Kubrick's Finest

Rating: 9/10 (30 August 2008)

I am no fan of Stanley Kubrick and consider all of the films he made after "Dr. Strangelove" to be cleverly made, imbecilic rubbish. The basic problem was his world-view - apparent in the few interviews he gave - deeply anti-humanist and incredibly arrogant. That the later films are so devoid of intellect or passion may well be why he has become a favourite of so many who want films to be arty without actually being truly difficult. This has little to do with "Paths Of Glory", made before Kubrick had developed the deadened style of those later films. Perhaps the secret ingredient is Kirk Douglas, here at his muscular, intelligent best and obviously deeply committed to the material. The gliding camera in the trenches and the battle scenes are amongst the best filmed moments of 1950's cinema - realistic in a way few English language films of that time were, the only comparison being in Japanese films such as "Fires On The Plain". The film is very cleverly constructed, playing almost as a two-acter of trench and aftermath, with a coda that is surprisingly moving. There are a few gripes, as always, the first one is Kirk's hairdo which is pure 1956, slightly more serious is the loading of the film against the generals - maybe this sort of thing is needed in cinema, but compared to literature it is quite crude. I would disagree with those who see this as an anti-war film - it seems to me to be simply a film that takes place in wartime. It may explore what war can lead men to do, but, like it's hero, there is little suggestion that it explicitly condemns war. Overall I would rank this as a great film, to my mind it is certainly Kubrick's finest.