Episode 094: Stanley Kubrick’s “Fear and Desire” and “Killer’s Kiss”
A discussion of Stanley Kubrick’s 1953 film, “Fear and Desire” and 1955 film, “Killer’s Kiss.”
A young photographer quit his steady job with Look Magazine and decided to become a filmmaker, with little to no money to start his new career. Stanley Kubrick made his directorial debut with “Fear and Desire” in 1953, but with an amateurish approach to directing, the film was less than satisfactory. Two year later in 1955, Stanley Kubrick released a more refined film in “Killer’s Kiss,” but suffered from padding the story to get the film to a meager 62 minutes. But still, with “Killer’s Kiss,” it showed unlimited potential from his young filmmaker.
Why did Stanley Kubrick take his first film, “Fear and Desire” out of circulation? What did Stanley Kubrick do to improve the overall look and feel from his first to second film? And what ethical dilemmas, if any, come from viewing his first film, “Fear and Desire?”
Stanley Kubrick’s “Fear and Desire” and “Killer’s Kiss” are the subjects of episode 94 of the AuteurCast…
I went a friend’s wedding last fall and during the wedding reception, he and the best man did a reenactment of the Kirk/Spock fight from “Amok Time”, complete with the fake Vulcan weapons and the Gerald Fried music. I laughed quite a bit.