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Le salaire de la peur (1953)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
16 February 1955 (USA) moreTagline:
The complete restored version of the 1953 French classic [reissue] morePlot:
In a decrepit South American village, men are hired to transport an urgent nitroglycerine shipment without the equipment that would make it safe. full summary | full synopsisAwards:
Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 5 wins moreNewsDesk:
(2 articles)
Blu-Ray Review: Classic ‘Wages of Fear’ Thrills in HD (From HollywoodChicago.com. 27 April 2009, 7:55 AM, PDT)
From 1922-1979: Get Your Film School Starter Pack Now
(From Rope Of Silicon. 23 November 2008, 10:07 PM, PST)
User Comments:
The kind of film that instantly announces that it's the best of its kind moreCast
(Complete credited cast)| Yves Montand | ... | Mario | |
| Charles Vanel | ... | M. Jo | |
| Folco Lulli | ... | Luigi | |
| Peter van Eyck | ... | Bimba (as Peter Van Eyck) | |
| Véra Clouzot | ... | Linda (as Vera Clouzot) | |
| William Tubbs | ... | Bill O'Brien | |
| Darío Moreno | ... | Hernandez (as Dario Moreno) | |
| Jo Dest | ... | Smerloff | |
| Antonio Centa | ... | Camp Chief (as Centa) | |
| Luis De Lima | ... | Bernardo | |
| Grégoire Gromoff | |||
| Joseph Palau-Fabre | |||
| Faustini | |||
| Seguna | |||
| Darling Légitimus | (as Miss Darling) |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
The Wages of Fear (UK) (USA)Il salario della paura (Italy) (alternative title)
Vite vendute (Italy)
more
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
131 min | France:156 min | 148 min (director's cut)Color:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 moreSound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric)Certification:
Australia:M | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Finland:K-18 (DVD rating) | South Korea:12 (2004) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:16 | UK:PG | Norway:16Fun Stuff
Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible: As the truck leaves town, when Linda is seen from inside the truck cab, she casts a shadow on the projection screen behind her that is showing the passing houses. moreQuotes:
Dick: When I was a kid, I used to see men go off on this kind of jobs... and not come back. When they did, they were wrecks. Their hair had turned white and their hands were shaking like palsy! You don't know what fear is. But you'll see. It's catching, it's catching like small pox! And once you get it, it's for life! So long, boys, and good luck. moreMovie Connections:
Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Boggy Creek II: And the Legend Continues (#11.6)" (1999) moreFAQ
Why they have to carry the nitroglycerin to that plant?Is this movie based on a novel?
What caused the nitro to explode?
more
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This is richer, tenser, more atmospheric, and in all ways a better film than Clouzot's next one, "Les Diabolique" - which is saying a lot. I've never understood why Clouzot isn't more highly regarded. Indeed, for a long time I simply couldn't believe that he wasn't.
One charge that hangs over his head is misogyny. With regards to "Les Diabolique" this is simply ridiculous; with regards to "The Wages of Fear", I can see how one could harbour the uncomfortable feeling that there is, perhaps, something in it. But what, really, does the evidence amount to? The fact that one of the heroes is inexcusably cruel to his girlfriend? It's not as if the film endorses this, or invites us to take pleasure in it, or even, for that matter, allows us to. The characters are all flawed, and the film doesn't seek to deny it. It does, however, make an attempt to explain it. That town in the middle of nowhere is, we feel, really in the MIDDLE of nowhere; it must be the dustiest and most demoralising place on Earth. After a while we feel as if we could start kicking someone, just to break the monotony.
There's no doubt that the initial monotony gives the rest of the film half its strength. William Wyler once said that if you want to surprise or shock an audience the best thing you can do is bore them half to death beforehand - and although I can think of absolutely no reason why this should be so, allowing for a little exaggeration, it's true. The seemingly aimless opening sequences help make every single frame, from the moment the nitro-glycerin is mentioned, electric.
So much is, in retrospect, amazing. There's the way Clouzot manages to show us the humanity in these seemingly squalid people. (Even the oil magnate, just when we think he's the world's most heartless capitalist, reveals he has a heart with an unexpected remark, and yet the remark doesn't feel at all out of character - it's the kind of masterful characterisation film-goers live for.) Then there's the obstacles these drivers must face. All are memorable; most are so perfectly realised they deserve to be called mythic.