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Amazon.co.uk Review
On the DVD: Paths of Glory on disc reproduces well in full-screen format, and Gerald Fried's bitingly ironic score comes through powerfully. There are five dubbed and six subtitled languages. The original trailer is a masterpiece of gritty reportage, well worth reviving. Along with Dr Strangelove and 2001, this is Kubrick's most focussed and durable film. --Richard Whitehouse
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Early Glorious Effort from The Genius,
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This review is from: Paths Of Glory [DVD] [1957] (DVD)
Exciting, enthralling, action-packed and moving, this is one of Kubrick's finest, and a brilliant war film to rankle alongside and even surpass the likes of 'A Bridge Too Far' and 'All Quiet on the Western Front'. The story of an ill-fated French attack on an invulnerable German position during the First World War, where the ordinary soldier is blamed instead of the blundering general may be a cliche by now, but it is so beautifully shot, written and told that it is a timeless classic.
The script and story is excellent, and particularly well delivered by the likes of Douglas, Macready and Meeker, who all fill in excellently. But the star of the show is undoubtably Kubrick, whose direction of the attack with a panning camera following Douglas and his men with shells exploding all around is a just a treat for the eyes. In turn, shots of the trenches, following the general from the front as he marches through the trenches with the military drumbeats in the background as he inspects the weary men, or the close ups of gritty, fearing soldiers are just excellent. If you like Kubrick, or even if you just like great films, then you'll love Paths of Glory.
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Indictment of War...Affirmation of Humanity,
By
This review is from: Paths Of Glory [DVD] [1957] (DVD)
It has been almost 50 years since this anti-war film appeared, one which was banned in France until 1970. It is based on Humphrey Cobb's novel. Directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Kirk Douglas who also produced it, the film examines a fictional (but nonetheless wholly believable) situation during World War One when French troops are ordered to achieve an impossible military objective: Climb and secure the "Ant Hill," a heavily-fortified German position. Of course the troops are decimated. Whom to blame? General Broulard (Adolph Menjou) who gave the order? The troops' general, General Mireau (George MacReady), whose career ambitions overcame his doubts about the order? The officer (Colonel Dax) who led the attack? General Broulard gives a second order: Select three of the survivors, charge them with cowardice, give them a perfunctory military trial, and then execute them. Their commanding officer is Colonel Dax (Douglas) who had been an attorney in civilian life. He is ordered to be the defense counsel. After the inevitable verdict, the three representatives are executed by a firing squad. Kubrick presents all this on film as if it were a documentary of actual events. Appropriately, he filmed it in black-and-white, in part to dramatize the obvious juxtapositions of right and wrong, good and evil, justice and injustice, etc. The battlefield carnage is extensive but not gratuitous. For me, the insensitivity, indeed inhumanity of the two generals -- far removed from combat in luxurious comfort -- is far more upsetting than the assault on the "Ant Hill." The men who followed orders and lost their lives or their limbs may have died in vain but at least died with honor, if not glory. Kubrick leaves absolutely no doubt about the generals who sent them into battle. Colonel Dax understands the need for military discipline. Orders must be followed. He eventually realizes that no matter how logical and eloquent his defense, the three men are doomed as were so many of their comrades were while climbing the "Ant Hill." Dax also realizes Broulard and Mireau will never be held accountable for the order nor for denying any responsibility for its tragic consequences. Dante reserved the worst ring in hell for those who, in a moral crisis, preserved their neutrality. Kubrick ensures that Menju and MacReady portray Broulard and Mireau not as neutral accomplices but as agents of evil: a more dangerous adversary than the one their troops face in battle. Is conscience among war's victims? That is certainly not true of Dax. He did everything he could to save the three men. He leaves absolutely no doubt in the minds of Generals Broulard and Mireau what he thinks of them, both as officers and as human beings. However, they are his military superiors and the war continues after the executions. I mention all this by way of suggesting a context for my opinion that the final scene in the cafe has a very important purpose: to communicate Kubrick's reassurance to those who see his film that even amidst war's death and mutilation, the very best of human instincts somehow prevail. They cannot be defeated by the "Ant Hill," nor by Broulard and Mireau and their obscene abuse of military justice. In my opinion, that is what Dax realizes in the cafe as he and other soldiers listen to a terrified girl sing. And that is the final "message" which Kubrick seems determined to leave with his audience.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Kubrick's Best,
By
This review is from: Paths Of Glory [DVD] [1957] (DVD)
Superlative anti-war film on a par with Renoir's "La Grande Illusion" and Milestone's "All Quiet On the Western Front" sees Kirk Douglas(in one of his best performances) as a captain defending three soldiers on charges of cowardice after they are made scapegoats for a suicidal mission that fails.Shattering critique on the insanity of war is incredibly moving especially in that final scene,one of the greatest in cinema history.This was Kubrick at his greatest before he followed David Lean into bloated epics.
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