Short Snappy Anti-War Film

Rating: 10/10 (3 May 2008)

Paths of Glory is good early example of Stanley Kubrick's ability as a writer and director. It also offers Kirk Douglas' best performance.
Paths of Glory was based on a novel by Humphrey Cobb, a novel with a strong anti-war stance. The film is during the First World War and the French attempted an unsuccessful attack on a well defended German position. General Mireau (George Macready) who ordered the attack was looking for promotion and when the attack fails he ordered the artillery to attack his own side which they refused to do. He was so angry that he wanted 100 men shot for their failure. It was then decided that 3 men were going to used as examples. Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas) was the officer who led the attack in the field. He ended up leading because he was threaten with removal from his position if he didn't lead it. After the attack he representatives his soldiers in a show trial. He was a lawyer in civilian life and he makes a good case, but he was fighting the French military establishment.
The film is shows that the trenches were unpleasant and that the French General held the rank-and-file troops and life in general with little rearguard. It had such impact that it was banned in France and Spain when it was under Franco. It is still banned in countries that are under military rule. The film does not drag out the story and tells it very quickly: its running time is one hour and twenty minutes. Great if you got a short attention span. The film has some good scenes and Kubrick like always pays great attention to details. You get to see the horrors of the trenches compared to the luxury that the French generals lived in. They are good performances in the film, but it is Kirk Douglas who is the most noticeable in the film. He last scene with General Broulard is particularly good. At the end there is also a nice little German song by Christiane Harlan, who latter becomes Stanley's wife in real life.
Paths of Glory is worth watching, no matter what your politics and what your thoughts of Kubrick and Douglas.