After the success of “The French Connection” and “The Exorcist,” William Friedkin became one of the most in-demand filmmakers in Hollywood. Having the option to choose his own projects, he opted to adapt Georges Arnaud’s 1950 novel “The Wages of Fear.” This was the second adaptation of the novel after Henri-Georges Clouzot’s critical darling of the same name, released in 1953, which won both the Golden Bear and the Palme d’Or. While Friedkin admired Clouzot’s work and even dedicated his film “Sorcerer” to Clouzot, the tone and treatment of his film were completely different from the earlier adaptation. In this article, I will discuss the two films and explore how despite being based on the same source material they became two distinct cinematic works.

Clouzot’s film starts in a small town somewhere in Latin America, filled with impoverished foreigners. The most prominent among them are Mario, a...