The Wages of Fear is a gripping and intimate tale of four men carting around lethal nitroglycerine and how it both physically and mentally tolls them. It's really quite excellent both in the way the story is told and the actors that play the roles. I'd recommend it to anyone.

# 205

Grows on you.

The first act drags quite a bit and I thought the ending was needlessly cruel, but the bulk of the story is top-notch suspense.

206

Suspense for simpletons. A particularly terrible performance in the lead, further exasperated by a weak supporting cast and script. Not what I expect from Clouzot.

The sequence on the "corrugated" road is well timed, even though it violates its own logic. And the maneuvering of the trucks on a hillside platform of rotted wood is intensified to such degree as spoils you for the upcoming boulder in the road and pool of petrol. As one of the cast members somewhere remarks: "It's too much." In truth, it's almost silly. The disintegration of Vanel's character and the stiffening of Montand's are more intriguing developments than any of their external causes.

Incredibly tense. A great movie in every sense.

Never thought a roadtrip could be that exciting.

A masterpiece thriller: nothing much happens, but the tension is unbearable!

A tense Clouzot nail-biter, with painstaking attention to detail and one hell of an ending. The set-up, although not uninteresting, takes a little too long, and I think the film could have lost the bit about Smerloff (which seems to exist merely to reinforce the kind of guy Jo is, but we've got the idea already).

Somewhat overpraised.

This is a movie where the setting and all of its conditions make for the biggest character in the story. I disagree with the criticism that the first hour is a detriment to the entire movie. The first hour is there to draw you into the world and its problems. The only issue (what's primarily being criticized anyway) is that it could have been executed in a way that was less distant from the viewer.. you'd think it could be done more engagingly. Has re-make potential (not the bad kind).

Fun, tense and full of commentary about the world and human relationships. An excellent piece of film making.

A long and difficult entrance but then it is a wonderful experience.

I would have given this a perfect score if it weren't for the horribly boring first hour and the overly harsh ending, but for what its worth, this is definitely still a classic. A masterpiece of suspense, with a great story and wonderful performances. Highly recommended.

This film about high-risk work and its perils has great suspense and good characterization. It is a stylish thriller that involves the viewer because it makes you care about the men involved and empathize with the fear they experience.

206

Quite possibly the most gripping suspense film ever made and that is not hyperbole.

A classic.

Probably Clouzot's best film. Another of his ugly little portraits of pathetic men and women scrambling for crumbs (and I mean that in a good way)