Paths of Glory (1957)
WMB Rating:
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) 
Loading ...
What an odd movie Paths of Glory is! Only the fourth film from director Stanley Kubrick, this movie goes back and forth from tongue-in-cheek M*A*S*H-like anti-war movie, to out-and-out war movie, to legal drama at the blink of an eye. And it all falls together with Kirk Douglas as the star. Oh, and the entire thing is filmed in a 1930's style which only makes it more interesting, and even more of an enigma.....
Does that make it a bad movie? Hell, no. This is really a good movie, better than I was expecting, actually. Until it started I wasn't even aware of Kubrick's involvement, and it was interesting to see some early work from such a genius as Kubrick.
The film takes place entirely within the French ranks during the first world war. What you're looking at is a tale of how totally stupid concepts such as bravery and cowardice are on the battlefield. You've got an overzealous general who demands that the soldiers under him follow his orders, no matter how dim witted and suicidal they may be, and he wants to make an example for the men who fail to take a German emplacement dubbed "The Anthill."
Well, anyway, the three men really don't deserve to be tried as cowards and mutineers. Especially one who has run afoul of his Sergeant. The trial is an amazing spectacle, and farce of justice, as the men are convicted without a chance. Even though they have Col. Dax (Kirk Douglas) the greatest trial attorney in France before the war, and their division commander on their side. They've been set up, and are summarily executed.
Really the plot isn't so important as the depictions of those concepts of bravery and cowardice. What actually defines those? I would say that the three men facing their ultimate fate prove far braver than the general who would have had the entire unit shelled for not storming "The Anthill." But who am I to judge?
You've got to love vintage Kubrick moments such as General Mireau's pre-battle visit to the trenches, where he randomly stops several soldiers, "Are you ready to kill some Germans today?", that entire scene is just filmed brilliantly, following the general from one end of the trench to the other.
The entire sort-of-noir style that evokes films of an earlier era is quite interesting as well. Kubrick's experimental-ness shows through here, as from the opening credits you know Paths of Glory isn't supposed to look like your average 50's war movie.
Technorati Tags: war movie review, paths of glory, 1957, stanley kubrick, kirk douglas, ralph meeker, joe turkel, world war i 1
 |
Paths of Glory List Price: Sale Price: $5.48 You save: $9.50 (63%)  Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days  |
Description
Safe in their picturesque chateau behind the front lines, the French general staff passes down a direct order to Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas): take the Ant Hill at any cost. A blatant suicide mission, the attack is doomed to failure. Covering up their fatal blunder, the generals order the arrest of three innocent soldiers, charging them with cowardice and mutiny. Dax, a lawyer in civilian life, rises to the men's defense but soon realizes that, unless he can prove that the generals were to blame,nothing less than a miracle will save his clients from the firing squad. A compelling masterpiece from world-class director/writer Stanley Kubrick and screenwriters Calder Willingham and JimThompson, Paths of Glory is a blistering indictment of military politics and "an unforgettable movie experience" (Newsweek).
Stanley Kubrick had already made his talent known with the outstanding racetrack heist thriller The Killing, but it was the 1957 antiwar masterpiece Paths of Glory that catapulted Kubrick to international acclaim. Based on the novel by Humphrey Cobb, developed by Kubrick and starring Kirk Douglas, it would become one of the most powerful films about the wasteful insanity of warfare. In one of his finest roles, Douglas plays Colonel Dax, commander of a battle-worn regiment of the French army along the western front during World War I. Held in their trenches under the threat of German artillery, the regiment is ordered on a suicidal mission to capture an enemy stronghold. When the mission inevitably fails, French generals order the selection of three soldiers to be tried and executed on the charge of cowardice. Dax is appointed as defense attorney for the chosen scapegoats, and what follows is a travesty of justice that has remained relevant and powerful for decades. In the wake of some of the most authentic and devastating battle sequences ever filmed, Kubrick brilliantly explores the political machinations and selfish personal ambitions that result in battlefield slaughter and senseless executions. The film is unflinching in its condemnation of war and the self-indulgence of military leaders who orchestrate the deaths of thousands from the comfort of their luxurious headquarters. For many years, Paths of Glory was banned in France as a slanderous attack on French honor, but it's clear that Kubrick's intense drama is aimed at all nations and all men. Though it touches on themes of courage and loyalty in the context of warfare, the film is specifically about the historical realities of World War I, but its impact and artistic achievement remain timeless and universal. --Jeff Shannon
DVD Information
Binding: DVDAspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: Unrated
Brand: DOUGLAS,KIRK
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
Original Release Date:
Actors:
- Kirk Douglas
- Ralph Meeker
- Adolphe Menjou
- George Macready
- Wayne Morris
Reviews
Related posts:
As is usually the case for a Memorial Day Weekend, several cable/satellite networks will be chock full of classic war movies this coming weekend. Namely Turner Classic Movies, Fox Movie Channel, and AMC. I’m sure there are many more but these are “The B