The Wages of Fear  Film Still

The Wages of Fear

Henri-Georges Clouzot

France

1953

147 minutes

1.33:1

French

36

Synopsis

In a squalid South American oil town, four desperate men sign on for a suicide mission to drive trucks loaded with nitroglycerin over a treacherous mountain route. As they ferry their explosive cargo to a faraway oil fire, each bump and jolt tests their courage, their friendship, and their nerves. The result is one of the greatest thrillers ever committed to celluloid, a white-knuckle ride from France’s legendary master of suspense, Henri-Georges Clouzot.

Cast

MarioYves Montand
JoCharles Vanel
BimbaPeter Van Eyck
Bill O'BrienWilliam Tubbs
LindaVéra Clouzot
LuigiFolco Lulli

Credits

DirectorHenri-Georges Clouzot
ScreenplayHenri-Georges Clouzot and Jérôme Géronimi
Based on the novel byGeorges Arnaud
ProducerLouis Wipf
CinematographyArmand Thirard
EditingHenri Rust and Madeleine Gug
Executive producerRaymond Borderie and Henri-Georges Clouzot
MusicGeorges Auric
SoundWilliam Robert Sivel

Disc Features

AVAILABLE IN BOTH DOUBLE-DVD AND BLU-RAY EDITIONS:

  • New, restored high-definition digital transfer
  • New video interviews with assistant director Michel Romanoff and Henri-Georges Clouzot biographer Marc Godin
  • Interview with Yves Montand from 1988
  • Henri Georges Clouzot: An Enlightened Tyrant, a 2004 documentary on the director’s career
  • Censored, an analysis of cuts to the film made for the 1955 U.S. release
  • New and improved English subtitle translation
  • PLUS: A 24-page booklet featuring a new essay by novelist Dennis Lehane and a compilation of interviews with the cast and crew of the film

From the Current

TORONTO DISPATCH: CLOUZOT LOST AND FOUND

by Michael Koresky Sep 23, 2009

One enters any major film festival with hopes of discovering a budding auteur, a new voice from some previously unheard-from . . .

The Wages of Fear: No Exit

by Dennis Lehane Oct 24, 2005

“Just takes a few months to get to be a hundred. If you’re in the right place at the right time.” I first saw Henri-Georges Clouzot’s masterpiece The Wages of Fear when the restored version was released in the U.S., in 1991. But my awareness of . . .

The Wages of Fear

by Danny Peary Dec 8, 1991

One of cinema’s most revered thrillers, La Saliare de la Peur or The Wages of Fear is the acknowledged masterpiece of the brilliant French director Henri-Georges Clouzot (1907-77). It is also the film that made popular music hall singer Yves Montand into a movie star. Clouzot’s . . .

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Available Editions

The Wages of Fear  Criterion DVD Add to Cart

DVD

2 Discs

SRP: $39.95

Criterion Store price

$31.96

The Wages of Fear  Criterion Blu-Ray Add to Cart

Blu-Ray

1 Disc

SRP: $39.95

Criterion Store price

$31.96

Also Available in

ESSENTIAL ART HOUSE:50 YEARS OF JANUS FILMS(50-DVD box set)  Essential Art House DVD Add to Cart

Essential Art House DVD

50 Discs

SRP: $850.00

Criterion Store price

$650.00