the AOX

Criterion this past month released one of my favorite films on the hi-def format Blu-Ray, Henri-Georges Clouzot’s “The Wages of Fear”. While not an obscure film, it seems an odd choice to select out of their vast collection considering how many more popular films could have been released pragmatically from a revenue perspective.

Arguably Clouzot’s masterpiece, along with “Les Diaboliques” and “Le Corbeau”, this 1953 French film chronicles four men hired by American contractors in South America to drive two trucks filled with Nitroglycerine to an uncontained fire at an oil derelict almost 300 miles away. Nitroglycerine is highly unstable and can explode from a simple shake. A drop will blow your arm off and they have several tons. The film is the definition of tension as they ascend up bumpy one-lane dirt roads driving 5-10mph. Clozout is masterful in his direction as the audience feels every jolt along the way; relief comes only briefly. Most every other minute is spent sweating as our protagonists barely survive each curve, pothole, rock and shaky hand (and this is not to mention that actual obsticals they encounter). I promise that this film is not an exercise in tedium once it gets started (they don’t get on the road until 40 minutes into the film). One is too busy being worried about their well being to think about being bored.

This film presents an underlying commentary on the US oil industry and the exploitation of South America (or really anywhere in the world that has oil). American censors were not kind to this film upon its arrival and butchered it. Criterion has an interesting documentary on the censorship process.

I won’t give away the end, but many are unsatisfied with the last 30 seconds. The film was made towards the end of the neo-realist Italian movement (DeSica, Rossellini, etc.) and the French New Wave movement that would revolutionize filmmaking forever. The Wages of Fear belongs to neither. It is merely a suspense film and commentary on geo-politics. The ending is one last sucker punch to the audience after being on a tense ride for two hours (two days for our protagonists) up the mountain.

The Blu-Ray transfer was derived from a negative that was remastered in 2005 (I don’t know if the negative was the original). It looks gorgeous. The level of grain apparent is perfect (as is Criterion’s presentation of Reed’s “The Third Man”). Keep in mind, film grain is natural and is not the same as rips in the negative, apparent dust, or loose hair visible on the print. Not all film is supposed to look like the Star Wars prequels: glossy and animated. I applaud Criterion for respecting the integrity of these older films. Cleaning them up and making them sharp is one thing but only part of the process. The blacks look deeper, there is little digital distortion, and no edge enhancement apparent, but they are not supposed to be clean (See the latest controversial Blu remastering of Ford’s “The Searchers” from the original Technicolor). Perhaps the best example of an old black and white film being cleaned up is the recent Blu presentation of “Casablanca” which I suggest everyone check out. My only complaint about this disc is the lack of a scholarly commentary track.

I have not seen the American remake “Sorcerer” from 1977 by William Friedkin, or the rumored Iranian remake from the previous year “Atash-e Jonoob”, but this is worth seeing by all.

I also have a sneaking suspicion that this represents where creator Shigeru Miyamoto got the names “Mario and Luigi” for his video game series.

“The Wages of Fear” is stunning on Blu-Ray and a welcome surprise.