Fear and Desire

Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Year: 1952
Country: U.S.
Language: English

Virtually unseen since its theatrical premiere in 1953, FEAR AND DESIRE was the ambitious first feature film by legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick. An existential war film often compared with the director's PATHS OF GLORY (1957) and FULL METAL JACKET (1987), FEAR AND DESIRE follows a squad of soldiers who have crash-landed behind enemy lines and must work their way downriver to rejoin their unit. In the process, they encounter a peasant girl (Virginia Leith) and bind her to a tree, where she is tormented by a mentally unbalanced soldier (future director Paul Mazursky). Before making their escape, the soldiers determine the location of an enemy base and formulate a plot to assassinate its commanding officer.

"You'll be properly enthralled." - The Village Voice

"its over-all effect is entirely worthy of the sincere effort put into it."- Janet Maslin, The New York Times

"Fear and Desire has a certain fierceness that's hard to shake." - Slant Magazine

"Kino Lorber's forthcoming Fear and Desire Bluray looks great -- natural, clean, straight from the lab... Fear and Desire should be shown to all first-time filmmakers. It will greatly encourage them to know that Kubrick made Paths of Glory only four years later." - Jeffrey Wells, Hollywood Elsewhere.

"The little-seen archival print seemed to be in fine shape, and its 1080p transfer is crisp." - Slant Magazine

"Kino has not only revived one of the most interesting debuts in film, but has also given us a worthwhile release rivaling anything Criterion or WB has done with Kubrick's subsequent films." - CriterionCast

"...a must-see for Kubrick mavens." - Houston Free Press


Cast
Frank Silvera
Paul Mazursky
Virginia Leith
Kenneth Harp
Stephen Coit
Toba Kubrick
David Allen

Crew
Directed by Stanley Kubrick