a "French Hitchcock." In truth, Clouzot's ability to sustain suspense may have even e... read more read more...xceeded Hitchcock's; when originally released, Wages ran 155 tension-filled minutes. Based on the much-imitated novel by Georges Arnaud, the film is set in Central America. The Southern Oil Company, which pretty much rules the roost in the impoverished village of Las Piedras, sends out a call for long-distance truck drivers. Southern Oil's wages of 2,000 dollars per man are, literally, to die for -- the drivers are obliged to transport highly volatile nitroglycerine shipments across some of the most treacherous terrain on earth. Through expository dialogue, tense interactions and flashbacks, we become intimately acquainted with the four drivers who sign up for this death-defying mission: Corsican Yves Montand, Italian Folco Lulli, German Peter Van Eyck, and Frenchman Charles Vanel. The first half of the film slowly, methodically introduces the characters and their motivations. The second half -- the drive itself -- is a relentless, goosebump-inducing assault on the audience's senses. The winner of the Grand Prix at the Cannes Festival, The Wages of Fear was remade by William Friedkin as Sorcerer (1977). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Unrated, 2 hr. 18 min.

Directed by: Henri-Georges Clouzot

Release Date: January 1, 1953

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DVD Release Date: January 26, 1999

Stats: 692 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (692)

  • fb1664868775
    March 5, 2012
    fb1664868775
    Tension. Wages Of Fear is the the perfect example of how to use good dramatic tension. I've never been on the edge of my seat for an entire film like I was the first time I saw this one. A must-see.
  • FilmFanatik
    February 25, 2012
    FilmFanatik
    Henri-Georges Clouzot is a filmmaking force to be reckoned with. His work is always constantly engaging and seminal, as well as being somewhat controversial in some cases. The Wages of Fear was a film just like that. It was cut up by American distributors upon its initial release... read more stateside, but is now fully restored and available for all of our viewing pleasure. Even if you consider yourself a pretty deep film historian or just an avid movie watcher who can handle the suspense without getting caught up in it, I guarantee you that The Wages of Fear will have you holding your breath and glued to the screen. You couldn't ask for a more inviting audience participation premise than watching four men driving trucks full of explosive nitroglycerin over rocky terrain in Central America. Despite that premise, the focus is also strongly held on the characters before the premise of the film takes place, which is well into its second act. That's a very brave move screenplay-wise because you run the risk of boring your audience. Thankfully the characters are so rich with, well, character, that you want to know just as much about them, which of course leads to the tension once they get in gear (pun intended). My only gripe with the film (and it's a minor gripe) is that the ending felt anti-climactic. It felt right, but for me the film was over once the characters' journey had ended both figuratively and physically. The film was remade by William Friedkin in 1977 under the title of Sorcerer, and while both are considered to be masterpieces in their own right, Clouzot's original is the film that is most championed as being both an answer to Hitchcock and a superbly well-made film.
  • axadntpron
    December 1, 2011
    axadntpron
    A visually striking and immensely intense thriller from Clouzot.
    Stranded in a desolate Central American town, a group of down and out Europeans are feverishly in pursuit of making some kind of living.When an American oil company (SOC) needs four non-union scabs to transport vol... read moreatile explosives across some very treacherous terrain, these men jump at the chance.
    While I understand the criticism that the first act of the film moves rather dilatory, I think it is rather necessary to establish the desperation of these men and what would draw them to such a menacing excursion. On top of this, it also establishes the economic death-grip that American corporations have on this forlorn town. Clouzot seems to focus in on the general vulnerability of the people whose lives have been so heavily touched by capitalism. Not only are the indigenous people of the town naked in most of the shots, but Clouzot also shows their frantic solicitations whenever they come into contact with a rich American. With all of this care that Clouzot gives to these matters in the first act, it truly helps the audience understand when Yves Montand states, "when the oil stops, everything stops."
    When the films drives into the second act, it becomes a clinic in building suspense. Much in the same vein as Hitchcock, Clouzot lets the viewer in on the impending doom that the characters are unable to see. While this could have so easily been annoying to watch due to the length of time that the film spends on this excursion, the tight direction and frenetic editing makes for a riveting watch. With a quick back and forth between shots of the tires and the driver's face, coupled with quick shots of all of the harbingers of peril, Clouzot creates an atmosphere that only a clinical stress test could match. This all mounts to a climactic scene in which the two drivers are drenched and nearly drowning in the raw material has been wearing down the fabric of compassion that tethers these men together.
    With all of these elements, Clouzot has crafted one of the better thrillers from that 1950's that I have ever seen and a film that must not be missed.
  • fb100002359227440
    May 7, 2011
    fb100002359227440
    Extremamente assustador e fantastico. Uma obra prima inesquecí­vel, um filme perfeito que envolve o espectador atà (C) o final.
  • sanjurosamurai
    March 15, 2011
    sanjurosamurai
    in one sense it reminds of other films, like casablanca in the beginning, then treasure of the sierra madre, then they drive by night, and a little there will be blood in the end. in another sense, it is unlike any film ive ever seen. another stellar clouzot film, with a unique... read more plot, a fantastic script, and wonderful locations and cinematography. full of suspense, even though the film is so singularly focused in the final half. a wonderful picture.
  • arashxak
    March 25, 2010
    arashxak
    Drags a bit near the end but the ride is thrilling & exhausting at the same time, Not to mention the film's fantastic characterization & its great ending, Calling Clouzot a french Hitchcock is really an underestimation, Hitchcock's entire career is nothing compared to The Wages O... read moref Fear & Clouzot's other masterpieces Les Diaboliques & Le Corbeau
  • pier007
    May 5, 2009
    pier007
    I don't recall when was the last time I felt so enervated and powerless for the fate of characters in a film. The perfect drawing given to them by the cast and director, plus the existential tone and the imminent danger displayed kept me concerned for their safety all the way, to... read more a degree that it was almost uncomfortable or even painful to experience their odyssey.
    A real nail-biter, a notch above Clouzot's other masterpiece 'Les Diaboliques'
  • MovieGeek13
    March 17, 2009
    MovieGeek13
    Better than anything Hitchcock has ever done. This is one film you will be absolutely and positively unable to take your eyes away from. The suspense in this movie will glue you to the screen for it's entire two and a half hour runtime.
  • flixsterman
    January 15, 2009
    flixsterman
    Fantastically exhausting to watch. Said by some to be anti-American in spirit but I, as an American, didn't find it the least bit offensive.
  • rubystevens
    August 1, 2008
    rubystevens
    the brutal story of down on their luck foreigners taking on a suicide mission in south america. the first section reminds me of treasure of the sierra madre. it takes a while to get going while building up the oddball characters but then, look out! i bit all my nails off. i t... read morehought i would have a heart attack. unfuckingbelievable. not so much anti american as anti big oil, right? i wanna check out friedkin's remake now

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Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum
March 1, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

A significant influence on Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch, this grueling pile driver of a movie will keep you on the edge of your seat. Full Review

March 1, 2007
Variety

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

Bosley Crowther
May 20, 2003
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

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

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

The kind of motion picture for which commonplace phrases like 'white-knuckle tension ride' have been coined. Full Review

Rita Kempley
January 1, 2000
Rita Kempley, Washington Post

An expertly directed, personally felt film. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The film's extended suspense sequences deserve a place among the great stretches of cinema. Full Review

Joshua Rothkopf
December 6, 2011
Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York

Hitch's bomb-under-the-table suspense formula burnished to an expert sheen. Full Review

Budd Wilkins
December 6, 2011
Budd Wilkins, Slant Magazine

The Wages of Fear contains tension-fraught stretches of "pure cinema" that probably gave even the Master cold sweats. Full Review

Cole Smithey
October 12, 2010
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com

"The Wages of Fear" is as much about manufactured fear as it is about the folly of courage that feeds on it. Full Review

Fernando F. Croce
September 25, 2009
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion

When contrabandists become businessmen and human life is blown away as simply as the tobacco in a half-rolled cigarillo, heroism and grace are notions that wither in the heat Full Review

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