Suspense and brilliance

No stranger to suspense, Henri-George Clouzot delivered a masterpiece with "The Wages of Fear." As a contemporary of Alfred Hitchcock, Clouzot's thriller does more than keep its audience on the edge of their seat; he also offers a critical look at the darker side of humanity.\nThe movie takes place in the South American town of Las Piedras, a desolate town occupied by scoundrels from all around the world, each looking for work and a way out of town, neither of which is too likely to be found. It's here that we meet Mario, (Yves Montand) an amoral protagonist whose treatment of his girlfriend, Linda (Vera Clouzot), and his friends leaves a lot to be desired. Once the aged smuggler Jo (Charles Vanel) arrives, Mario abandons his prior relationships with the hope Jo will be his ticket out of town. We are shown early in the movie that Mario is self-serving as he turns his back on longtime roommate Luigi (Fulco Lulli) to appease the flashy Jo.\nThe characters get their chance to escape Las Piedras when there's an accident at the Southern Oil Company's oil field. The company hires four non-union "tramps" to drive two trucks of nitroglycerin to the oil fields to help contain the fire. They chose Mario, Jo, Luigi and Bimba (Peter Van Eyck). Without proper equipment, the job is a virtual suicide mission as the roads are unkempt and the slightest bump or jolt will cause the explosive cargo to blow the drivers and their cargo sky high. What follows is suspense that will keep breaths held and muscles tight for the movie's 147-minute runtime. \nThe movie investigates the nature of men who have nothing left to lose and in many ways are already dead. Each time the road gives way or the characters miss close calls, the audience finds themselves gasping with them. Clouzot does a terrific job at creating sympathy for the characters who are otherwise undeserving of compassion. \nCriterion's re-release offers a beautiful restored high-definition digital transfer of the original film. Disc 2 delivers an assortment of special features such as interviews with Michel Romanoff (assistant director), Marc Godin (Clouzot biographer), the film's star Yves Montand and a look into Clouzot's life with a 2004 documentary "Henri-Georges Clouzot: The Enlightened Tyrant." The most interesting special feature, though, is "Censored," which gives a look at the various cuts made to the film for its United States release. These cuts reflect America's fear of communism, homosexuality and anti-Americanism.