Paths of Glory (1957)

[QuinlanLJ]

Kirk Douglas supposedly once said about the film: "There's a picture that will always be good, years from now. I don't have to wait 50 years to know that; I know it now" ... He was so right.

This is easily one of the best, if not the best anti-war film I've seen. At the very least, it's the best anti-war film set in the first world war, an era I still feel is not explored enough through film.

Now, I've only seen a small portion of Stanley Kubrick's films years ago and never actually knew why he is such a highly regarded film director. Now I know better.

The film is beautifully shot with the battlefield scenes being a particular highlight, only a true artist of film could've made a film that holds up so well. Not to mention the dialogue itself is masterfully done and executed extremely well by the cast including veteran actors such as Kirk Douglas, George Macready and Adolphe Menjou. I wont say the film doesn't have it's issues, because there are some minor ones, but not something that would ruin the experience or the film itself. I will only say that at the beginning I had a bit of a problem with the French being portrayed by Americans with an American accent, but the story, the performance and the pace of the film have completely immersed me in the film, that it was almost unnoticeable by the tenth minute mark.

It's a thought-provoking anti-war film as it should be. It shows the disgustingness of war with brutal honesty, where foot soldiers aren't really being thought of or even treated as human beings, but rather being treated as a simple expendable number. It really sticks with you and kind of makes you sick that something like this actually existed and by all means still exists to this day.

My rating: 92

[Stewball]

It's easy to be anti-war if you're talking WWI. WWII is just the opposite. People, liberals, and Kubrick was no exception, say war is bad and there's got to be a better way. It's so easy to say, but they never say what that way is. War is nothing more than crime fighting on a larger scale. For most of history though, the bad guys are in control of both/all sides.

[Neonman]

I remember being disappointed by this film and I thought it was very broadly drawn, very blunt, and made very obvious statements in its moral stances. Breaker Morant is a very similar film and I think much better.