Thursday, November 29, 2018

The Wages of Fear (Le salaire de la peur) (1953)

Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot. Cast: Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Véra Clouzot. 149 min. Not Rated. France/Italy. Adventure/Thriller.

Another (long) gem I finally set time aside to watch, by the French master of suspense, Henri-Georges Clouzot. Four men are chosen to drive a cargo of nitroglycerin on an impossible road up into the South American mountains, and "fear" is what defines these men: though closeups of wheels, speedometers, and faces, we see how they are transformed into ruthless goal-oriented beasts, or crippled into walking corpses. The 1978 remake by William Friedkin is quite eloquent, but seems to miss Cluzot's mastery (e.g., we never know how some characters die here). Classics-avoiders, you don't know what you're missing.

Mo says:
MoMagic!

No comments:

Post a Comment