Great Movie!

Rating: 10/10 (9 December 2008)

When the bulk of our generation thinks of black and white movies, we instantly imagine a largely boring experience, filmed on a set with a painted background, with tiresome monologues given by stiff actors and actresses. The movie Paths of Glory (1957) proves these stereotypes wrong and is perhaps more enjoyable than many modern films.
Paths of Glory (PG), directed by Stanley Kubrick (Full Metal Jacket, The Shining, and Eyes Wide Shut), is a story set in World War I era France. It documents a French military exploit that is doomed from its conception. The protagonist, Colonel Dax, played by Kirk Douglas(Gunfight at the OK Corral), is given the task of attacking a heavily-fortified German position, the anthill, by his commander General Paul Mireau, George Macready(Commandoes Strike at Dawn). General Mireau decides to issue this insane order after he is tempted with a promotion. The attack ultimately fails and General Mireau wishes to blame his "cowardly" troops for the loss. He has three men court-marshaled for cowardice (Ralph Meeker, Joe Turkel, and Tim Carey). It is then Dax's job to defend them against the biased French military command. The movie gives an insightful snapshot of the Great War that was never attempted by any other film, modern or old, and also contains very strong anti-authority/ anti-war messages purposefully intended by Kubrick.
The filming techniques that Kubrick uses in this movie are unique for the time of its filming. When I first saw this movie, I was convinced that it was a modern film, done in black and white for dramatic effect, but I later discovered it was produced in the 1950's. Kubrick breaks away from tradition and gives very personal close-ups of the characters in the film. This method shows the actor's emotion in great detail, and adds to the complexity of the film. Kubrick added subtle details to his scenes, like shooting the commanders from a low angle during the battle scene, which gives them an appearance of gods looking out over their creation. He also adds shadows in the office of the cowardly and drunk Lieutenant Roget (Wayne Morris), to make him even more villainous. There is also great use of eye-line match while both General Mireau and Colonel Dax are walking through the trenches, which adds to the realism of the movie. The eye-line match also gives the viewer a picture of all the various soldiers in their different forms of apprehension before the battle.
The age of this film does not harm its appearance. Unlike many black and white films, this one was filmed entirely on location. Kubrick paid much attention to detail. He even created a very convincing no-man's land in a German farm field. The court martial takes place at Schleissheim Palace in Munich, Germany, which adds great character to the film and shows the viewer the decadence of the French high command compared to the regular officers. The costumes for the film are very authentic for the time, Kubrick even made sure to have the regimental numbers on the soldiers collars. There was no detail left unnoticed in this movie, and it gives me all the more reason to like it.
Kubrick restrained himself in the use of music, there is little sound track other than a march, which opens the film. He does have a great use of drums for suspense, during a night patrol scene in which three characters go out into no-man's land. The last scene, however, contains a very beautiful song. It is sung by Christiane Harlan, who later married Kubrick. The scene has little to do with the plot of the movie, but I feel adds greatly to the films effect. It takes place in a dirty bar, where Harlan is a captured German civilian, who sings a native song to the French officers on leave. When the soldiers jeers and taunts turn to silence and tears, it creates a very moving scene.
The characters in the movie are not well-developed and little is given about their background, however, I feel it does not ruin the story. The actors all give great reactions to their situations that I feel are very realistic and honest. There are many moving scenes in this film, the court martial being one of them. Kubrick also adds many subtle details, like having wounded troops pass behind General Mireau while he is laughing.
Overall, this film is largely overlooked by the public and should be considered to be one of the great movies of the 1950's. Paths of Glory presents a realistic and enjoyable movie experience, and presents a very stunning picture of authority and war that can relate to any time. I recommend it to anyone who wishes to watch a very moving film. I give this movie 10 out of 10.