I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Just watched this out of date, over acted piece of utter nonsense. What on Earth are all these other reviews talking about? Did we watch the same movie?There are "real" classics out there, one's from the same period that dated well, showed the period and the issues of the day and dealt with them in a real and honest way...and then there these are "arty" classics that just go and over do the story, the dialogue and the characters to...well, I don't know why they do it but I can say that I don't get why they do "it". This must be an arty classics because I just didn't get "it" and I don't understand the people that have watched this in the last 40 years and pretended to get "it" as well. There is nothing real about this movie, the story is passable, okay, but there is no insight into the time or place of the movie, the dialogue is plain ridiculous, and the casting is terrible...(did anyone look at, and understand, who/what Linda's character was supposed to be in the first 5 minutes of the movie? She was badly cast and then given a terrible role to play on top of that). Vanel's transition from tough old street thug to corny coward was...well, it was hilarious actually (that was a source of a few laughs, truth be told). I think only O'Brien Luigi and Bimba are well played and we get saved the silly dialogue of the others with these characters. Mario was...such a shallow and repulsive character to me that I won't even go into how out-dated this kind of "hero" is in this day and age. Who should want to watch this movie? Those that want to see what being "cool" meant to a man in the 50's and how women (and a really beautiful one at that) where/should be treated by such macho men like Mario (this is a real women beater's showcase here). All in all a rubbish movie and if I could have those two and a half hours back I would surely ask.

In a decrepit South American village, four men are hired to transport an urgent nitroglycerine shipment without the equipment that would make it safe. Over the top acting is the worst kind of acting and this movie has that with close ups and just people feeling not that natural but also just a story that isn't that good to begin with as a whole. Le Salaire De La Peur is once again a movie that shouldn't be on this list but somehow we must put up with it cause IMDb takes the garbage and leaves the gold behind as it always has been doing i guess....sad... (0/10)

In a remote South American town, four men are hired by an American oil company to transport two truckloads of nitroglycerin to an oil field, to put out a fire. It's a very hazardous task - the nitroglycerin can explode for the slightest reason, the road is treacherous and the journey is a long one. However, the money is very good and their current situation in the town is rather dire - they will do anything to improve their situation. Great thriller-drama by French director HG Clouzot. Starts slowly and even once the hazardous journey is in progress, it doesn't seem that brilliant. However, Clouzot builds the tension and from a point it is absolutely nail-biting stuff. The scene with the boulder has to be one of the most tense movie scenes I've watched in my life. A good character-drama too - the way the characters develop and the relationships between the four change adds a new dimension to the drama and makes for very engaging viewing.Not perfect though. Some events and plot devices don't make much sense, though aren't crucial to the movie. The ending felt quite silly and contrived. A similar result but with a more plausible, less predictable, less stupid way of getting there would have seen the movie get a perfect score.

THE WAGES of FEAR is a cruel and sarcastic approach a existential thriller. The director plays with human psychology, whereas the protagonists travel through without hope and seek salvation. The action takes place around the four drivers who in two trucks transporting nitroglycerin at a great distance through the South American jungle, but the roads are full of potholes and obstacles which is very problematic because their cargo is very sensitive and can explode at the slightest impact.In the first third of the film develops the somewhat perverse drama in an isolated town where poverty is visible at every step. This part creates the necessary atmosphere and character development. Relationship between the protagonists are not explained. Each one acts on impulse and in their own way to cope with the agony brought by poverty and unemployment. As rescue appears cruel form of economic and corporate imperialism. On one side is a fear and hostility by the local population (cheap labor) to the oil company. For Europeans who live there, jobs, no matter how dangerous it was, the rescue or escape from the everyday agony. Then comes the sudden turn in a story that gets qualities of existential and adventurous thriller.Excitement, tension, danger and ice uncertainty.This is a strange blend of action and human reactions. The path of salvation through a nightmare. This approach awakens the worst and the best in man. The lack of sentimentality has contributed to the reality of the experience. This is a harsh struggle for survival.I wondered whether the protagonists actually brave, or just desperate and hopeless. End of the film did not need to be so ironic. Well, probably it was a low blow to the Hollywood thriller. Yves Montand as Mario is brave and ruthless character. In the end, his madness cost him life. Charles Vanel as Jo is a former gangster at all costs trying to flee the city. It's too dangerous to work and quite a coward when push comes to shove. I would not say that his life is more valuable. Peter van Eyck as Bimba is a character who does not have a specific goal in life. If he survives the accident would not have known what later. Very resourceful character in desperate situations. Folco Lulli as Luigi is diligent and cheerful man. He is faced with disease and in dangerous job offer see only salvation. Véra Clouzot as Linda is incredibly beautiful and pretty maid. A faithful lover. Enjoy the woman while she cleans floors is humiliating, but this scene is the responsibility of the atmosphere and theme of the film.Every little bump, blow or elevated tone in this film stops the heart.