10

Rating: 10/10 (5 July 2017)

What could I possibly add to the culture or knowledge of this film? To me, on certain days, this is Kubrick's finest achievement. Without a doubt this is the most impactful anti-war film ever produced. Kubrick i employs an unwaveringly documentarian approach in recounting this fictionalized amalgam of what could have been any battle on the Western Front. Portraying the ruthless mundanity and senseless destruction of human life in those trenches is done so effectively that he's succeeded in making such an abhorrent level of violence seem routine. You accept it as a norm. Something that we should never let it become. But we have , we have to in order to devote full and complete attention to the mental insanity that is unfolding in the upper ranks of France's military-industrial complex. A Dance of Death is unfolding over the failure of yet another Offensive. Heads must roll. Three enlisted men are essentially randomly selected for summary execution before a Firing Squad. During the battle and desperate to make good on his predictions for a glorious French victory over the hated Huns, an order is issued to the French artillery gunners .Confused, the targeting Corporal requests confirmation of the coordinates. Surely this must be an error. These numbers would put all of our largest shells right on top of our own French positions!! Timothy Carey plays one of the three enlisted men. Pvt. Maurice Ferol. The man was born to play this role. Carey's delivery is the most devastating Supporting Actor performance I've ever witnessed on the big screen. I'm neither kidding you nor am I exaggerating. Tell me if I'm wrong, go ahead and tell me.