So I Finally Saw: "The Wages of Fear"

[Merkin Muffley]

I'm always trying to track down old classics that I've read about, but never seen. Last night, I got to check off Wages of Fear.

I'm going into SPOILERS, because the movie is 50+ years old and if you clicked on this thread, you've probably seen it anyway. Thoughts:

• Overall, I liked it. Some GREAT, iconic scenes. Backing up on the wooden platform. Blowing up the rock. The oil pit. Really amazing stuff. The pace, the tension, the set-pieces...these are the things that make this movie a "classic."

• Slow to start. I know we need to get these characters before the set off, but it seems like some of the stuff wandered aimlessly. Especially with that chick...I just didn't get what was going on there. Never connected with her at all.

• The way they handle the first truck blowing up is brilliant. The leaves blowing away...the flash...then the boom. It caught me completely off-guard. It also seems like what might really happen in an instance like that...so real, not Bruckheimer-ized. This might be my favorite scene in the movie.

• OK, I get it, Americans and their oil companies are bad. I don't have a huge problem with that message, but they strayed into preachy territory here and there. The lines about the expendability of labor was just too much...it reminded me of the quicksand/black people scene from Blazing Saddles.

• On a related note, it's interesting to watch this with There Will Be Blood fresh on the brain. Lots of crossover with people dying in order to get oil...and needing to blow up an out-of-control fire.

• That ending. Now this is where you lose me. I don't need happy endings. In fact, I prefer ambiguous/sad/depressing endings (see: There Will Be Blood). BUT...if a movie is going to end that way, it has to earn it. I'm not upset THAT he died, I'm pissed about HOW he died. That was just stupid and senseless. If you're going to be dumb and swerve all over the place, you deserve to die, jackass. I know the French were all into downer endings at the time (especially with people driving off of things), but this one felt unnatural and tacked-on. It's like they went way out of the way just to have a downer ending. Just because. Ugh.

So now I've seen a movie everyone else has already seen. I really liked it, but felt betrayed at the end. This one always shows up on "great movies" lists, and I'm 50/50 on whether it belongs. But based on the bulk of the movie (the incredible journey), I'll agree. What do you guys think?

[The Bus]

• Especially with that chick...I just didn't get what was going on there. Never connected with her at all.

• That ending.

She's the director's wife, and she's hot. Good enough for me.

And as far as the ending? I read an essay somewhere that said that nihilism was "in style" at the time so it looks like it was done more to fit a trend than to fit the movie. I still thinks it works, despite looking like Clouzot is maybe trying a bit too hard.

[yojimbo44]

for comparison, try to track down Sorcerer, which was an american remake released in '77 or '78 - directed by William Friedkin and starring Roy Schieder - both great movies in my opinion.

[rw2516]

for comparison, try to track down Sorcerer, which was an american remake released in '77 or '78 - directed by William Friedkin and starring Roy Schieder - both great movies in my opinion.

There's an earlier remake also. Violent Road(1958). In this version the drivers are transporting highly explosive rocket fuel over treacherous mountain roads in Nevada to a Los Almos type rocket facility. Like in the other versions the drivers have nothing to lose. Efrem Zimbalist Jr. was a scientist at the facility until his wife and kid are killed. One of the drivers, Brian Keith I believe, owes a bunch of money to some Las Vegas mob guys. Seldom seen. Saw it as a little kid and again in the early '80s on the late show on TBS.

[Kudama]

Fantastic movie. And that chick is hot. :drool: Lucky director guy. :mad:

[Hank Ringworm]

There was an episode of MacGyver like Wages of Fear. MacGyver and a friend had to stop an oil fire by transporting old dynamite across some mountain roads. Now I can't watch Wages of Fear without the MacGyver theme playing in my mind.

I think the OP is exactly right about the ending. It struck me as pure silliness. And, even worse, pure silliness after hours of pure suspense and realism.

And, yeah, a bit too preachy, especially when the whole thing's focused on individuals. The extrapolation really isn't needed; let the viewer reach some conclusions.

[Dr Mabuse]

one of the all time greats that film is...

[Geofferson]

Great movie indeed...purchased the Criterion Collection blindly and am glad I did.

[PopcornTreeCt]

Great film. I like Clouzot's smaller personal films better though.

[creekdipper]

Like both the original & Friedkin's remake. Really liked the ending of the original, unlike the OP. Good warning to people not to count their chickens too early.

Since others are mentioning the use of similar devices in other films/tv shows, might as well mention that THE BIG VALLEY had an episode in which the Barkley boys had to transport a wag****** of nitro over rough terrain. I think LITTLE HOUSE had a similar episode (although it might have been dynamite or blasting caps). Actually, this has become a familiar plot device since Wages of Fear.

EDIT: For some reason, the site won't let me write the word that describes a load carried on a wagon (??????)...thus the asterisks above (which aren't mine). Have I somehow missed out on an offensive vocabulary term all these years (and even used it in mixed company)????