Fear and Desire

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1h 8m

War

Drama

List

70%

20 Reviews

Tomatometer

35%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

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

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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

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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

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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

Yash B

"Fear and Desire" is a pretty solid start for Stanley Kubrick's filmography. It definitely feels lower budget and less ambitious than his films that came after, but I respected how even early on this movie presented some complex ideas that would be explored in Kubrick's war films later on. I do feel it is oddly paced for a movie that is just one hour and sometimes it is just too uncomfortable, but I see what it was going for. Overall, any Kubrick completionist.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/23/24

Full Review

Robert R

Stanley's directorial debut isn't his best work, but still worth seeing.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/05/23

Full Review

Josh G

It's a very simple and prophetic film that has a small cast with interesting but run of the mill premise. The moral compass is fascinating as it explores war, life and success and drifting along . Well put together and good effort for a debut. It won't blow your mind but still good.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/18/23

Full Review

lise l

Dark little gem. Much shorter, much more quiet and probably much, much cheaper than Apocalypse Now but some of the same mix of meaningless war and insanity.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Stanley Kubrick’s first outing may not be his best but for the budget he had made a decent movie that gets it point across, and depicting the hardship of any war.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/12/22

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Synopsis

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

Director: 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

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