Wages of Fear (1953)
(Criterion Collection)
Picture: C Sound: C Extras: D Film: A
Made
two years before his slightly better known Diabolique, Henri-Georges
Clouzot's nail-biter of a suspense film Wages of Fear (1953) is the
story of four broke and desperate men stranded in Latin America. Eager for a way out of their respective
situations, they accept an American oil company's impossibly dangerous offer to
transport two truckloads of nitroglycerin across hazardous jungle terrain. Both of these films would be remade for
American audiences. In 1977, the film
would be renamed Sorcerer, which would be directed by William Friedkin
and star Roy Scheider. Diabolique on
the other hand would keep its name and star Sharon Stone in the 1996 version.
When
Wages of Fear was released in America it was cut down from its
148-minute runtime and most of the cut footage occurred during the first half
of the film, in which most of the character development is building. Without these essential scenes, we lose some
of the strong sub-plots that are poured into the films foundation. There are so many instances of American
audiences being denied full director’s cuts of films that the very act of
cutting or censoring any film becomes a crime to cinema itself. Films such as Heaven’s Gate (1980), Brazil
(1985), Robocop (1987), or even Eyes Wide Shut (1999) have
all been butchered in some way making the experience all the more tedious. These are just some of the hundreds of
examples.
Three
scenes during the second half of this film that are sheer heart stoppers, even
by today’s standards. Without giving
away what these particular scenes are, they are all conducted in such a way
that the editing, the camerawork, and the direction are all in full force
creating an atmosphere of uneasiness bringing the viewer right into the
moment. Looking at these scenes many
decades later prove once again that tension and suspense can be brought forth
with more than some moody music. What
is essential is that the scene manages to invite the viewer in and keep the
viewer there. Once the director has
this spellbinding power, the possibilities are endless.
Wages of Fear would also bring popular music hall singer Yves Montand onto the
international playing level as a solid actor, who would go on to make some
spectacular films in America. A film
like this works well for certain reasons.
The assembly of the film itself is very simple. The storyline is nothing outstanding, but
strictly a straightforward narrative, which incorporates a small cast. This is a ‘mission’ film where the players
must complete a mission by the time the film ends, but there is much more to it
that lies just below that transparent surface.
There are four men who must carry explosive material across country, but
these men are split into two groups, who drive separate vehicles. The truck that gets the material
successfully to destination B first wins.
This race begins as a battle over pride. Each truck with its two-man crew is destined to speedily make it
to its destination point without a care in the world. There is even a moment where the men almost forget that they are
carrying highly explosive material, but are fueled by the challenge to be
better than the other group. Now these
are men who were once all friends. They
each had similarities among them and found common interests despite their
differences, but a man becomes more animal-like when there is something driving
him to where his reputation is at risk.
The
title Wages of Fear works two separate ways. For one, the men are being paid wages for their work, which at
this time they have little of, so they are desperate. Their ‘wages’ equates to a certain monetary value. These wages are based on their ability to
overcome their fears and deliver the product without haste. The second meaning of the world ‘wages’
applies to what the men are willing to risk or a ‘wager’. These two meanings are fused as we watch
thinking back and forth about what these wages really are and amount to. Is it the money or is it their lives? What is the real risk? Most important are the subtle comments about
corporations and their blind eyes to humanity; seeing them more as
workers/labor/lower class than people.
This was of course fully discoursed in Fritz Lang’s classic 1927 Metropolis
(reviewed on this site), but we get subtle hints of it here as well, especially
in this uncut version.
The
Criterion Collection released Wages of Fear in early 1999 with a decent
transfer, but still has a problem showing some wear and tear to the film. Luckily, Criterion has managed to become a
dominating force in the DVD market since 1999, and has more resources to bring
forth better editions of films, as well as invest in more restoration to films. Perhaps this title will one day be revisited
either by them or another company, and deliver yet another restored and
improved version. The full-frame black
and white picture does not look overly terrible, but does show some significant
signs of dust, debris, and grain. Most
of the problems are the white lines that take away from the viewing experience
to some degree. The white lines only
appear sporadically. The transfer comes
from a 35mm fine-grain composite master, which is from a restored negative,
explaining some of the inconsistencies with the lighter to darker scenes, as
well as why some scenes look better than others. When producing 12” LaserDiscs, Criterion issued the film uncut
for the first time.
From
an audio experience there is nothing overly impressive about this soundtrack
other than the fact that it sounds clean and clear, considering it is Dolby
Digital 1.0 Mono. There is no movement
in the mono soundtrack, but dialogue is decent and the explosions are
appropriately loud, with some occasional distortion during these parts, which
would have only been more evident had this been a stereo remix. If this film ever gets a Stereo mix or even
a 2.0 Mono mix, there should be some more restoration done in order to take the
higher signal material, and bring it down to a more moderate level, eliminating
some of the harshness.
All
in all, this DVD is worth its weight just based on the fact that the film is a
masterpiece. There are few older films
that can still compete on an adrenaline level like some of today’s films. What is also interesting is the different
dialogues throughout that are spoken, which makes the film easily accessible to
American audiences. Those not inclined
to watch black and white films or Foreign ones for that matter, might have to
settle for William Friedkin’s Sorcerer, which is a valid film on its
own, but does not compare to the original.
- Nate Goss
