Fear and Desire

Little actual tangible terror in a story about what tangible fear does to people. The theme of a fictional war in an unknown territory makes for a clever and interesting backdrop, and Kubrick was already a gifted filmmaker with a great visual imagination, but the script simply doesn't yet match his awakening genius. A number of impressively edited scenes still retain their quality, but many dubious and unconvincing twists, together with unnecessarily philosophising characters bring the whole narrative value down a peg. Anyway, for Stanley fans, an enjoyable hour. 60% (07/03/2016)

A film long lost, deemed by Kubrick himself as an incomplete work. In 2010, an almost complete copy was found, which was restored and which I was fortunate enough to see. The film does have interesting elements. For example, the sound design keeps you on edge, making you feel like you're truly in the midst of war. However, the performances by the actors are somewhat subdued, almost too calm. I was surprised by a few quite amusing scenes that arise from the tense situation of four soldiers in enemy territory. Considering Kubrick had previously only been responsible for short documentaries, this was a leap forward. (25/03/2014)

I don’t know if it’s worth rating such a poor copy, because it’s really terrible. Although it doesn’t prevent you from understanding the story (which is pretty good and has several intense moments), you can’t appreciate any aesthetic values. But it’s certainly not a piece of crap the kind Kubrick would want to erase from the face of the earth. :-) (29/03/2010)