FEAR AND DESIRE *

Kubrick hated his first feature, "Fear and Desire", enough to try to suppress it but it has survived and has even been restored. Of course, now it is of considerable historic significance as the first film of one of cinema's greatest directors. The question is, is it as bad as Kubrick thought? Well, it is appallingly acted, (future writer/director Paul Mazursky is one of the cast), and is top-heavy with some dreadful dialogue but it looks good, (as well as directing, Kubrick photographed it and did the editing), and it doesn't take a genius to see that a real film-maker, if a somewhat pretentious one, is at work, even if he is in awe of earlier masters; there are images here that could have come from some of the silent classics. Unfortunately this isn't a silent classic but a 1950's war film and a lame one at that. If anyone other than Kubrick had directed it I might still have said seek it out but as Kubrick's first feature it seems essential and if you think the wooden acting and bad dialogue is too much to take, at least it's mercifully short at 62 minute