Hitchcock's primary rival, the French prodigy Henry Georges Clouzot, defined a new type of thriller with "The Wages Of Fear" and a new type of fear. Oh yes, it wasn't the Ray Harryhausen sea monsters of stop motion, nor was it aliens from outer space or Nosferatu or more sinister, the blonde Hitchcock Femme Fatale. No, it was much more real than that. Even a valuable lesson perhaps. Don't, and I repeat, don't carry Nitroglycerine around. You might get hurt. No film portrays being careful with dangerous substances quite so well as this film, because it give you the feeling that YOU are handling it. And that's the unsettling thing about it. Like James Coburn said in Sergio Leone's "A Fistful Of Dynamite", "if this falls, you'd have to alter the maps". Precisely so with the substance in question. Nitroglycerine. Who would be crazy enough to handle that. That's precisely what our film's protagonists may have thought had the pay not have been so big as to persuade them. On top of the unbearable, nail-biting, teddy bear clenching suspense, this film is one fantastic character study. Character revelations, weaknesses and heroics all come into play as the Nitro changes all their lives.
It's South America. A remote village in the middle of God's nowhere. Outcasts, wanderers, desperadoes, fraudsters and nobodies from all around the globe work for peanuts in factories and mines, staying hopeful as to their unpredictable futures, for maybe one day they'd have enough money for a flight out to start a new life. Many await an opportunity for even a sign of work. But one thing's for sure - the desperation among the men make them very competitive. To the point where everybody is such a tough guy. Things change however when a very confident and tough French man named Jo comes to town. Mysterious but well dressed, he easily attracts the attention of a fellow French man named Mario. The two get along instantaneously, reaching a type of partner-hood that leads to neglect of the other men in town. Almost straight away, Jo is seen as a force not to be reckoned with. The tough guys of late are no more. People keep their mouths shut. He is established as a cutthroat with bad attitude, while Mario always keeping himself quiet. A wise man indeed. But among all men, human nature will always prevail.
One morning the news comes out. In a remote oil mine far far away, miners have been killed in an explosion and a fire is consuming all the oil and environment around it. The fire must be stopped and the damage repaired. The mining company comes to the harrowing conclusion that Nitroglycerine is the only way at their disposal. There is only one problem. Who would be crazy enough to drive Nitro across some of the most difficult and death defying terrain through South American rain forest to the oil mine? Normally this would apply to everybody. But the job becomes like a one off chance to see Willy Wonka when the pay is announced. It comes as no surprise that every man jumps at the chance, life second to the smell of money.
Following many tests, trials and errors, four men are selected to drive the two trucks. Mario is the most fit for the job. A German named Bimba and an Italian named Luigi drive in the other truck. Cheating was the only way Jo could drive with Mario as he was unqualified for the job. Then one night, the trucks are loaded with barrel upon barrel of Nitroglycerine. The trucks begin their suicide journey at snail pace through the streets of the town and into the murky hills of the rocky, muddy, slippery hills. For one slight bump could be the difference between life and death. A small disturbance in the substance would create such a powerful explosion as to rock the landscape miles in every direction. Are these men heroes or cowards? The tension breaks them as it breaks us, and we find out more about them as each bump raises the blood pressure in our veins. Clouzot's patient direction and masterful editing gives the film's title a whole new meaning. It's fantastic. But nothing beats the human study and the poignant message: Are men as tough as they appear?
Although Clouzot didn't make as much of an impact on film as Alfred Hitchcock had and not nearly as many films, he was however a worthy competitor. With this film and Les Diabolique, Hitchcock's jealousy retaliated with the master works Vertigo and Psycho. Everything about this film is patient suspense. And nothing beats patient direction to make you feel uncomfortable - Something Hitchcock mastered long before. The power house actors namely Yves Montand as Mario brought the film to life. Charles Vanel as Jo had the most complex character and he molded him brilliantly. We feel sorry for him, we hate him, we like him and we identify with him. The actors absorbed their roles so well that by the end of the film, you feel as though you've been on a journey with these men, and rightfully so. Human emotion on the whole spectrum is showcased in great method, realistic performances. And the script was so well written - the dialog achieving a kind of audience disconnection that puts emphasis more on real conversation between actors. Very tense indeed. But this film wouldn't have been half as good had it not been for the claustrophobic editing.
A technical achievement in itself. Flawless in every respect.
Please, do yourself a favor. Go and watch this film right now! Adventure/suspense at it's most unbearable....
It's South America. A remote village in the middle of God's nowhere. Outcasts, wanderers, desperadoes, fraudsters and nobodies from all around the globe work for peanuts in factories and mines, staying hopeful as to their unpredictable futures, for maybe one day they'd have enough money for a flight out to start a new life. Many await an opportunity for even a sign of work. But one thing's for sure - the desperation among the men make them very competitive. To the point where everybody is such a tough guy. Things change however when a very confident and tough French man named Jo comes to town. Mysterious but well dressed, he easily attracts the attention of a fellow French man named Mario. The two get along instantaneously, reaching a type of partner-hood that leads to neglect of the other men in town. Almost straight away, Jo is seen as a force not to be reckoned with. The tough guys of late are no more. People keep their mouths shut. He is established as a cutthroat with bad attitude, while Mario always keeping himself quiet. A wise man indeed. But among all men, human nature will always prevail.
One morning the news comes out. In a remote oil mine far far away, miners have been killed in an explosion and a fire is consuming all the oil and environment around it. The fire must be stopped and the damage repaired. The mining company comes to the harrowing conclusion that Nitroglycerine is the only way at their disposal. There is only one problem. Who would be crazy enough to drive Nitro across some of the most difficult and death defying terrain through South American rain forest to the oil mine? Normally this would apply to everybody. But the job becomes like a one off chance to see Willy Wonka when the pay is announced. It comes as no surprise that every man jumps at the chance, life second to the smell of money.
Following many tests, trials and errors, four men are selected to drive the two trucks. Mario is the most fit for the job. A German named Bimba and an Italian named Luigi drive in the other truck. Cheating was the only way Jo could drive with Mario as he was unqualified for the job. Then one night, the trucks are loaded with barrel upon barrel of Nitroglycerine. The trucks begin their suicide journey at snail pace through the streets of the town and into the murky hills of the rocky, muddy, slippery hills. For one slight bump could be the difference between life and death. A small disturbance in the substance would create such a powerful explosion as to rock the landscape miles in every direction. Are these men heroes or cowards? The tension breaks them as it breaks us, and we find out more about them as each bump raises the blood pressure in our veins. Clouzot's patient direction and masterful editing gives the film's title a whole new meaning. It's fantastic. But nothing beats the human study and the poignant message: Are men as tough as they appear?
Although Clouzot didn't make as much of an impact on film as Alfred Hitchcock had and not nearly as many films, he was however a worthy competitor. With this film and Les Diabolique, Hitchcock's jealousy retaliated with the master works Vertigo and Psycho. Everything about this film is patient suspense. And nothing beats patient direction to make you feel uncomfortable - Something Hitchcock mastered long before. The power house actors namely Yves Montand as Mario brought the film to life. Charles Vanel as Jo had the most complex character and he molded him brilliantly. We feel sorry for him, we hate him, we like him and we identify with him. The actors absorbed their roles so well that by the end of the film, you feel as though you've been on a journey with these men, and rightfully so. Human emotion on the whole spectrum is showcased in great method, realistic performances. And the script was so well written - the dialog achieving a kind of audience disconnection that puts emphasis more on real conversation between actors. Very tense indeed. But this film wouldn't have been half as good had it not been for the claustrophobic editing.
A technical achievement in itself. Flawless in every respect.
Please, do yourself a favor. Go and watch this film right now! Adventure/suspense at it's most unbearable....