Editing Fear and Desire (section)

==Release==
[[File:Fear and Desire (1952, re-release version).webm|thumb|thumbtime=6|The shorter re-release of ''Fear and Desire'' (1953)]]
The film was first shown in a 70-minute version at the Venice Film Festival on August 18, 1952<ref>{{cite news |url=https://variety.com/2022/film/news/stanely-kubrick-fear-and-desire-venice-1235287953 |title=Venice Film Festival Reconstructs How Stanley Kubrick’s First Film ‘Fear and Desire’ Screened on the Lido |newspaper=Variety |date=June 8, 2022}}</ref> under the title ''Shape of Fear'',  in the section called ''Festival of the Scientific Film and Art Documentary''. It was later picked up for U.S. theatrical release by [[Joseph Burstyn]], a distributor and war veteran who specialized in the presentation of European art house titles.<ref>Nelson, Thomas Allen. ''Kubrick: Inside a Film Artist's Maze''. New and expanded ed. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2000. {{ISBN|0-253-21390-8}}</ref> The film was cut down to 62 minutes<ref>https://www.wamc.org/arts-culture/2024-04-11/kubricks-first-feature-released-in-an-uncut-4k-restoration</ref> and renamed ''Fear and Desire'' and was distributed with the tagline "Trapped ... 4 Desperate Men and a Strange Half-Animal Girl!"<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/93924/fear-and-desire-movie-stanley-kubrick-didnt-want-you-see |title=Fear and Desire: The Movie Stanley Kubrick Didn't Want You to See |date=April 6, 2017 |website=www.mentalfloss.com}}</ref> In an uncredited review following the New York premiere, ''[[The New York Times]]'' noted: "If ''Fear and Desire'' is uneven and sometimes reveals an experimental rather than a polished exterior, its overall effect is entirely worthy of the sincere effort put into it."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1953/04/01/archives/the-screen-in-review-fear-and-desire-tale-of-war-fashioned-by-young.html |title=Fear and Desire, Tale of War Fashioned by Young Film Newcomers, at Guild |newspaper=New York Times |date=April 1, 1953}}</ref>

===Critical response===
Kubrick received praise for ''Fear and Desire'' from film critic and screenwriter [[James Agee]], who reportedly took Kubrick out for a drink and told him, "There are too many good things&nbsp;... to call [''Fear and Desire''] arty."<ref name=FC/> [[Columbia University]] professor [[Mark Van Doren]] sent Kubrick a letter that stated: "The incident of the girl bound to the tree will make movie history once it is seen&nbsp;... Stanley Kubrick is worth watching for those who want to discover high talent at the moment it appears."<ref name="isbn0-306-80906-0">{{cite book |author=LoBrutto, Vincent |title=Stanley Kubrick: A Biography |publisher=Da Capo Press |location=New York |year=1999 |isbn=0-306-80906-0}}</ref>

''Fear and Desire'' was not a box office success, and Kubrick had to take a for-hire job directing the promotional short ''[[The Seafarers]]'' on behalf of the [[Seafarers International Union]] in order to raise funds for his next planned feature, ''[[Killer's Kiss]]'' (1955), which was co-written by Kubrick and Howard Sackler and star [[Frank Silvera]], one of the ''Fear and Desire'' actors.<ref name=PD />

===Disappearance and rediscovery===
In the years following its release, ''Fear and Desire'' seemed to have disappeared. Distributor Joseph Burstyn died in November 1953 on a trans-Atlantic flight, and his company went out of business. Kubrick tried to burn the film's original negative<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://nofilmschool.com/kubrick-burn-negatives |title=''Why Did Kubrick Try to Burn the Negatives of This Movie?''|date=2017-04-06 |access-date=2021-06-14 |language=en}}</ref> and sought to destroy any leftover prints after the failed film fell out of circulation following Burstyn's death.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/93924/fear-and-desire-movie-stanley-kubrick-didnt-want-you-see |title=''Fear and Desire'': The Movie Stanley Kubrick Didn't Want You to See |date=2017-04-06 |access-date=2018-07-23 |language=en}}</ref> However, some prints of the film remained in private collections.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newslibrary.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=WORB&p_theme=worb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=1056175F5B68D773&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date%3AD&s_trackval=GooglePM |title="Here's wishing these DVDs would soon hit the shelves", Observer-Reporter, November 14, 2003 (fee access required) |work=Observer-Reporter |date=November 14, 2003}}</ref>

''Fear and Desire'' had its first retrospective screening at the 1993 [[Telluride Film Festival]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.variety.com/article/VR110373.html?categoryid=5&cs=1 |title="1.Dark subjects can't blight artists' light at Telluride", ''Variety'', September 10, 1993 |first=Todd |last=McCarthy |date=September 10, 1993}}</ref> In January 1994, the [[Film Forum]], a [[nonprofit]] art and revival theater in lower Manhattan, announced plans to show ''Fear and Desire'' on a double bill with ''Killer's Kiss''. Although the film's copyright lapsed and the property was in the [[public domain]], thus allowing it to be shown without fear of legal actions, Kubrick tried to discourage it from gaining an audience. Through [[Warner Brothers]], Kubrick issued a statement that severely downplayed the film's value, and he called ''Fear and Desire'' "a bumbling amateur film exercise".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/doc/0047.html |title="Fear & Desire Plays New York," National Public Radio, January 19, 1994 (transcript)}}</ref>

There were very few public screenings of ''Fear and Desire''; the only commercially available print belonged to the [[George Eastman House]] in [[Rochester, New York]]. Among the rare presentations were a 1993 screening at the [[Library of Congress]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], a 2003 one-time screening at the Two Boots Den of Cin in New York City and an August 2008 presentation at the [[Wexner Center for the Arts]] in [[Columbus, Ohio]].<ref name=FT /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.newslibrary.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_sort=YMD_date%3AD&p_product=NR&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_text_direct-0=0F56FF0EAA5D0D8D&p_topdoc=1&d_origin=transcripts&p_theme=nr&s_trackval=GooglePM&p_perpage=10&z=NR |title="PROFILE: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS TO SHOW RARELY SEEN STANLEY KUBRICK FILMS ON JULY 26th, WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN HIS 71ST BIRTHDAY", NPR, July 15, 1999, (fee-based access) |publisher=Nl.newsbank.com |date=1999-07-15 |access-date=2011-02-25}}</ref> Additionally, some clips from the film were included in the 2001 documentary ''[[Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures]]''.

In 2010, an original copy of the film was discovered at a [[Puerto Rico|Puerto Rican]] film laboratory.<ref>{{cite web |author=e-TF1 |url=http://www.excessif.com/cinema/actu-cinema/news/fear-and-desire-le-premier-film-de-kubrick-retrouve-6078144-760.html |title=Fear and Desire: le premier film de Kubrick retrouvé! – Les actus Cinéma |publisher=Excessif |access-date=2011-02-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716180733/http://www.excessif.com/cinema/actu-cinema/news/fear-and-desire-le-premier-film-de-kubrick-retrouve-6078144-760.html |archive-date=2011-07-16}}</ref>

On December 14, 2011, [[Turner Classic Movies]] aired a print restored by George Eastman House.

[[Kino International (company)|Kino Video]] released a [[DVD]] and [[Blu-ray Disc|Blu-ray]] on October 23, 2012,<ref>[https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Fear-and-Desire-Blu-ray/52414/#Review Fear and Desire Blu-ray]. ''blu-ray.com''</ref> and it was released the following year by British company Eureka Entertainment as part of its [[Masters of Cinema]] line.

In 2023, a 35mm print of the original 70-minute Venice premiere cut was discovered.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20241110021440/https://festival.ilcinemaritrovato.it/en/film/fear-and-desire/</ref> The film was restored in 4K by the Library of Congress and Kino Lorber, using both the original camera negative and the newly found print. It was released on a 4K UHD Blu-Ray in 2024.<ref>https://kinolorber.com/product/fear-and-desire-4kuhd</ref>