Kubrick’s Third: “The Killing”

I’m on a roll. I just watched Stanley Kubrick’s third movie, The Killing. This is another film noir, this time with a “big heist” theme. I found this far more entertaining than his second movie, another film noir, Killer’s Kiss. And this, like his first two movies, is also just a bit longer than an hour. I still think Fear and Desire (his first film) is the most interesting of his early attempts and feels the most like a Kubrick film (though “rougher” than his later work). Kubrick apparently considered The Killing to be his first more mature effort, and perhaps that’s true in a “filmmaker’s craft” sort of way. It just isn’t all that compelling of a story. Again, Fear and Desire, for me, is the most compelling of the first three films. I’m looking forward to watching his fourth movie, which I hope feels more like the mature Kubrick that I know and love.

Kubrick’s second: “Killer’s Kiss”

Continuing my Stanley Kubrick deep dive, I just watched his second film, Killer’s Kiss. This is a film noir from 1955, just a bit longer than an hour. The main character is a boxer; I have a soft spot for boxing movies that probably comes from watching Rocky as a kid. My favorite thing about the film, aside from the general “noir-ness” of it, is the really interesting and unusually shot boxing scenes. Kubrick wrote this story, which I have to confess I found underwhelming. I thought his first film (Fear and Desire) was far more interesting as a psychological thriller. But visually I can see the improvements from first movie to second. Overall, though, Fear and Desire was a better watch, and felt more like Kubrick to me.

A deep dive… into Kubrick?

Sometimes I go down a rabbit hole. It usually starts out randomly. In this case, I was reading an article about Christmas movies that aren’t really Christmas movies, but are set during Christmastime. One of these movies, maybe the least Christmas-y of all, is Eyes Wide Shut, Stanley Kubrick’s last film. I remember seeing that movie in the theater. It got very mixed reviews. I remember that it was very creepy, but strangely compelling. I’ve watched it several times over the years, and like most Kubrick films it has all sorts of details that you can’t notice the first time you watch it. I think it’s very underrated. I consider it to be one of Kubrick’s best.

Filming *Fear and Desire,* Kubrick to right.

But now I’m determined to watch all of Kubrick’s movies in chronological order. The first is a 1952 film, just an hour long. It’s called Fear and Desire, and it’s a (not surprisingly) anti-war (not surprisingly) psychological thriller of sorts. It reminds me of The Twilight Zone, but of course it predates that show. I wonder if Rod Serling was influenced by it at all?

If you like, you can watch it online for free at this link.

I love the opening narration (not written by Kubrick):

There is a war in this forest. Not a war that has been fought, nor one that will be, but any war. And the enemies who struggle here do not exist unless we call them into being. This forest then, and all that happens now is outside history. Only the unchanging shapes of fear and doubt and death are from our world. These soldiers that you see keep our language and our time, but have no other country but the mind.
Fear and Desire