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The above quote comes from the Thomas Gray poem that gives name to Stanley Kubrick's fourth film. The basic idea is that regardless of our rank, heritage, power, or wealth, we will all die eventually. At one point in the film, two soldiers are discussing how they would prefer to die (or not die) and one of them says "you know you've got to go someday, any day." But death does come sooner to some, and the truth is that people in positions of prestige usually have the power to decide who will walk that path and who won't.
Set in the middle of World War I, Paths of Glory follows Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas), commanding officer of an infantry regiment in the French Army. When one of his superiors, General Mireau (George Macready) hands him a near impossible mission, Dax reluctantly complies. He knows that he will march his men to certain death, but he obeys anyway. As was expected, the mission is a failure with lots of casualties, and Mireau decides to put the blame on Dax' men accusing them of cowardice. When three men are chosen at random to be executed as an example, Dax decides to defend them in the court martial.
I've been meaning to watch this for a long, long time, so I approached it last night with high expectations. And boy, it didn't disappoint one bit. Paths of Glory is a neatly directed, finely acted war film with a powerful message. It's incredible to think that this was only Kubrick's fourth film because he handles the camera like a true professional. The continuous shots inside the trenches, the soldiers' advance towards the enemy, they are all examples of Kubrick's masterful control of the camera. The way he juxtaposes the carnage of war versus the lavishness in which the generals live was perfect, and the most ideal way to push the premise of how the fate of the foot soldiers is ultimately decided by men sitting in thrones and comfy offices.
But aside of the direction, nearly all the performances are top-notch. I'm always impressed by Kirk Douglas, regardless of how small or big his role is. His performance is commanding and emotional as we see a man torn between his duty and his men, and ultimately disappointed with a system he just can't fight against. Macready plays the antagonist well enough not to veer into comical territory. The only performance I found a bit distracting was Timothy Carey, who played one of the soldiers sentenced to death. His anguished performance felt forced, fake, and over the top. I wasn't surprised to read that he was fired during production.
This was one of the last Kubrick films I caught up with, but after watching them all, he has cemented his place as my favorite director. Paths of Glory was a neatly executed, powerful and thought-provoking film.
Grade:
PATHS OF GLORY
(1957, Kubrick)
(1957, Kubrick)
"The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow'r,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,
Awaits alike th' inevitable hour.
The paths of glory lead but to the grave."
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,
Awaits alike th' inevitable hour.
The paths of glory lead but to the grave."
The above quote comes from the Thomas Gray poem that gives name to Stanley Kubrick's fourth film. The basic idea is that regardless of our rank, heritage, power, or wealth, we will all die eventually. At one point in the film, two soldiers are discussing how they would prefer to die (or not die) and one of them says "you know you've got to go someday, any day." But death does come sooner to some, and the truth is that people in positions of prestige usually have the power to decide who will walk that path and who won't.
Set in the middle of World War I, Paths of Glory follows Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas), commanding officer of an infantry regiment in the French Army. When one of his superiors, General Mireau (George Macready) hands him a near impossible mission, Dax reluctantly complies. He knows that he will march his men to certain death, but he obeys anyway. As was expected, the mission is a failure with lots of casualties, and Mireau decides to put the blame on Dax' men accusing them of cowardice. When three men are chosen at random to be executed as an example, Dax decides to defend them in the court martial.
I've been meaning to watch this for a long, long time, so I approached it last night with high expectations. And boy, it didn't disappoint one bit. Paths of Glory is a neatly directed, finely acted war film with a powerful message. It's incredible to think that this was only Kubrick's fourth film because he handles the camera like a true professional. The continuous shots inside the trenches, the soldiers' advance towards the enemy, they are all examples of Kubrick's masterful control of the camera. The way he juxtaposes the carnage of war versus the lavishness in which the generals live was perfect, and the most ideal way to push the premise of how the fate of the foot soldiers is ultimately decided by men sitting in thrones and comfy offices.
But aside of the direction, nearly all the performances are top-notch. I'm always impressed by Kirk Douglas, regardless of how small or big his role is. His performance is commanding and emotional as we see a man torn between his duty and his men, and ultimately disappointed with a system he just can't fight against. Macready plays the antagonist well enough not to veer into comical territory. The only performance I found a bit distracting was Timothy Carey, who played one of the soldiers sentenced to death. His anguished performance felt forced, fake, and over the top. I wasn't surprised to read that he was fired during production.
This was one of the last Kubrick films I caught up with, but after watching them all, he has cemented his place as my favorite director. Paths of Glory was a neatly executed, powerful and thought-provoking film.
Grade: