The Great War before the hysteria of the 1960s

Rating: Null/10 (24 November 2011)

Plot: During the Great War the Colonel of a French Regiment defends the lives of three of his men, sentenced to be shot after a failed attack, in court.
Like most Kubrick films this is a peculiarly inhuman film. I can never escape the conviction that he is more interested in the technical aspects of the film than in the story or the human beings. Nonetheless the novel on which this film is based has enough plot and character to sustain the film.
Probably the most interesting aspect of this film is that it was made before the 1960s reduced the First World War to a parody, best exemplified in "Oh! What a Lovely War". So whilst there is an evil château general it is also made clear that he is no coward or shirker. Instead his most noticeable feature is a battle scar and he spends some time in the trenches. Similarly the punishment is not entirely undeserved. One company did refuse to attack, albeit because of the cowardice of its commander. This adds a realism and a moral complexity often missing from films dealing with similar subjects.
The film isn't bad but neither is it great. Like a lot of 1950s war films based on novels it is slightly stiff. There are only really two scenes of any greatness. The first is the attack, which is brilliantly, if inaccurately (much talk of a barrage but none is ever shown) portrayed. The second is the final scene, where the French soldiers realise that the song being sung by a captured German woman is the same as one they sing. It's a cliché - we're all the same - but the careful pacing, the magnificent faces and the genuine feeling shown by the extras makes it work.