Kubrick in July: Fear and Desire (1953) 4K Restoration
- Wed, Jul 17
Director: Stanley Kubrick Run Time: 99 min. Rating: NR Release Year: 1953
Starring: Frank Silvera, Kenneth Harp, Paul Mazursky, Stephen Coit, Virginia Leith
Country: United States
Language: English
About the film:
Kubrick’s audacious and too-little-seen feature debut Fear and Desire, made when he was a 24-year-old industry outsider, is the harrowing story of a group of soldiers who, after surviving a plane crash, must embark on a surreal journey to escape from behind enemy lines.
“a thoughtful, often expressive and engrossing view of men who have ‘traveled far from their private boundaries.'”
Recently, the Library of Congress came into possession of 35mm elements of the original 70 minute cut, which was the version shown at the Venice Film Festival on August 18, 1952, under the title Shape of Fear, and which has not been seen since its interrupted theatrical run in 1953. Now, seven decades later, audiences can finally see Fear and Desire as it was first released and witness the tentative blossoming of 23-year-old Stanley Kubrick’s cinematic genius. For decades, the 62 minute version was all that existed of Fear and Desire, which a still dissatisfied Kubrick withheld from release throughout his lifetime, and which Kino Lorber released in 2012. Restored in 4K by Kino Lorber in collaboration with the Library of Congress, from the 35mm original cut negative and the 35mm fine grain master.
About the filmmaker:
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer, frequently cited as one of the most influential filmmakers in cinematic history. With his strict control over details and penchant for working from books, he crafted masterpieces in radically different genres, including Spartacus (1960), Dr. Strangelove (1964), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), A Clockwork Orange (1971), Barry Lyndon (1975), The Shining (1980), Full Metal Jacket (1987), and Eyes Wide Shut (1999).
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