8.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
In a squalid South American oil town, four desperate men sign on for a suicide mission to drive trucks loaded with nitroglycerin over a treacherous mountain route. As they ferry their explosive cargo to a faraway oil fire, each bump and jolt tests their courage, their friendship, and their nerves.
Starring: Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Folco Lulli, Peter van Eyck, Véra ClouzotDrama | 100% |
Foreign | 80% |
Psychological thriller | 18% |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
French: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Henri-Georges Clouzot's "The Wages of Fear" a.k.a. "Le salaire de la peur" (1953) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the British Film Institute. The supplemental features on the disc include restored original trailer for the film; new video interview with professor Lucy Mazdon; new audio commentary by critic Adrian Martin; archival interview with assistant director Michel Romanoff; recorded audio conversation with actor Yves Montand; and more. The release also arrives with a 20-page illustrated booklet featuring a new essay by Andy Miller, original reviews by Karel Reisz and Penelope Houston, appreciation of Henri-Georges Clouzot by Paul Ryan, and technical credits. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Jo
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Henri-Georges Clouzot's The Wages of Fear arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the BFI.
The release is sourced from a new 4K restoration of the film that was completed by TF1 in France. It was first introduced in the Classics section of the Cannes Film Festival. More importantly, the new restoration actually reinstates approximately 5 minutes of additional footage. (For reference, the new 4K restoration runs at approximately 153 minutes/02:32:45, while the old North American release from Criterion runs at approximately 148 minutes/02:28:09). Obviously, the new restoration should be considered the longest version of the film in existence.
The quality of the restoration work is outstanding and there are substantial improvements in all major areas that we typically scrutinize in our reviews. I think that folks with very large screens (75' and up) and especially those that project will see some quite dramatic improvements in terms of depth and delineation. (See screencaptures #12 and 16 and compare them with the corresponding screencaptiures from the previous review that we have in our database). For example, there is plenty of background detail that is far better defined and as result clarity and overall fluidity are actually far more pleasing. The grading is also very convincing. During the darker/indoor footage blacks, grays, and whites appear wonderfully balanced and support plenty of fine nuances (see screencaptures #3 and 13). Grain is finer and better resolved. There are a few segments with minor density fluctuations, but it is quite easy to tell that they are introduced by age-related limitations, not improper digital work. Image stability is very good. I spotted a few minor blemishes that could have been removed, but there are no distracting large debris, cuts, damage marks, warped, or torn frames to report. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French LPCM 1.0 (with small portions of English). Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.
I did a few comparisons with the lossless track from the North American release I would have to say there are some small but noticeable improvements in the middle range. When the trucks are moving forward it appears that perhaps balance or depth are marginally better. It is difficult for me to tell with absolute certainty, but it sounds like the audio is marginally better rounded. Overall dynamic activity, however, remains the same. There are no audio dropouts or distortion to report in our review.
There are two important bits of information about this new release of Henri-Georges Clouzot's The Wages of Fear from the British Film Institute that should be made very clear. The first is that it is sourced from a brand new 4K restoration of the film, not a refurbished master, that was completed by TF1 in France. The second is that the new restoration reinstates additional footage from the original French theatrical version of the film, which now makes it the longest version of the film on the market. I think that the restoration is wonderful and its transition to Blu-ray is equally impressive. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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