Nwabudike_J_Morgan reboot: #73 Paths of Glory (1957)

Watched: Jul 13 2017

Started: 24 Oct 2016

It was a Stanley Kubrick weekend for me. I was surprised to learn that my wife has never seen 2001, or The Shining, and is utterly unfamiliar with A Clockwork Orange. Alas, with rule #2 in effect none of those are potential options for me. On the other hand, this is an opportunity for me to screen some of his less popular films, thus a screening of his senior thesis, Paths of Glory.

It is a war movie, in the trenches between France and Germany during WWI. General Mireau (George Macready with his fantastic scar) orders a regiment to assault "The Ant Hill" and claim a victory for France, yet the attack is doomed, the soldiers don't have the numbers or support and many of them never leave the trenches. Mireau decides to hold a symbolic court martial, one man from each of the three regimental companies will be tried for cowardice.

Kirk Douglas gives an impassioned performance. As for Kubrick, there are two scenes that really stick out. The first is a scene between two generals, where General Broulard manipulates Mireau into ordering the assault, and the two move around the set in a living game of chess. The second is the end sequence, a long operatic moment where a German peasant girl is forced to sing for the French troops. This is the scene that hints at where Kubrick is going in his career.

Rating: 8 / 10

Paths of Glory (1957)