Needlessly sacrificing other's for one's own glory

Rating: 9/10 (18 January 2018)

Stanley Kubrick's potent anti-war classic comes down super hard on the intrinsic cruelty and unfairness of the bleakly efficient military machine in which the arrogant top brass are more concerned about enhancing their lofty statuses and saving face with the public than they care about the grim plight of the hapless common foot soldiers who are sent to certain deaths by being forced to carry out mpossible missions for the sake of said top brass's own overinflated egos and self-advancement within the ranks: One can't help but feel infuriated when the ruthlessly ambitious General Paul Mireau (a marvelously haughty portrayal by George Macready) orders his own men to be shot when they fail to follow through with taking a heavily fortified area. Indeed, Kubrick astutely captures not only the brutality of war, but also the frequent absurdity and futility of same in both the harrowing combat scenes and at the shattering climax in which three innocent men are executed just so those in charge can prevent themselves from feeling disgraced.
Kirk Douglas contributes a wonderfully impassioned performance as the idealistic Colonel Dax, who makes a game, albeit fruitless attempt to defend several men under his command when they are brought up on charges of cowardice. Moreover, there are strong contributions from Ralph Meeker as the sarcastic Corporal Philippe Paris, Adolphe Menjou as the smug and calculating General George Broulard, Wayne Morris as craven drunk Lt. Roget, Richard Anderson as hard-nosed prosecutor Major Saint-Auban, Joe Turkel as the noble Private Pierre Arnaud, and Timothy Carey as sniveling undesirable Private Maurice Ferol. Kudos are also in order for Gerald Fried's rousing score and Georg Krause's beautifully fluid black and white cinematography. Essential viewing.