Bryan's Kubrick Project: Fear and Desire (1953)

It all started a few weeks ago.

I was trolling through the channel guide on my cable looking for something to watch when I noticed something peculiar.  Three films by Stanley Kubrick -- The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, and Eyes Wide Shut -- were all going to be on within just a couple hours of each other.  As I pondered which one I'd watch and which ones I'd DVR, I realized something: In all my live, I had only seen a few Kubrick movies all the way through.

Like most relatively movie literate people, I'd seen 2001: A Space Odyssey and Dr. Strangelove several times.  And, of course, I'd seen Spartacus, though most don't consider that to be a "Kubrick" film.  I was pretty sure that I once watched The Shining, though I couldn't remember much about it. But, as I scoured my memory, I couldn't think of any other Kubrick movies that I was at all familiar with.

To be honest, I was a little ashamed.


After all, I consider myself to be one who enjoys the finer cinematic things.  Yet, for one reason or another, I had left this gaping hole in my movie knowledge.  Clearly, something had to be done, which is what has led us this, my latest movie blog project.  I've decided that, over the next few weeks, I'll make my way through Mr. Kubrick's filmography in chronological order and record my thoughts here on the blog.  I've run this by a handful of my regular readers (I do have a few), all of whom seem to think this is a good idea.

Now, I'm well aware that Stanley Kubrick is among the most considered and analyzed filmmakers in the history of the medium.  So, I'm not under any illusions that I'm going to be able to add anything unique or original to the already long conversation about Kubrick.  Still, I hope that what I'm able to come up with will be interesting enough to keep some of you interested.

In preparation for this project, I've read a number of articles and interviews.  And, I watched a so-so documentary called Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures.  To be honest, it was little more than a fluff piece, produced by friends and family members a few years after he died.  Still, absorbing this information has been helpful and I'll continue to do this kind of thing as this process goes on so that my views are at least somewhat coherent.

The initial film in this odyssey of mine (pun intended) is Fear and Desire, Kubrick's first feature.  There's not a whole lot to say about this movie.  It's only about an hour long.  And, it's story is pretty simplistic.

The movie opens with the following voice-over, which pretty much tells you everything you need to know:

There is a war in this forest. Not a war that has been fought, nor one that will be, but any war. And the enemies who struggle here do not exist unless we call them into being. This forrest then, and all that happens now is outside history. Only the unchanging shapes of fear and doubt and death are from our world. These soldiers that you see keep our language and our time, but have no other country but the mind.

If this comes off as a little bit pretentious, that's because it is.

In other words, the film is about a group soldiers in an unnamed war, fighting for an unnamed country, against and unnamed enemy.  Their plane crashes behind enemy lines and they have to devise a plan to get back to their side, navigating through the outposts set up by the opposition.

It's an existential film, supposedly examining the horror and futility of war as a concept, removing from the audience any preconceived notions they might have about the morality (or lack thereof) of any specific war.  It's not a bad idea, but the execution is pretty clumsy.

Aside from the journey out of enemy territory, the movie's only real plot development takes place when the group of soldiers come across a beautiful peasant girl and take her prisoner.  The central conflict of the film takes place when the youngest member in the unit is assigned to stand guard over the prisoner.  Bewitched by her beauty, this young soldier assaults the poor girl and eventually kills all while spouting references to Shakespeare.  The moment is obviously grasping at profundity, but only succeeds and unintentionally provoking chuckles.

It has to be said that Kubrick was only 24 when he made Fear and Desire.  It was financed on loans from his father and his rich uncle.  The script was written by an old high school friend.  If you look at it like a film school project, it's not half bad.  But, as an intended feature, produced with distribution and mass appeal in mind, it just doesn't work.

Still, the film touches on themes that Kubrick would revisit in later works.  And, there are a few moments where his visual savvy shines through, even if the story falls woefully short.

In reading about Fear and Desire, I was surprised to learn that Kubrick had actually tried to suppress it a few years after it came out, burning all the negatives and tracking down additional prints to prevent them from being shown.  The film was finally re-released in 2012, with the help of the Library of Congress, so that movie geeks and Kubrick completists could finally get a look at it.  It's now available in a variety of formats, including YouTube.

 As you can see, this first entry in Bryan' Kubrick Project is a pretty easy one.  I can't say that I'd recommend this film, unless you want to see it for historical purposes.  But, if any of you have any inclination to join me in this exercise, I'd be interested to know your thoughts on Fear and Desire.