Director Stanley Kubrick's 1957 anti-war film 'Paths of Glory' was indeed on the right path. It was a masterpiece.

Rating: 9/10 (3 October 2019)

Like the tagline for this classic says, 'it explode in the no-man's land, where no picture ever dare crossed'. No wonder, why Kubrick's film was added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 1992. It was a very memorable movie. Filmed in black and white and shot on location in Germany, the movie was based on the novel of the same name by author Humphrey Cobb tells the story of a French military lawyer and colonel, Dax (Kirk Douglas), having to defend a group of soldiers charge of cowardice in a life or death court martial case during the Great War. Without spoiling the motion picture too much, while the book is graphic and gory, told from multiple points of view, the film is indeed as bleak as it can be as well with its titular main character. Unlike 1930 'All Quiet on the Western Front' & 1937 war movies 'La Grand Illusion' which critique of the romantic idealization of duty only to show the violent battle scenes where countless waves of men are slaughter like cattle. This picture doesn't even bother painting any part of the war in a positive light. There is little to no camaraderie between soldiers and the officers see them as nothing, but cannon fodder. I kinda like that approach to the material, because having brotherhood within the military does undermine the whole anti-war message. Besides the mise-en-scene ending with soon to be Kubrick's wife, Susanne Christian singing "The Faithful Hussar' & the snare drum in the beginning, the film has little to no music to force emotional feelings. You rarely see that in these types of movies at the time as everything has to sound epic & patriotic. Another great thing about this motion picture is the way, it was filmed. Kubrick's vision allows the audience to feel stuck and trapped along with the troops in the ever-so dangerous confined trenches with tight pov and close ups. We see the dirt, the mud and blood in detail. Also we don't see the enemy visual at all; making every scene on the front seem more haunting and suspenseful, because any minute, a soldier might get picked off by a sniper or artillery. As for scenes for high ranking officers like Major General Georges Broulard (Adolphe Menjou), we witness the opulently from both exterior and interior wide shots of the huge mansions in which they're living in. You see all the riches & grandeur. While this approach makes all the officers seem stereotypical like greedy elite aristocrats born into privilege with no knowledge of hardship. In truth, some of them were from the working class whom stumble upon power within the ranks through tough service like Brigadier General Paul Mireau (George Macready). They just lost their moral way while getting there. A heartless shallow of a man that war brewed and needs. A type of a person that Colonel Dax hopes not to turn out to become by the end of the film. Douglas acting in this, is astounding as his facial features show the dilemma, his character has to go with. You really do feel the struggle that he has to do his duty for his country, but also his wiliness to protect his men from unreasonable harm. Honestly, all the performers did a hell of a job. I think the director was a little too harsh on veteran actor Adolphe Menjou. He was fine. I doubt he needed to redo the same scene 17 times. The same can be same with the doomed men 'last meal' scene. It didn't need 68 takes. Stanley Kubrick was just being a semi jerk perfectionist. However, he did made the right choice with firing actor Timothy Carey. He was indeed disruptive as Pvt. Maurice Ferol. The whole faking his own kidnapping for personal publicity was outrageous uncalled for. Anyways, due to the movie's offensive critical assessment within the hierarchical military. The government from France & Switzerland banned the movie for almost twenty years following its release. The film was also withdrawn for many years within countries like Germany and Spain. Even in the United States, the motion picture was banned in military establishments, both at home and overseas, due to its content for some time. It was also denied an Academy Award nomination. Regardless, the fact that the movie has alienated a lot of audience members at the time. In the long run, the film loosely based on the true story of the Souain corporals affair during World War 1 has gain a strong following after Vietnam War era when together with the Watergate scandal contributed to the crisis of confidence within the post-war militarism lifestyle. It's now considered as one of Kubrick's best. I just glad that the director took the risk with making the film and didn't make it more commercial to the general public. The altered happy ending, they filmed could had ruin the message. The same with Paramount Pictures who proposed changing the army to that of Czarist Russia, due to being afraid of offending the French government. Thank goodness, the changes were reversed back more closely to the original novel at the demand of actor Kirk Douglas. In the end, he saw this movie for me. Despite some heavy handed moments, the film is a bombshell of a movie that needs to be seen. It's one path worth taken.