Fear & Desire

Starring: Frank Silvera, Kenneth Harp, Paul Mazursky, et al.

Product Description

Four soldiers find themselves behind enemy lines after their plane is shot down during the war. Desperate to elude the enemy, the men attempt to build a raft. They are approached by a strange peasant girl speaking a language unfamiliar to them. Rather than try to communicate, they tie the beautiful girl to a tree. As the hours drag on, the increasingly-anxious soldiers are driven to the brink of madness by their fear of being captured...a fear that will drive them to do unspeakable things...In 1953, twenty-four-year-old Stanley Kubrick was still best known as a photographer for Look magazine. What he really wanted, however, was to be a filmmaker. With the financial assistance of his wealthy uncle Martin Perveler, the owner of a chain of drug stores, Kubrick amassed $10,000 to shoot Fear and Desire, from a script written by his friend Howard Sackler (later to win a Pulitzer Prize for his play The Great White Hope, made into a movie in 1970 starring James Earl Jones and Jane Alexander.) Filming took place in the San Gabriel Mountains with a production crew of just 15 people. Actors included Paul Mazurksy, at the time performing in an off-Broadway production of He Who Gets Slapped, and artist's model Virginia Leith. In the years to come, Mazursky would garner acclaim as a writer and director himself, with films such as Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969), Harry and Tonto (1974) and An Unmarried Woman (1978). Virginia Leith would become best known for playing the doomed disembodied head in the notorious cult classic The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962). Despite a shoot plagued by mishaps, including Kubrick accidentally spraying the cast with pesticide while trying to create a fog effect, filming was completed in two to three weeks. The relative lack of budget meant Kubrick had to shoot silent, however, and the resulting addition of sync sound and music ate up an additional $53,000, which Kubrick only procured by agreeing to serve as assistant director on a five-part biography of Abraham Lincoln for the television series Omnibus. Upon its release, Fear and Desire drew praise for its dreamlike imagery and stunning cinematography from critics such as James Agee, Curtis Harrington, and Mark Van Doren, but Kubrick soon became ashamed of its low-budget nature, deeming it an amateurish effort. However, it is easy to see the first flowering of the amazing genius that would come to fruition in his unforgettable classics Spartacus (1960), Lolita (1962), Dr. Strangelove (1964), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), A Clockwork Orange (1971), and The Shining (1980). To understand Kubrick, Fear and Desire is mandatory viewing.

• Format: DVD
• UPC: 089218835796
• Release Date: January 1
• Rating: Not Rated
• Publisher: Alpha Video
• Director: Stanley Kubrick
• Starring: Frank Silvera, Kenneth Harp, Paul Mazursky, Stephen Colt
• Runtime: 1 hour, 12 minutes
• Number of Disks: 1
• Other Video Info: ntsc
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 5.4" x 7.5" x 0.7"

Customer Reviews

Do Not Listen To Any Other Review About Fear And Desire!

Here is my review: you're probably here just because of the film Kubrick made so that is what you will get. No, Kubrick didn't use the rafts from Werner Herzog's Aguirre so I don't understand why this wannabe film buff says there is with quotes??? This is one of Kubrick's many military films and you wont be disappointed if this is the film you're looking for. I'm not here to ramble subjectivity or a film review so either go watch the film first, or buy it here for cheap and please ignore all other reviews here, as this is the most objective one written. And Kubrick did not like his own film yet here it is waiting to be watched by all. Once again, ignore any reviews featured on this item as here is a silly review someone wrote in which I've included below: "Once upon a time in the forest. By bernie4444, August 7 Produced by Stanley Kubrick. However, it has been suggested that Stanley Kubrick did not like it. It is a tale loosely based on “The Tempest” by William Shakespeare. David Allen, narrator: “There is war in this forest, not a war that has been fought or will be, but any war.” Four soldiers are stranded behind enemy lines. They struggle with coming home and such fundamental things as Fear and Desire. Stilted lines that were dubbed in later. But nice and gory fight scenes. Even gorier eating scene. Wet women appear. And a raft right out of “Aguirre, the Wrath of God” (1972). We deal with fundamental military idioms such as “commanders’ intent” and “target of opportunity.” Do they get home, and are they the same?"

Once upon a time in the forest.

Produced by Stanley Kubrick. However, it has been suggested that Stanley Kubrick did not like it. It is a tale loosely based on “The Tempest” by William Shakespeare. David Allen, narrator: “There is war in this forest, not a war that has been fought or will be, but any war.” Four soldiers are stranded behind enemy lines. They struggle with coming home and such fundamental things as Fear and Desire. Stilted lines that were dubbed in later. But nice and gory fight scenes. Even gorier eating scene. Wet women appear. And a raft right out of “Aguirre, the Wrath of God” (1972). We deal with fundamental military idioms such as “commanders’ intent” and “target of opportunity.” Do they get home, and are they the same?