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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, 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, 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
Customer Reviews
Kubrick's first - but foreshdowing his style (2007-05-18)  "Paths of Glory", was the work that put young 29 year old Stanley Kubrick "on the map" in terms of his name as a director, and rightfully so. Though slightly dated in its acting style when viewed from a modern perspective, Kubrick creates a very undeniable picture of the realities of war. By opting for a more tragic ending, Kubrick succeeds in undermining the institutions and nobility of war.In spite of some continuity errors that make the film occasionally difficult to follow (for instance the fact that the soldiers are apparently French and the very old soldiers in the final scene), "Paths of Glory" definitely helps reinforce the messages portrayed in other, later Kubrick films.
An unforgettable film! (2004-07-09)  This is one the finest works of Stanley Kubrick. There are few movies in the cinema story so shocking like this. The nasty human condition and the greed of a General makes he sents a command under Kirk Douglas's service to a real suicide. It's imposible reach the desired goal.To save his reputation they are sent to a jury arguing cowardy .This is a heavyweight anti war movie. Kirk Douglas in one of his most powerful roles in his career.A cult movie!A must in your collection.
"Paths of glory lead but to the grave" (2004-05-31) "Paths of Glory" is a beautifully filmed B&W movie by director Stanley Kubrick, and stars Kirk Douglas in one of his finest roles. It is a timeless anti-war movie whose message will not go out of style. Basically, 3 French soldiers are court-martialed to take the blame for a failed suicide attack on the Germans. Although Kirk Douglas commanded the men, he also defends them at the trial. Well acted by all, with excellent photography and direction, this movie currently resides at #39 on the IMDB list.
Preaching to the Choir (2004-05-03) First of all I want to say that I enjoyed this film completely. The problem is I enjoyed the film mostly because I agreed with it and not because it was necessarily an amazing film. I'll try to make that more clear. Films often times have a political or personal message to its audience. I have no problem with this, but I believe a great and successful film is one that leaves a certain ambiguity to its premise. I love a film that allows me to make my own views and provides for an arena of open dialogue. This film is heavy handed. The good guys are good and always good, the bad guys are bad and always bad. War is always bad and the military is always evil. The problem is life, and nothing in it, is ever that simple. It would have been better for the audience to be allowed their own thoughts. The truth is I have strong feelings against warfare and have yet to study about a single war that was necessary. Certainly the war presented here, World War I, could have been avoided. Yet that doesn't necessarily mean that everyone who was responsible for it was a cold hearted sadist twisting their mustache hair hatching a plan to end the world. That I am against war is why I liked it, but I did not like it in terms of aesthetic criteria, complicated story lines and deep layered characters. These elements were lacking because Kubrick was too focussed on making a message. Unfortunately the only ones who will accept this message are ones who already believe in it. In terms of anti-war, Full Metal Jacket is a far superior and more mature film because it presented itself simply and let the audience come up with their own opinions. Paths of Glory straight up tells you want to think and how to think about it. What dissapoints me about this, is that this type of heavy handed style is common in Speilberg, a director I loathe. To see it in Kubrick makes me wish desperately that he would have done something else with this film. It is much easier to see why this narrative is flawed when you watch a film that you disagree with. I think of the film Just Cause. It's a movie that not only supports capital punishment but also police brutality and reinforces stereotypes of the black criminal. I couldn't have hated it more, mostly because of its heavy handed nature. It's just better to let the audience make up their minds rather than handing them their opinions with overly melodramtic scenes and drastically exaggerated story lines. A director should never have the message and theme of the movie in mind when he or she sets out to make it. Motifs and ideologies emerge from a piece naturally through the course of its creation. I can't give it five stars because it only ammounts to preaching to the choir, but I give it four because after all I am in the choir.
"They died well." (2004-04-28) Two years into the First World War close to the French-German front in a well-kept château used as head quarters, General Paul Mireau (George Macready) receives an order to attack the Ant Hill at all costs. At first General Mireau resists the order as he knows it will costs a large amount of lives, but he gives in as General Broulard (Adolphe Menjou) gives him a choice of dishonorably accepting another post together with one more star. General Mireau visits the front where he informs Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas) about the upcoming assault. General Mireau puts Colonel Dax under a similar stressful situation as he was put in the previous evening. Consequently, Dax confirms that he is ready for the assault, which ends up in a suicidal massacre. However, General Mireau views the failure as an result of cowardly behavior and wants to set an example by executing a few chosen men from the battalion. Paths of Glory is an anti-war film that depicts a cold atmosphere experienced by men at war where officers are deciding the value of life and emotion is deemed as weakness. The officers arrogant and neglectful attitude stands out in several scenes throughout the film. For example, the initial scene where two Generals enter a magnificent room one of the General displays his preoccupation with self-importance and pride while men are dying on the front. Another example is how the officers address the death of a few men by saying, "They died well.", which displays their own arrogant beliefs. Overall, Paths of Glory is a brilliantly directed film as it presents logical reasoning supported with strong visual examples that are enhanced by great performances from the cast.
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