When people discuss Stanley Kubrick’s back catalog, they always over look a couple of classics: Spartacus, Lolita, etc. While these films probably don’t hold a candle to 2001 or A Clockwork Orange, they’re all fantastic in their own right. There is only one of his films pre-Strangelove that I would put up there in my top 5 favorite Kubrick films of all time, though: the insanely underrated anti-war drama Paths of Glory. Starring the always-amazing Kirk Douglas as Colonel Dax, Paths of Glory very loosely tells the story of over a hundred of French troopers who, after realizing that their mission to storm a hill in no mans land is a suicide mission, decide to ignore these orders to avoid guaranteed slaughter. As a result, Gen. Paul Mireau (George Macready) decides to court martial every single soldier who didn’t listen to his orders. Angered by this, Dax decides to fight for and defend these one hundred troopers in court, as he sees nothing wrong with their decision.
At a mere 88 minutes, Paths of Glory is a very swift and to-the-point film, something that definitely stands out from Kubrick’s filmography. There are no weird turns, nothing that leaves you baffled. This is a toned-down and very straight forward Kubrick, but that works to the film’s advantage. With a story so delicate, and not wanting to screw the anti-war message up, Kubrick perfectly blends social commentary with an inspiring story of one man’s defense against many. Of course, Kubrick shoots this film beautifully as always, with insane war sequences and fantastic camerawork on the trench scenes, all done with the typical Kubrick touch. On top of this, you have an insanely good performance by Douglas, who plays Colonel Dax with as much honesty as he can. Dax isn’t played with your typical military jargon; Kirk adds a sense of humanity to his character. This is someone who has seen the true horrors of war and, knowing what these men are facing by invading the no man’s land, acts accordingly to how any sane individual would act. His decisions make sense, and for that, Dax is one of the most human roles in any war-oriented film. If you are even a casual Kubrick fan and haven’t gotten to Paths of Glory yet, or you’re looking for a good war story you might not have seen, Paths of Glory should be mandatory viewing. With the Brattle playing a Kirk Douglas marathon in honor of his 100th birthday, there is no better way to see this film than at the Brattle with an audience.
Paths of Glory
1957
dir. Stanley Kubrick
88 min
Screens Wednesday, 12/28, 5:30PM, 7:30PM, and 9:30PM @ Brattle Theatre
Part of the ongoing series: Happy 100th Kirk Douglas!
