“The Wages of Fear” The genius William Friedkin’s greatest yet tragic masterpiece

How did the genius Friedkin come to film ``The Wages of Fear''?

Friedkin is a genius who has made many masterpieces, but there is no doubt that it was " The French Connection " (1971) and " The Exorcist " (1973) that established his name. However, in 1976, Friedkin was apparently racking his brains over what to film next. It was only natural, as he had made two great masterpieces that would go down in film history in succession. He described his feelings at the time as follows:

"I didn't want to do occult or detective stuff anymore, but I wanted to move away from my newfound comfort and try something darker, more grungy, like the existentialist films I like (directed by John Huston). I started to want to work on a work like `` Gold '' (1948).

What Friedkin ended up with was Clouzot's ``The Wages of Fear,'' which he had seen 20 years ago and was deeply moved by. However, it was not intended to be just a remake.

``I wanted to change the characters and episodes from Clouzot's masterpiece, and I wanted to compete with a completely original script rather than a remake.This is a drama about unreliable men who continue to fight to survive against unpredictable fate.'' is."

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Friedkin has made portraying the madness of people obsessed with delusions an important theme. A detective who will stop at nothing to hunt down a criminal, a priest who is passionate about fighting demons, and even in recent short works such as `` BUG '' (2006) and ``Killer Sniper'' (11), the characters' demonic spirit approaches you. Delusion was the driving force behind his work, and it was Friedkin's signature that kept us glued to the screen. In ``The Wages of Fear,'' he also fights to the death in the jungles of South America to bring madness to the screen.

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