Henri-Georges Clouzot, France 1953, BW subtitles
Grande Prix from Cannes, 1953. Best Film from British Film Group, 1954.
Viewed at Nathan/Justus’ house, March 2004. Rented as a guess.
A Latin America suspense masterpiece. 4 men stranded in a dead end town loaf all day on the porch of a local tavern. An accident occurs at the oil wells, and they need a delivery of tonnes of nitroglycerin. It can only be delivered, over three hundred miles, by two old trucks with antique suspension…our four disposed suddenly become would be heros, or would-be dead men.
Clouzot’s suspense is very very good. The slowness of the trucks, and visual build-up in the streets of the small town, and the harrowing scenes on the journey so full of risk. If this movie does not thrill one, if it does not deserve five stars, if it does not plumb the depths of these desperate men and turn them into9 magnificent possibilities – than what will?
*****
Clouzot
IMDB 8.2
1955 B&W
Not as good (more conventional than) Wages of Fear, however very good. One might even, after that superb ending, forget some of the earlier less striking parts and mistakenly say that the entire film was fantastic. Such is the the great strength of the ending of the film, even if one expects something good, and even though the ‘twist’ is not so unfathomable: it is just somehow very well executed.
Stars a rather steely blong, a nasty dark haired man and a very nice girl, who may be the actress listed with the same last name as the director. Set in a somewhat decrepit English boy’s school.
The ending is complemented by a directive written in very large letters across the screen at the end asking viwers not to spoil the ending for others and so not to disclose it to their friends etc. Clearly a film bracing itself for many enthusiastic referrals.
Summer 2004, Cinematheque
