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Paths of Glory (B&W)
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by MGM (Video & DVD)
Sales Rank: 17887
Price: $9.94
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Stanley Kubrick had already made his talent known with the outstanding racetrack heist thriller <i>The Killing</i>, but it was the 1957 antiwar masterpiece <i>Paths of Glory</i> that catapulted Kubrick to international acclaim. Based on the novel by Humphrey Cobb, the film was initiated by Kirk Douglas, who chose the young Kubrick to direct what 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, <i>Paths of Glory</i> 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. <i>--Jeff Shannon</i>
Viewer Reviews
This is an oft-times overlooked film in the Kubrick canon, and that's something that is unfortunate. At the base, the story is a satire on injustice in the military / injustice in war. It takes on a number of themes all at once, and does so gracefully without ending up looking like a rudderless plot.
Kirk Douglas plays a French colonel (Dax) in World War I. He is one of the few officers in the film who has genuine integrity. As such, he finds himself in conflict with the nefarious actions of his superior officers nearly as much as he is fighting with the Germans. Douglas delivers a fabulous performance as an officer who is torn between duty and honor (always a dubious thing when these two traits clash).
Dax must cope with generals who who are perfectly content to send young men (by the thousands!) to their death in order to secure a promotion & add decorations to their dress uniform. As such, they use their warfighters like pawns on a Chessboard with an utter dis-regard for the safety of the men under their command.
The film also details cowardice and brave men unjustly punished for it. Even worse, using the Roman Legion model of decimation, the French army gives 3 men the facade a courts-martial where the outcome has already been decided. The film is not short on the corruption of power!
This is a film that is as relevant today as it was 50 yrs ago, and is one that every general & admiral should watch - especially if they're on their way to a combat zone. It is a sobering reminder of what happens when officers get too big for their britches.
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Paths of Glory (B&W)
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