20 Classics Launched at Cannes

THE WAGES OF FEAR (1953)
Directed by French auteur Henri-George Clouzot (Les Diaboliques), this French-language drama about a guy (Yves Montand) in South America sent to extinguish a fire caused by an American oil company was met with effusive praise when it debuted at the 1953 Cannes fest. It won the Grand Prix (a predecessor to the Palme d'Or), and though some Stateside critics later accused the film of being anti-American (scenes were even cut for the U.S. release), the majority embraced it. Pauline Kael called it ''the most original and shocking French melodrama of the 50s.'' Unfortunately, William Friedkin's American remake, 1977's Sorcerer, was a colossal flop.