| Product: |
Paths Of Glory (DVD) |
| Date: |
13/12/05 (451 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: A masterpiece! Meaning everything contained in the film is superb!
Disadvantages: None, nada, nicto! Don't let the fact it was made in 1957 put you off!
PATHS OF GLORY
When a director of the stature of Stanley Kubrick dies unexpectedly, film critics and audiences are forced, even if many were critical of what they considered a cold and unemotional filmmaking style, to recognise how much modern-day cinema owes to him. Whilst he only made 11 feature length films in 33 years, each bestows an undeniable quality in style, story-telling, impact and imagery which few other director’s today, or even beforehand, possessed. In many ways he was unique, indeed more fortunate than the similarly talented Orson Welles (each shared considerable technical and visual skill), by having enough clout to make the intelligent films he wanted to make, without compromising his stoic vision for the interfering hands of Hollywood studios.
Paths of Glory is one of Kubrick’s lesser known works, although it is perhaps one of his greatest cinematic achievements. An undeniable classic about the barbarity and ridiculousness of war, it is very much the equal of his similarly themed Full Metal Jacket, and knocks the spots off most recent offerings featuring anti-war motifs (usually stuffed down the audiences throats with their overt imagery and symbolism) such as Platoon, Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line. Unclouded by the essential pessimism or colder fascination with the logistics of film-making that featured in later works, Paths of Glory has a simplicity about it that renders its argument as powerful today as it was in 1957. Combined with a deliciously dark and biting script (throughout Kubrick’s films runs the craft of a comedy genius) and a technical nous that produces a visually engaging film, it is also perhaps the most easily accessible and enjoyable of all his movies.
Safe in their picturesque chateau many miles behind the front lines of war ravaged France in 1916, the French General Staff pass down a direct order to Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas) - take the heavily fortified Ant Hill, at any cost. A blatant suicide mission, the attack is doomed to failure when half of Dax's men are unable to make it out of the trench due to the presence of heavy German fire. Covering up their fatal blunder, the Generals order the arrest of three innocent soldiers, charging them with cowardice and mutiny to set an example to the rest of the troops for the Ant Hill debacle. Dax, a lawyer in civilian life, rises to his men's defence but realises that unless he can prove the Generals' culpability for an ill-conceived attack in the first place, nothing less than a miracle will save the three men from the firing squad.
A simple premise, but a powerful one in the hands of a master craftsman. The clever title, originally taken from a Thomas Gray poem that reads “the paths of glory lead but to the grave,” is indicative of the message Kubrick wishes to highlight. Representative of the ambition and success of the generals in command, it is the avenues to self-advancement they seek, with the utmost indifference to the fate of the men in the trenches, that provides the films underlying theme regarding military incompetence. The issue is handled in a refrained and subtle way, allowing the script to play out logically without ever feeling the need to dabble in trite sentimentality or unnecessary exploitation. From the brilliant choice to shoot the film in black and white (thus giving a gritty, darker feel to the entire story, and refraining from sugar-coating the hellish experience of trench warfare), to the effective use of zoom-ins, to the short poignant dialogues and the generally minimalist approach to the anti-war message of the screenplay - it all mixes together incredibly well. Kubrick could have spent hours of celluloid on the finer illogical points of military court martial trials, as well as elaborating on the horrors behind the deluded decision making preceding battle. Instead he wrapped the total package in a fast-paced 87 minutes that doesn’t miss a beat. A film doesn’t need to be three hours long in order to be profound.
Of course, Paths of Glory is suitably aided and packed to the brim with other aspects that make it a masterpiece. The battle sequences early on are visually stunning and fluid. The long tracking shots through the trenches as General Mireau (George MacReady) does a routine inspection are exceptional, as is the attack when the troops are caught in No Man’s Land. The lavish living of the General’s in their Chateau’s is perfectly captured, a suitable antithesis to the hell on earth of the trenches. There are small images that capture the ridiculous nature of the attack that need few words - the use of binoculars allowing the military command to look on the horrifying consequences of their orders without suffering the moral responsibility of physical involvement, contrasted with Dax stuck in the middle of No Man’s Land with the Ant Hill still seeming an impossible target to reach, with his men dying all around him. The build up to the attack on the Ant Hill and the possible executions later are exceptional examples of taught direction. They provide a masterly unnerving and tense atmosphere which tells us everything, and more, of what Kubrick wants the audience to understand.
There are many memorable scenes. The kangaroo court is expertly played out by all and features some ripe dialogue that should raise a knowing smile. The priest’s trite comments as he administers the last rites to those expecting execution are also quintessentially hilarious, albeit in a shocking kind of way. It isn’t too fanciful to say that Dr Strangelove, which mined the same themes but turned them into farce, isn’t a million of miles away from Paths of Glory. Mireau and General Broulard (Adolphe Menjou) actually seem only one step away from the wheelchair bound, nazi saluting Dr Strangelove (or even Blackadder’s General Melchiot). Indeed every scene that MacReady and Menjou fill is a pure delight. They fill their scenes with a misplaced frivolity at odds with the men on the front. Calculating and malicious, devious yet charming, they take great delight in espousing the wondrous, darkly refined dialogue placed before them. Lines like “there are few things more fundamentally stimulating than watching another man die,” are simply dynamite. Add to this a uniformly excellent Kurt Douglas as the bewildered Dax, an understated presence as a soldier never left to indulge in self-pity or bleed his heart over the injustice being done to his men, and a quality supporting cast (featuring Ralph Meeker, Joe Turkel and Timothy Carey as the condemned men) and you have the veritable icing on the cake.
In almost every film Kubrick made, it was the frailties of the human condition faced with an often ridiculous and dangerously exploitative system that were Kubrick’s main concern. Paths of Glory is possibly his most emotional film (to which the ending will testify, a rare glimpse of humanity) and that’s why it remains one of his best, if not one of the best within the entirety of the war film genre.
Overall – In a career that spanned across some fifty years, Stanley Kubrick made many masterpieces. Maybe we should start considering whether Paths of Glory is his masterpiece amongst masterpieces. A classic which is enjoyable, shocking, sad and funny, beautifully rendered and, most importantly of all, will make you a better person for having watched it.
What's on the DVD - Apart from the actual film and the excellent transfer of it to the DVD medium, there's only the original trailer present as any form of extra. A documenatry with a retrospective look at the film would have been welcome, but with Kubrick's death and Douglas'this is unlikely and it seems very little other footage was created or survived the near fifty year period since Paths of Glory's original release. Somebody get Mark Kermode on the case! Still, the package is worth it alone for the film.
Buyer warning - this film is old and in black and white. If you're from a generation that requires masses of elaborate computer-generated explosions, happy endings and a simple plot to maintain interest, this film is unlikely to fufill your needs.
Director: Stanley Kubrick (Dr Strangelove, Spartacus, A Clockwork Orange, Full Metal Jacket, The Shining, 2001: A Space Odyssey)
Screenplay: Stanley Kubrick, Calder Willingham and Jim Thompson
Cast:
Kirk Douglas .... Col. Dax
Ralph Meeker .... Cpl. Philip Paris
Adolphe Menjou .... Gen. George Broulard
George Macready .... Gen. Paul Mireau
Wayne Morris .... Lt. Roget/Singing man
Richard Anderson .... Maj. Saint-Auban
Joseph Turkel .... Pvt. Pierre Arnaud
Susan Christian .... German singer - after this film she married Kubrick and remained so until his death in 1999.
Emile Meyer .... Father Dupree
Bert Freed .... Sgt. Boulanger
Kem Dibbs .... Pvt. Lejeune
Timothy Carey .... Pvt. Maurice Ferol
Running Time: 87 minutes
Certificate: PG
Genre: War/Drama
© Clownfoot, February 2005. The main review is a copy of the opinion I have posted on the Ciao website.
Summary: Anti-war themed WW1 movie, satirising the ridiulousness of war and military leadership.
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