Paths of Glory

How do you critically examine the military? The answer is Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory. The scene where the general decides to shoot one platoon because it chose not to obey orders and not to die is one thing, but what follows after that is unbelievable. It's a perfect example of how the military is turned upside down, and how patriotism doesn't work because it's always just about power. An incredibly intense film where from the beginning you see that the fight for justice is meaningless because you still have to follow orders, and the word of the superior has more significance than the word of God. And the superiors realize that. The beautiful thing is how they always manage to justify it. It's not beautiful, but terrifying; however, there is still something amazing about it. Because we can defend anything. In front of ourselves and others. In the end, Kubrick degrades everything and everyone. (03/28/2014)

After The Shining and Barry Lyndon, I had the opportunity (or rather the obligation) to watch Paths of Glory, which is also another example of a quality film by Stanley Kubrick. But since I am not a fan of war-themed movies, I kept my distance from the film. There were probably two sequences that impressed me the most: the soldiers coming out of the trenches to meet the enemy, and the journey of the three convicts to the execution ground. In short, a film that is really good, but I, as a viewer, cannot appreciate it properly. (11/03/2011)

A strong theme crowned with an excellent and straightforward script, a great performance by Kirk Douglas and, of course, amazing direction by the master of masters, which can cause the kind of emotional impact that we would not expect from such an old film today. Most of the passages are conversational and the turmoil of the battle is actually incidental, but the senselessness of war and the depravity of all those who got too carried away by it are depicted perfectly, and many a person after watching the film will change their mind about enlisting in the army for good. Moreover, the single battle scene is so wonderfully shot (including the long march across the trench that precedes it) that it wouldn't be lost even today. Kubrick simply couldn't make a bad movie, which is, after all, only a logical consequence given the meticulous preparation he put into each film. :) 90% (03/07/2013)

The film itself reminds us that it’s a Kubrick film. There are, of course, those long shots through the trenches, his composition during the leaves nothing to chance, but in the end, it still works. To be honest, I've been calling for a renaissance of interest in World War I for a long time. And then there's Adolphe Menjou, who for some unknown reason lived to see stardom in his late age, even though he's been tasty since 1915. (04/08/2013)

Even many decades later, Paths of Glory still ranks among the most impressive (anti)war films, and very little can be criticized about it. In this film, all important emotions are concentrated and all possible character traits clash. Heroism meets cowardice, idealism meets cynicism, self-sacrifice meets selfishness, and faith meets despair. Kubrick managed to perfectly immerse the viewer in the atmosphere of trenches being bombarded by artillery shells and a desolate no-man's land torn apart by the scars of explosions and covered in the wreckage of war madness. Paths of Glory represents the pinnacle of education, especially for cinematographers. Every shot is a visual delight. The absurd scene of a military trial of alleged cowards, intended to disguise the senselessness of an attack by a weakened unit against a military fortress, is an indictment of all military and political systems that consider their citizens to be mere cannon fodder for their interests. Overall impression: 95%. (12/13/2018)