Classic: Paths of Glory
One of Stanley Kubrick’s first, and may I state best films, Paths of Glory is excellent and memorable. My favourite has always been Dr. Strangelove, but now that I have seen this movie, I think it tops the list.
Colonel Dax: "Gentlemen of the court, there are times that I'm ashamed to be a member of the human race and this is one such occasion. "
Starring the legendary Kirk Douglas as the French Colonel Dax, I felt that Paths of Glory depicts the hypocrisy of the ruling elite more than its anti-war message. This is a story about the struggle between compassion and delusion, a conflict that is still active in our contemporary world. Setting in the trenches of WWI, the self-serving General Mireau agrees to order his unit into a suicidal mission for a promotion. When the attack fails, the General accuses the unit of cowardice and sentences three innocent soldiers to death. Colonel Dax defends the men in court arguing that General Mireau’s impossible orders were to blame and not the quality of the soldiers.
"There are few things more fundamentally encouraging and stimulating than seeing someone else die. "
It is true that there are anti-war elements in the film such as the portrayal of no man’s land as a landscape of danger and fresh corpses, and the incompetence of the military bureaucracy, but the message that rung most loudly in my mind was the mentality of the aristocratic military leaders. In those days, the officer corp was filled with nobility, rich elite or upper classmen; Colonel Dax included. Hearing the way they spoke about the men of their army as social undesirables, ignorant, or great unwashed was jarring. Fortunately, Colonel Dax was a man with compassion and strong morals and he disagreed with these men. Unfortunately, despite his best efforts he was unable to make a difference. It seemed as if the war was a game to General Mireau and his peer General Broulard as they discussed the lives of the unit in question. It never occurred to either of them as clear as it did to Colonel Dax that they were speaking about human beings. I especially loved how throughout the film when these two men would speak in this way Colonel Dax would look at them and say “Do you really believe what you just said?” or “How can you say something like that?” Always questioning and probing their beliefs, but always finding them firmly set on classism. Both of these men, and even the judge of the court-marshal, were delusioned by their wealth and status to think that it was acceptable to execute three innocent men to protect their reputations.
It makes you wonder about the mindset of those running the show today. We elect them with the expectation that they will work for us and for the greater good. What if they were raised with prejudice and social divisions in mind? Then even their best intentions will be morally wrong. It is a frightening thought to see that the French Army had such men in their ranks and these men made decisions that cost the lives of thousands of innocent men every day. It is even worse to think of the possibility that those same men, with different names in different armies, still make the most important decisions today. I think this is what Kubrick’s Paths of Glory was really about, and because of the profundity of the movie, it is my favourite one of his.
Rating: 
I love Kubrick’s underlying messages & unique style of direction. 2001: A Space Odyssey was incredibly ambitious at the time but it was an exhibition of the cinema’s potential as well as a thought provoking piece. Full Metal Jacket was a gritty but gripping look at the Vietnam war. It’s a different style of war film but it works in its own individual way and its underlying currents question the ethics of war. The Shining was a brilliant and harrowing adaptation with possibly Jack Nicholson’s most memorable role & it was a very bare-bones horror.
I appreciate what Kubrick does with cinema and I will definitely put Paths of Glory on my “to-watch” list. Great review Tony.
Thanks Harry, there is so much more to the movie I could have discussed but I want the reader to view it for themselves.
For instance, there is a scene when the condemned men are in the dungeon and a priest comes to visit them to hear confession and bless them, I thought it was one of the most riveting and real scenes I ever seen. Those poor guys….
Yes, Kubrick’s films are all true masterpieces, but this one I think is a major contender for first place. It was so early on in his career too, it is unbelievable.
I can see my little brother liking this, thanks.