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

I came to Wages of Fear expecting something special. The film has been described by Total Film as one the greatest action thrillers of all time. Despite a fairly slow opening the film soon creates tension with a number of classic set pieces as 4 men are hired to drive two trucks carrying nitroglycerine through the jungle and over mountains in South America to put out a fire at an oil field. Directed by Henri Georges Clouzot the film is hailed as one of the classic French films of the 50's and it certainly has a more commercial style than a lot of French films made during the period. It stars Yves Montaud, as Mario. The film begins in a small town somewhere in South America and Clouzot along with cinematographer Armand Thirard, they manage to create the stifling heat which forces the men stranded in this god forsaken hole to do very little except loiter around the local drinking hole hoping to find work.

Despite it's slow start and some rather ill treatment of Linda (Vera Clouzot - Henri's wife) the film is an utter masterpiece of tense, suspense. Every set piece once the men set off on their ordeal is perfectly edited, structured and orchestrated leaving you teetering on the edge of your seat as you await what seems like the inevitable. Each of the men, Montaud, Charles Vanel, Folco Luili and Peter van Eyck are fantastic, each reacting to their perilous job in differing ways ranging from futile optimism to abject defeatism. The dynamic between the men and the shifting roles adds to the films alure as much as the inventive and some foolish ways they approach each of the challenges the journey throws up.

Very few films exist which will have you quite as tense and nervous as this film, and even less have so many great sequences each of which somehow manages to outdo that last. A utter masterpiece of genuine brilliance.