Paths of Glory The Criterion Collection Blu-ray

I just treated myself to watching, quite possibly, the greatest, most worthwhile double feature of movies ever: PATHS OF GLORY and Dr. Strangelove (Strangelove NOT on this disc) both directed by Stanley Kubrick. PATHS OF GLORY is agreed by many to be the greatest anti-war movie ever filmed. It looks like a documentary (especially the battlefield and stunning 'bunker' footage) while also acted with top-tier professionalism. PATHS OF GLORY is one of those rare, ahead of its time movies that is/was made so well and is so realized that (you) forget it was released in 1957. It just feels modern and improves upon seeing again. This film is so anti-war and so damaging to the hierarchy of the French military that they banned PATHS OF GLORY from their own viewing public for over a decade. The extras contain many interviews from the 2 minute audio by recluse Kubrick; to the British talk show half-an-hour interview with Kirk Douglass himself via 1979. He is a very proud nice guy. Kirk really is; adding some effective comments about being an artist such as "If you want to tell the truth ... write a novel ... if you want to lie ... write an autobiography ..." Laughs seem genuine from studio audience. There is also a well done essay booklet in this fine Criterion Collection of PATHS OF GLORY (again, Strangelove NOT included) Within this detailed booklet I learned the German girl who is forced to sing to the rowdy French soldiers (WW1) became Stanley Kubrick's wife (Christiane Kubrick also gives ‘extras’ interview). The song she sang in the pub that turned the rowdy soldiers into the solemn reminder that war is not where they want to be is "The Faithful Hussar", a Napoleonic-era song which states "Oh please mother bring a light/ My sweetheart is going to die." Amen French soldiers drink up and leave the poor German girl alone. This is truly classic Kubrick cinema and World War history - as well as movie history - at its best. If a fan of Kubrick you NEED to see this one too. Read more

Oh the insanity of war! Paths of Glory exclaims and underlines that the settlement of differences by means of violent actions has nothing to do with glory. In this well done movie depicting the sad separation of the privileged and ruling class as opposed to the common slug barely making through the travails of life we see a sad symphony played out in all too real detail. The plot of the movie revolves around the depiction of the French Army fighting in the fields of Flanders stalemated in the trenches of the third year of the Great War. The main characters in this movie revolve around Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas), General George Broulard (Adolphe Menjou) and General Mireau (George Macready.) At this time in the war each side was trying to gain any advantage possible to advance forward and break the interminable stalemate. With this in mind General Broulard approaches General Mireau and orders him to attack the well-fortified German position labeled the “Anthill.” Mireau selects his best regimental commander Colonel Dax to attack and overtake the “Anthill.” As Colonel Dax receives his orders he sends out a patrol to assess the situation and the next morning goes over the top in leading his men across no man’s land in the assault of the 701st Regiment on the “Anthill.” Subsequent withering indirect and direct fire completely disseminates the regiment and the retreat begins. The impossible cannot be done and the attack fails to capture the cherished objective. During the attack General Mireau witnesses the retreat and is angered by the defeat and immediately orders artillery to fire upon the retreating 701st Regiment. Mireau declares the retreating soldiers are cowards of which he has no use for. According to the General these men failed in their mission only because of cowardice. As a rear echelon General officer he has deemed that it was through cowardice that caused the failure to achieve defeating the Germans on the “Anthill.” Hence Mireau decides that this failure was not his fault in ordering this absurd operation and demands retribution in court-martialing random soldier to stand trial for cowardice. Upon this decision he orders Colonel Dax to select three men to face the court martial and subsequent death by a firing squad. Retribution will be taken on a select few as opposed to all who survived this unfortunate debacle. Suffice to say, Colonel Dax who in civilian life is a very successful lawyer takes up the defense in the already fixed court martial. Known to all the men are condemned to death in this rather disgusting display of hubris of the power elite. The basis of the thesis for all this is that all wars are controlled from those in power and the rules of these conflicts emanate from the top and those who are among the servitude must abide by the rules. The modus operandi applies to all participants of the game we call war. Such is the message of Paths of Glory. At the end of the movie came a very moving scene in which in a French Café attended by Dax’s men of the 701st Regiment finds a very young German fraulein brought forth to sing a song. Among the jeers of the men she still sings a very moving German song which quells the jeering and brings the soldiers to hum along to a very moving and passionate song which ends the movie. The significance of this touching scene is that in the end Germans and the French are indeed the same and that in this life war signifies the wants of the elite rulers and not that of the common person. Remember war is not glory, in fact if you look at it in very human terms, war is a crime! Read more

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