The very first image is of cockroaches
scampering on the ground, tied to strings that a boy manipulates.
Rarely has a movie begun with such an obvious if potent metaphor
for what ensues in the next two and a half hours. But "The
Wages of Fear," Henri-Georges Clouzot’s masterly 1953 exploration
of exploitation, greed and courage amid horrid conditions, actually
manages to live up to, and even surpass, that grimy beginning.
As the centerpiece of BAMcinematek’s series "Murder and
Malice: Henri-Georges Clouzot," "The Wages of Fear"
(showing Feb. 19) is one of those movies that, once seen, is
never forgotten. Watching four criminals haul trucks loaded with
nitroglycerine over forbidding Central American terrain might
not seem like most viewers’ idea of a good time, and it’s definitely
not. But that wasn’t Clouzot’s intent: instead, he created one
of the greatest suspense pictures ever made, and its lasting
legacy is more than the mere fact that it made French heartthrob
Yves Montand into an international star.
Simply put, "The Wages of Fear" is the perfect coalescing
of brilliant photography (by Armand Thirard), atmospheric music
(by the great composer Georges Auric) and razor-sharp editing
(by the trio of Madeleine Gug, E. Muse and Henri Rust). It also
contains several sequences that are among the most goosebump-inducing
ever committed to celluloid. I dare you to try not to fall out
of your seat as you squirm while watching the men attempt to
cross a rickety wooden bridge, get rid of a huge boulder in their
path or drive through a quickly rising pool of mucky oil.
Even though it was a success everywhere it played, the version
originally shown in America was heavily cut because of its anti-capitalist
themes and dialogue. Needless to say, the original, 150-minute
"Wages of Fear" – which is what BAM is showing – is
a masterpiece.
The following year came another classic: "Diabolique"
(showing Feb. 26). Starring the director’s wife Vera Clouzot
and Simone Signoret, "Diabolique" is a nail-biting
thriller that spawned countless imitators. It even influenced
Hitchcock himself, especially Hitch’s own bizarre classic, "Psycho."
If you’ve only seen the tepid 1995 remake with Sharon Stone and
Isabelle Adjani, you owe it to yourself to see the original,
which does for bathtubs what "Psycho" did for showers.
The last 10 minutes of Clouzot’s "Diabolique" are among
the most heart-pounding in movie history: even the many rip-offs
that have since come in its wake have not dulled its impact.
The other entries in the series consolidate Clouzot’s reputation
as a talented maker of thrillers. "The Raven" (1943),
opening the series Feb. 18, was only the young director’s second
feature, but it already showed him to be a master of the genre
with its creepy story of a French village’s response to an anonymous
sender of poison-pen letters that threaten seemingly every prominent
person in the village – particularly one Dr. Germain. The parallels
between the movie’s characters and the then-ongoing Nazi occupation
of France were painful for many to stomach.
Still another terrific film noir thriller is 1947’s "Quai
des Orfevres" (showing Feb. 27), starring Louis Jouvet as
a police inspector investigating an underworld murder. (The film’s
title refers to the address of the investigative branch of the
Paris police.) The sordid atmosphere of the Parisian dance hall
locations adds immeasurably to its success.
"Manon" (Feb. 25) is Clouzot’s 1949 adaptation about
the squalid life of the beautiful prostitute whose eventual decline
climaxes in her death; and the director’s penultimate film, 1960’s
"La Verite" (showing Feb. 24), stars sex kitten Brigitte
Bardot in a role that showed that, yes, she could act. The script
was cowritten by Clouzot and wife Vera, who died that same year
at age 46 of a heart attack, a circumstance eerily similar to
the demise of her "Diabolique" character.
Though Clouzot was often called "The French Hitchcock,"
that moniker ignores the fact that Clouzot was a filmmaker of
great finesse and variety. What closes the BAM series is a case
in point.
"The Mystery of Picasso" (showing March 2) is a fascinating
experiment: filming a great artist as he paints in an attempt
to divine how art is created. The 1956 movie’s spoken introduction
begins by lamenting the fact that there is no record of Rimbaud’s
thoughts as he wrote his poetry or Mozart as he composed his
symphonies; however, painters can be captured in the act of creating,
and it’s more visually interesting to boot.
Picasso paints many canvases in "The Mystery of Picasso";
at the age of 75 and showing off his still formidable physique
(he’s bare-chested), his ego is as large as ever. Clouzot’s camera
simply records what the man is painting, even if it is, literally,
throwaway stuff. (Picasso made the director swear that everything
he painted during shooting would be destroyed afterwards, to
exist only on film.) A beautiful paean to the mysteries of art,
"The Mystery of Picasso" is a wonderful finish to a
great director’s career.
"Murder and Malice: Henri-Georges
Clouzot" runs at the BAMcinematek (30 Lafayette Ave. at
Ashland Place in Fort Greene) from Feb. 18 to March 2. Tickets
are $10. For a complete list of films, screening dates and times,
call (718) 636-4100 or visit the Web site at www.bam.org.
