The Wages of Fear

"‘Dynamic’ ‘Tremendous’ ‘Shattering’"

1953 2h 34m FR

🙌

8.0

BANGER

🔥

100%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

8.1

IMDB

★8.0TMDB · 1,138🍅100%Rotten Tomatoes●85Metacritic★8.1IMDB · 73,002

DramaThrillerAdventure

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In a run-down South American town, four men are paid to drive trucks loaded with nitroglycerin into the jungle through to the oil field. Friendships are tested and rivalries develop as they embark upon the perilous journey.

“‘Dynamic’ ‘Tremendous’ ‘Shattering’”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Yves Montand
Mario Livi
Charles Vanel
Mr. Jo
Peter van Eyck
Bimba
Folco Lulli
Luigi
Véra Clouzot
Linda
Antonio Centa
Camp Chief
Jo Dest
Hans Smerloff
Darío Moreno
Pepito Hernandez

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Writers: Jérôme Géronimi, Henri-Georges Clouzot
Languages: French, English, Spanish, Italian, German
Countries: France, Italy

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 154 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

73 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 5 languages: French, English, Spanish, Italian, German.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: France, Italy.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, shot by Armand Thirard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Georges Auric. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Étiennette Muse shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Yves Montand and Charles Vanel and Peter van Eyck carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Henri-Georges Clouzot directs. Armand Thirard behind the camera. Georges Auric scores. Étiennette Muse cuts. Produced in France, Italy. Dialogue in French, English, Spanish, Italian, German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 154 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
273 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 5 languages: French, English, Spanish, Italian, German.
4International production across 2 countries: France, Italy.
5Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, shot by Armand Thirard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Georges Auric. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Étiennette Muse shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Yves Montand and Charles Vanel and Peter van Eyck carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "‘Dynamic’ ‘Tremendous’ ‘Shattering’".
10IMDB entry: tt0046268 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 30 themes, including "petrol", "fire", "life and death", "based on novel or book".
12Released under 30 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Armand Thirard
Original score: Georges Auric
Editing: Étiennette Muse
Makeup / hair: Georges Bouban
Sound: William Robert Sivel
Runtime: 154 min · 2h 34m
Status: Released
Original language: FR
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: The Wages of Fear (1953)
Rotten Tomatoes: 100% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 85/100
IMDB rating: 8.1/10 · 73,002 votes
MPAA: Not Rated
US box office: $21,228

Awards

Won 1 BAFTA Award6 wins & 1 nomination total

Palme d'Or
Golden Bear
BAFTA Award for Best Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Henri-Georges Clouzot

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

James2023-11-09
★ 8/10
It’s always my honour to write the first review for a film, especially ones like this. It, however, upsets me that not many have seen this magnificent and harrowing masterpiece.
CinemaSerf2024-02-09
★ 7/10
Four men are stranded in, quite literally, a dead end town with no money to get out. All they do each day is kill time, drink and get gradually more disillusioned. Then their luck changes. Or does it? A major fire breaks out at a nearby oil drilling facility and the manager needs a brave/foolhardy gang to drive two truckloads of ultra-sensitive nitro-glycerin along some poorly maintained roads and across some treacherous terrain to the site so they can extinguish the fires. It's a pretty international convoy that sets off with their two travelling time bombs safe in the knowledge that the slightest vibration could blow them all to kingdom come. Of course, the sweltering heat and their fraying nerves all contribute to what now ensues - an almost perfectly paced drama that gradually raises the tension so that we almost share their perilous journey with them. "Mario" (Yves Montant) is a non-nonsense Corsican who pairs with,"Jo" (Charles Vanel) who is a bit of French thuggery. Luigi (Folco Lulli) just wants to get on with the job and he drives with the slightly enigmatic German "Bimba" (Peter van Eyck). There's not really another world for this film, despite it being filmed outdoors, in dense jungle. It's claustrophobic. Their world is reduced to two tiny cabs with danger around every corner, insects that would cheerily suck their blood and all for $2,000 each! The journey affects their characters too - the brash and confident "Jo" gradually succumbing to his fears whilst his partner steps up - and an inter-dependency of sorts develops that does rather surprise. Henri-George Clouzot creates a film here that really does have you caring for these men in the end - even if, at the start, you have little interest in or sympathy for them. He manages to convey to an audience the absolute sense of anguish and the sheer determination of these men as tragedy ensues and their priorities and perspectives take a jolt that would readily set off their cargo. I thought Vanel probably has the best character to portray here, but the increasingly effective dynamic with Montand works really well to create a must-see tale of survival.