Archive Cinema City 2008.

Le salaire de la peur

The Wages of Fear

Genre: Action / Drama
Country: France / Italy
Year: 1953.
Duration: 131 min

Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Scenario: Georges Arnaud (novel), Henri-Georges Clouzot, Jérôme Géronimi

Cast: Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Vera Clouzot, Peter Van Eyck, Folco Lulli

Programme selection: Peđa's Film Collection

Synopsis:
Henri Georges Clouzot directed this tense and suspenseful drama about four men so desperate for freedom that they willingly risk their lives to deliver a dangerous cargo. In a small, isolated, hot and dusty Central American village, there's only one thing to do: dream of getting out. An opportunity for escape presents itself - but only to those with nerves of steel. An American oil company has offered to pay big bucks to get two trucks filled with nitroglycerin over to a well fire. The catch: the unpaved terrain contains enough bumps and crags to make the unstable material explode... and instantly kill the driver. Nonetheless, the company has many applicants hungry for work, and a quartet of the coolest are chosen. But even these stalwart men will discover that fear of their deadly payload can ignite even the most frozen emotions.

Awards:
Best Film from any Source, 1955 BAFTA Awards
Golden Berlin Bear, 1953 Berlin International Film Festival
Best Foreign Language Film, 1955 Blue Ribbon Awards
Grand Prize of the Festival, Special Mention, 1953 Cannes Film Festival
Best Film, 1954 French Syndicate of Cinema Critics


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