Fear and Desire

Play trailer

Fear and Desire

Released Mar 31, 1953

1h 8m

War

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

70%

Tomatometer

20 Reviews

34%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

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

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Steve Erickson

The Atlantic

... Fear and Desire shows that Kubrick's polished vision didn't emerge from a void. He had to start out with a rough draft first.

Feb 22, 2018

Full Review

Tim Grierson

Village Voice

Treat it like a wobbly, precocious demo from a 24-year-old with mighty aspirations, filled with hints of what he would become, and you'll be properly enthralled.

Mar 27, 2012

Full Review

Nick Schager

Slant Magazine

For all its heavy-handed gloom and stylistic unevenness, Fear and Desire has a certain fierceness that's hard to shake.

Mar 17, 2012

Full Review

Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

It’s a talky, eccentric little movie that no doubt would have puzzled but also intrigued anyone catching it on the bottom half of a double bill...

Apr 1, 2024

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

The picture itself remains a Kubrick curio rather than an integral part of his filmography.

Rated: 2/4

Mar 16, 2024

Full Review

Jeremy Carr

Vague Visages

Fear and Desire is more than just a curio for the Kubrick completist. It is indeed a genuinely revealing work.

Nov 16, 2023

Full Review

Read all reviews

Stephen C

What the flying **** and bull****?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

05/23/25

Full Review

Tom F

As a first-time director’s low budget project, it is understandably clunky and unpleasant. Best viewed as a pupal stage in Kubrick’s development, with themes he would later explore.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/02/25

Full Review

thiago s

filme bacaninha, o roteiro é bacana, os personagens são meio fracos, as cenas de tiro ficou legal, mas teve uma cena quase perto do fim do filme, que o maluco estava no lado de fora da casa com uma espingarda, e ele atirou no cara que estava dentro de casa, através da janela, o cara que rebeceu o tiro caiu de um jeito engraçado. mas mesmo assim o filme é bacaninha.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

10/27/24

Full Review

Mason M

Kubrick's worst film, but a bad Kubrick film is still a good film.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/08/24

Full Review

Robert H

A must see because of the big budget remake in progress - a simple story with twisted characters

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/08/24

Full Review

Eben L

What a Dull, Boring, and Disappointing film, Kubricks first, stinks what kind of stupid war film portrays both sides of war but doesn't tell you which country they are fighting for, 4/10 - 2/5 Stars CONCLUSION: Bad.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

06/18/24

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Stanley Kubrick

Director

Frank Silvera

Sgt. Mac

Paul Mazursky

Pvt. Sidney

Kenneth Harp

Lt. Corby

Stephen Coit

Pvt. Fletcher

Virginia Leith

Young Girl

Paths of Glory

96%

95%

Paths of Glory

Watchlist

The Bridge on the River Kwai

96%

93%

The Bridge on the River Kwai

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Bridge on the River Kwai

Attack!

100%

79%

Attack!

Watchlist

Hell Is for Heroes

86%

74%

Hell Is for Heroes

Watchlist

Pork Chop Hill

88%

72%

Pork Chop Hill

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

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

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Producer: Stanley Kubrick
Screenwriter: Howard Sackler
Distributor: Joseph Burstyn Inc.
Production Co: Kubrick Family
Genre: War, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 31, 1953, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 23, 2017
Runtime: 1h 8m

Most Popular at Home Now