Disc Reviews

The Wages of Fear 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review

• 24th Feb 2024

The BFI already released a decent Blu-ray edition of The Wages of Fear previously and one that was a significant improvement on the previous international release. Here the Ultra HD treatment has been applied and it looks terrific.

The story is set in Puerto Rico where a large group of European men find themselves stranded and out of work.  The daily routine largely revolves around looking for odd jobs, flirting with the local staff, stealing what small items they can to get by, drinking when they can, and generally looking for ways to fall out with each other regularly. 

Opportunity comes knocking in the shadow of an American oil company who are looking for four drivers to transport two trucks full of explosive liquid to a hazardous site, across treacherous terrain. The money would be enough to get any man his second chance and a way out of the region, but the cost is persistent danger. The wrong bump in the road and BOOM!

The film relies on good old-fashioned (and we mean old-fashioned like there is any modern newer equivalent around anymore) suspense. If key ingredients are missing from the majority of modern thrillers then it is character building and suspense.

The road the men travel finds them exposed to the heat, the rough landscape, and are stripped of their dignity as they are forced to face their mortality and morality as they are pushed to the limits.

If there are any complaints to make about this 1953 classic then they are minor. The run-time of two and a half hours is fairly lengthy. It is over an hour before the men’s journey begins. There are also a couple of old-school filmmaking techniques that are laughable by today’s standards. And I don’t mean the rear projection driving scenes – But perhaps some of the actors’ “fake driving” skills are laughable compared to the background behind them. Often you will see leading man Yves Montand’s Mario erratically steering the wheel from left to right whilst conversing with his passenger and teammate, Jo.

The sound is DTS-HD Master Stereo with original French language (English subs are available). The picture quality as mentioned is very good.  Sometimes the film looks its age with some softer grain coming through (but the film is over 70 years old now). The film benefits from being black and White, though, as this tends to look good in HD. A scene where Mario and Jo have to traverse a deep pool of oil looks particularly impressive.

For the extras, I have listed what comes and made brief comments next to each for context.

Special Features

4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)

A Road Trip Out of Hell? Or Into It? – Purgatory and The Wages of Fear (2023, 13 mins): a new video essay by filmmaker and photographer Nic Wassell

Audio commentary by film critic Adrian Martin (2017). As far as critics’ commentaries go this one is pretty much par for the course.

Interview with assistant director Michel Romanoff (2005, 23 mins). This extra is about as close as we get to hearing from anyone from the crew about the making of the film, and for that reason alone it is indispensable information.

Interview with Clouzot biographer Marc Godin (2005, 10 mins). Short but fairly on-point interview – focussing on the film.

Interview with Professor Lucy Mazdon (2017, 35 mins): an in-depth interview about Henri-Georges Clouzot and The Wages of Fear. A further in-depth analysis of the director’s career.

The Guardian Lecture: Yves Montand in conversation with Don Allen (1989, 99 mins, audio only): the star discusses his distinguished career. This interview is audio only. The disc automatically plays the film under it. It’s also an impressive length.

Treasures from the BFI National Archive (1920-1960, 30 mins): a selection of archive gems, exploring some of the themes and iconography featured in The Wages of Fear. These short films offer varied aspects of interest. There is one that is 30 seconds long footage of examples of oil fires being out using nitro-glycerine, Another shows how trucks can be used to traverse rough landscapes.

Original theatrical trailer

Illustrated booklet featuring writing on the film, original reviews, and an appreciation of Clouzot by Paul Ryan.

Anyone that is loving home entertainment and physical media should get this on their shopping list pronto. It has good features, the film looks great, and holds up very well. A classic among classics.

Steven Hurst

Released on UHD Blu-ray, iTunes and Amazon Prime on 19 February 2024