Review of Paths of Glory (1957) by Dustin J — 25 Nov 2010

Paths of Glory (Criterion).

Director: Stanley Kubrick.

Writers: Stanley Kubrick, and Calder Willingham.

Mains: Kirk Douglas, Ralph Meeker and Adolphe Menjou.

"I cant believe that the noblest impulse of man is compassion for another, that is completely dead here.".

Plot (IMDb): The futility and irony of the war in the trenches in WWI is shown as a unit commander in the French army must deal with the mutiny of his men and a glory-seeking general after part of his force falls back under fire in an impossible attack.

My Take: Wow! This movie is PERFECT on every level. It grabs your attention completely about 20 mins into the film. Leaves you with a frown on your face and a sort of WTF feeling. I completely Loved and Hated this movie at the same time. Stanley Kubrick is the man, no questions asked. This film is powerful, moving and above all gritty but real. Im in the military (active duty) and you can see that some of these things still take place of course not to the extent of this film but the basics haven't changed. The acting was PERFECT and I cant complain about anything. Im not a fan of Michael Douglas but i've fell in love with his father of this one amazing performance. Its funny how detailed this film is with allotted time it is shown. LOVED IT LOVED IT LOVED IT.

Conclusion: This is a damn good film. Call it anti military but in all actuality it isnt. Its a real drama, and pretty accurate when it comes to the motives of us a human beings. We are all different type of people with different morals and the military is just a big jumble of all these different type of people. I think everyone was fantastic and this is well well done. This has instantly become one of my favorite movies. MUST OWN.

MUST OWN.

5/5.