Fear and Desire (1953)

Four soldiers trapped behind enemy lines must confront their fears and desires.

Director:

Stanley Kubrick

Writer:

Howard Sackler

Stars:

Frank Silvera, Kenneth Harp, Paul Mazursky

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
Frank Silvera	...	Mac
Kenneth Harp	...	Lt. Corby / The General
Paul Mazursky	...	Sidney
Stephen Coit	...	Fletcher / The Captain (as Steve Coit)
Virginia Leith	...	The Girl
David Allen	...	Narrator (voice)

Storyline

A ficticious war in an unidentified country provides the setting for this drama. Four soldiers survive the crash-landing of their plane to find themselves in a forest six miles behind enemy lines. The group, led by Lt. Corby, has a plan: They'll make their way to a nearby river, build a raft, and then, under cover of night, float back to friendly territory. Their plans for getting back safely are sidetracked by a young woman who stumbles across them as they hide in the woods, and by the nearby presence of an enemy general who one member of the group is determined to kill.

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Plot Keywords:

directorial debut | building raft | behind enemy lines | forest | raft | 

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Taglines:

Trapped... 4 Desperate Men and a Strange Half-Animal Girl!

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

1 April 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Shape of Fear

Filming Locations:

San Gabriel Mountains, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$33,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kubrick Family

Technical Specs

Runtime:

62 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After Kubrick's assistant, Leon Vitali, discovered a 35mm print of "Fear and Desire" in Stanley's private screening room, Kubrick made him promise that he would never watch it. To this day, Leon Vitali still has not seen the movie and reassures that "Stanley really, really hated that movie. He absolutely loathed it."

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Goofs

When Mac looks from the raft to the house, there are no people in front of it. However. the close shot shows four guards.

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Quotes

Private Fletcher: I guess I'm not - built for this.
Lieutenant Corby: Nobody ever was. It's all a trick we perform when we'd rather not die - immediately.

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Connections

Referenced in 1 Versus 100 (2018)

User Reviews

Not Bad

Fear and Desire (1953)

** (out of 4)

Stanley Kubrick's first feature film isn't nearly as bad as some reviews have said and I'm really not sure why he doesn't want the public to see this one. Four soldiers are shot down behind enemy lines and must face their fears in order to survive. The film has an extremely low budget, which hurts matters but it's interesting enough to see Kubrick working on his technique. The camera-work by Kubrick is certainly the highlight and there's some nice editing along the way.

As of today the Kubrick estate hasn't released any of his shorts but you can find the online at various places.