The Wages of Fear is a terrific film that boasts a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes 73 years after it debuted in French theaters, and its influence can still be felt in the films it helped inspire, like Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk. As an avid fan of cinematic history, Christopher Nolan’s movies have often reflected his personal connection with the art form and the films that define it. Some of his movies have clear inspirations, such as Interstellar building on the legacy of 2001: A Space Odyssey or the comparisons that have been made about The Dark Knight and Michael Mann’s Heat.
Nolan has been upfront with these cinematic inspirations impacting his movies, especially with one classic of French cinema that impacted his approach to Dunkirk. The World War II film focused on different perspectives during the evacuation of Dunkirk by the Allied forces, using silence and clever editing to heighten the tension in terrific ways. Nolan took some inspiration for that approach from The Wages of Fear, a thriller that is actually more enduring and engrossing than (the pretty impressive) Dunkirk. Here’s why The Wages of Fear is so good and how it helped influence Nolan’s Dunkirk.
Why The Wages Of Fear Has 100% On Rotten Tomatoes
The Wages Of Fear Remains A Cinema Classic Over Seventy Years After It Debuted
The Wages of Fear, directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, is one of the most acclaimed French films ever made and played a major role in inspiring Christopher Nolan’s World War II film, Dunkirk. The intense film focuses on Mario, Jo, Bimba, and Luigi, a group of men who all find themselves trapped in the isolated desert town of Las Piedras. With few other options for work, the four are hired to transport highly volatile nitroglycerin across mountains. Clouzot delivers an incredibly intense film, with quick edits and clever cuts ensuring the tension remains high throughout the film.
The suspenseful aspects of the story are fantastic, with the strong direction proving immensely influential for generations of filmmakers like William Friedkin and Christopher Nolan. Clouzot’s screenplay, which he co-wrote with Jérome Geronimi, paints a bleak portrait of desperate men that nevertheless brings depth and humanity to the story. This makes the suspenseful turns land harder. The movie was hailed by critics when it premiered in 1953 as a masterstroke from the filmmaker, and the tense tone and character focus of the film has given it a timeless edge that explains the 100% it still has on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Wages Of Fear Helped Inspire Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk
Nolan Took Inspiration From The Intense Elements Of Dunkirk
When The Wages of Fear debuted, it was heralded as a triumph and quickly won prestigious film festival awards like the Golden Bear and the Palme d’Or. Decades later, one of the most high-profile fans of the film is Christopher Nolan. As reported by The Film Stage, Nolan looked to a number of classic films while developing Dunkirk, including The Wages of Fear. Nolan screened The Wages of Fear for the crew, hoping to draw attention to the way that the tactile elements of the film’s production design could naturally ratchet up the tension and stakes of the action.
This influence can be felt in Dunkirk, which utilizes largely dialogue-free sequences to put emphasis on the tension, grief, or resilience of the characters.
To Nolan, one of the things that stood out in The Wages of Fear was the way all of this danger could be conveyed entirely visually, with no dialogue. There are stretches of The Wages of Fear where the characters say almost nothing. Instead, the film focuses entirely on their efforts to cross bumpy roads and dangerous bridges, making the relief of a successful turn or the horror at a wrong move all the more effective. This influence can be felt in Dunkirk, which utilizes largely dialogue-free sequences to put emphasis on the tension, grief, or resilience of the characters.
The Wages Of Fear Is One Of The Best French Films Ever Made
The Wages Of Fear Is Just As Effective Now As It Was Decades Ago
The Wages of Fear stands tall, over seventy-years after it debuted, as one of the best examples of suspense in film history. The suspenseful scenes as they drive across the mountains have been referenced and recreated over the years, but never fully replicated. Even Nolan’s Dunkirk can’t compare to The Wages of Fear, which benefits from a тιԍнтer character focus over Dunkirk‘s larger scale recreation of Operation Dynamo. The Wages of Fear‘s focus on the mortal sacrifices large companies are willing to make to turn a profit feels resonant with modern audiences.
The Wages of Fear is currently available on 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD from The Criterion Collection. The film is also available for digital purchase, and can be currently streamed on the Criterion Channel and Max.
Although The Wages of Fear doesn’t belong necessarily belong to the French New Wave movement, the film is deeply rooted in the monochrome but inventive experimentation that defined French cinema of that era. There’s a keen approach to the effect that realistic sounds of machinery can have as an emotional device. The film impacts the audience with the noise of a stalled engine or a hindered wheel, redefining how cinema approaches thrillers. The Wages of Fear is an incredibly impressive film that is just as engrossing and celebrated as it was when was released over seventy years ago.
Source: The Film Stage
