Director · Screenwriter · Producer · 1907–1977

Henri-Georges Clouzot

5: briefs
13:00: average
65 min: in total

On film.briefs5

Diabolique

Henri-Georges Clouzot · 1954

Henri-Georges Clouzot’s 1954 thriller Diabolique follows two women who murder a cruel headmaster, only to confront evidence he has returned. Shot with clinical precision by Armand Thirard and edited by Madeleine Gug, the film sustains dread through confinement, ambiguity, and the unreliability of perception — not gore or score. Its legacy rests on structural influence (notably on Psycho), its Louis Delluc Prize win, and its enduring demonstration that horror begins where consensus ends.

13:00

Le Corbeau

Henri-Georges Clouzot · 1943

Henri-Georges Clouzot’s 1943 thriller Le Corbeau follows the disintegration of a provincial French town under a campaign of anonymous poison-pen letters. Produced by German-owned Continental Films during the Occupation, it was banned by both Vichy and post-war authorities for its unflinching portrayal of collective malice. With Pierre Fresnay and Ginette Leclerc, it uses stark cinematography and procedural pacing to examine how rumour corrodes trust — less a whodunnit than a study in moral contagion.

13:00

Quai des Orfèvres

Henri-Georges Clouzot · 1947

Henri-Georges Clouzot’s 1947 Quai des Orfèvres follows Inspector Antoine’s investigation into the murder of a lecherous businessman, against the backdrop of a rationed, anxious Paris. Built on memory rather than fidelity to its source novel, it centres Jenny Lamour — an ambitious performer — and her jealous husband, weaving class, gender and institutional procedure into its procedural spine. With Louis Jouvet, Suzy Delair and Bernard Blier, it avoids noir theatrics in favour of psychological precision and social texture.

13:00

The Truth

Henri-Georges Clouzot · 1960

A young woman stands trial for murder in 1960s France. Through flashbacks, the film traces her descent from provincial restlessness to Parisian disillusionment, her turbulent relationship with a conductor, and her eventual breakdown — all while lawyers debate not her actions, but what they say about her character. Brigitte Bardot gives a physically exacting performance; Clouzot and his collaborators build a world where emotion is evidence, memory is contested, and justice is procedural, not redemptive.

13:00

The Wages of Fear

Henri-Georges Clouzot · 1953

Henri-Georges Clouzot’s 1953 thriller follows four desperate men hired to drive nitroglycerin across treacherous South American roads. With minimal dialogue and relentless physical detail, it sustains unbearable tension through craft rather than plot — a masterclass in cinematic endurance that won both the Palme d’Or and Golden Bear.