The Wages of Fear (Le Salaire de la peur)
| Program section: | Trucker Noir |
|---|---|
| Directed by: | Henri-Georges Clouzot |
| Year: | 1953 |
| Country: | France/Italy |
| Length: | 156 min. |
| Cast: | Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Peter van Eyck, Folco Lulli, Véra Clouzot, and others. |
Screening:
- 20. 8. 2026 | 09:30 - Central Bohemia Hall (castle - gothic kitchen) / CZ subs /
- 21. 8. 2026 | 16:30 - Cinema Sokol (below castle - Sokolovna) / CZ subs /
Production: CICC, Vera Films, Filmsonor
Script/Based on: Henri-Georges Clouzot, Georges Arnaud, Jérôme Géronimi
Director of Photography: Armand Thirard
Score: Georges Auric
French director Henri-George Clouzot is well known to NFF attendees. From his relatively modest filmography, we have screened three films to date – Le Corbeau (1943), Quai des Orfèvres (1947), and, most recently last year, Diabolique (1955). This year, we’ll be screening what is perhaps his greatest classic, the adventure thriller The Wages of Fear, based on the slim novel by Georges Arnaud. In the afterword to its Czech translation, screenwriter and dramaturg Karel Cop writes that Arnaud, an “anarchist” and “adventurer,” and Clouzot, a “middle-aged conservative” and “world-renowned director,” were very different personalities; nevertheless, their collaboration worked brilliantly. This adrenaline-fueled film focuses on truck drivers who, navigating the rugged terrain of the mountainous regions of Latin America, transport highly volatile nitroglycerin needed to extinguish a fire, thereby testing the limits of their own characters and abilities. The film is the only one in history to have won both the Golden Bear in Berlin and the Palme d’Or in Cannes. (mh)
