The Wages of Fear (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1953)

8/10
Catching up on on an old Criterion I never got around to watching, I enjoyed this early suspense/road movie from Henri-Georges Clouzot very much. At 2 and a half hours it is a bit bloated. The South American scenes, as much as I enjoyed them, could have been trimmed a bit. I'm not sure so much exposition and background story was necessary. The trip itself was great...filled with ups and downs which each of the four drivers' personalities taking centre stage at a certain point. I was fearful for a moment that we were in for a happy ending - Clouzot rightfully snatches that away with bombastic, evil glee.