Henri-Georges Clouzot's - Wages of Fear

(aka 'Il Salario della paura" or "The Wages of Fear" or "Vite vendute')

directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot
France / Italy 1953

One of the most nerve-wracking and exciting films ever made, Henri-Georges Clouzot’s masterpiece won the Grand Prize at the 1953 Cannes Film Festival. An American oil company enlists four tough drifters for a high-paying suicide mission—transporting explosives across the rough terrain of Central America.

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Theatrical Release: April 22nd, 1953

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DVD Comparison:

Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Criterion (2-disc Restored Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC

(Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Criterion (Restored Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)

DVD Box Cover
Distribution	Criterion Collection - Spine # 36 - Region 0 - NTSC	Criterion Collection (Restored Edition) - Spine # 36 - Region 1 - NTSC
(click titles for DVDBeaver reviews) Criterion (without any extras) also available in The Essential Art House - 50 Years of Janus Films - a 50-disc celebration of international films collected under the auspices of the groundbreaking theatrical distributor. It contains Alexander Nevsky (1938), Ashes And Diamonds (1958), L'avventura (1960), Ballad Of A Soldier (1959), Beauty And The Beast (1946), Black Orpheus (1959), Brief Encounter (1945), The Fallen Idol (1948), Fires On The Plain (1959), Fists In The Pocket (1965), Floating Weeds (1959), Forbidden Games (1952), The 400 Blows (1959), Grand Illusion (1937), Häxan (1922), Ikiru (1952), The Importance Of Being Earnest (1952), Ivan The Terrible, Part II (1958), Le Jour Se Lève (1939), Jules And Jim (1962), Kind Hearts And Coronets (1949), Knife In The Water (1962), The Lady Vanishes (1938), The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp (1943), Loves Of A Blonde (1965), M (1931), M. Hulot's Holiday (1953), Miss Julie (1951), Pandora's Box (1929), Pépé Le Moko (1937), Il Posto (1961), Pygmalion (1938), Rashomon (1950), Richard III (1955), The Rules Of The Game (1939), Seven Samurai (1954), The Seventh Seal (1957), The Spirit Of The Beehive (1973), La Strada (1954), Summertime (1955), The Third Man (1949), The 39 Steps (1935), Ugetsu (1953), Umberto D. (1952), The Virgin Spring (1960), Viridiana (1961), The Wages Of Fear (1953), The White Sheik (1952), Wild Strawberries (1957), Three Documentaries By Saul J. Turell plus the hardcover, full color 240-page book.
Runtime	2:27:30	2:27:50
Video	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.76 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 7.4 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Initial Release
Bitrate: Restored Edition
Audio	French (Dolby Digital 1.0)	French (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Subtitles	English, None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Criterion Aspect Ratio: Original aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Edition Details: • 4-page liner notes with essay by Danny Peary DVD Release Date: February 2nd, 1999 Keep Case Chapters: 25	Release Information: Studio: Criterion Aspect Ratio: Original aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Interview with assistant director Michel Romanoff • Interview with Henri-Georges Clouzot biographer Marc Godin Archival interview with Yves Montand on working with Clouzot Featurette - 'Henri-Georges Clouzot- the Enlightened Tyrant' (52:28) • Censored Scenes (shows scenes that were censored out of this release in the alternate version) • 24-page liner notes booklet with essay by novelist Dennis Lehane DVD Release Date: October 25th, 2005 Double thick Keep Case Chapters: 24

Comments:

ADDITION: Criterion - Restored Edition - it is advertised that - "This new high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit Datacine from the 35mm fine-grain master. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, and scratches were removed using the MTI Digital Restoration System. To maintain optimal image quality through the compression process, the picture on this dual-layer DVD-9 was encoded at the highest-possible bit rate for the quantity of material included."

As you can see the image is definitely improved. Although some may consider the upgrade unremarkable I believe that Criterion were somewhat limited by what they could do with the condition of the master. They have done their magic with removing debris, cleaning scratches and boosting some brightness levels, de-contrasting others to give a much smoother and more consistent appearance. Subtitles are improved and there is some minor cropping on both sides. We still have the 148 minute version and a host of extras that Clouzot fans will relish. They are not giving this away at $35+ but for fans of the film the upgrade is quite worthwhile.

*******

Early days for Criterion - but it is progressive transfer despite some of its flaws. It has some dullness and I see some brightness boosting. The film itself is excellent and certainly one for the testosterone-infused crowd, but the DVD image is a far cry from excellence. The huge plus of this release is that Criterion have returned the films presentation to its proper running time of 148 minutes. I thought the mono audio was quite power-packed. There are no digital extras and a 4 page liner notes inclusion. Overall, nothing like one would expect from a more modern Criterion release, but its great to have this film, in its full-length running time, in the collection. out of

Gary W. Tooze

DVD Menus

(Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Criterion (Restored Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)

Criterion (Restored Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - Disc 2

Subtitle Sample