“I cannot accept such an order unless it is in writing.”
The film Paths of Glory is set in WWI France in 1916. The story is loosely based on events that took place during the Battle of Verdun. When the film begins, the war between the Germans and the French has reached an impasse. The armies are bogged down in their trenches, and battles are fought over a few feet of ground. General Mireau is approached by General Broulard to use the 701st Regiment to take the “Ant Hill.” Mireau, at first, dismisses the idea as he is quite aware that it’s a suicide mission, but then he becomes seduced by the idea that he stands to be perceived as a “fighting general.” Mireau agrees to launch the already exhausted regiment at the Ant Hill on an appointed day. Mireau approaches Colonel Dax of the 701st, (Kirk Douglas) and reveals his plan. Dax is also aware that the plan is suicide, and he lays out the projections for the numbers of dead. On the appointed day of the attack, the weather conditions are extremely unfavourable, but the suicide mission goes ahead as planned.
As predicted, many men are slaughtered in the insane assault. In the aftermath of the attack, General Mireau comes unglued by the defeat, and so after the assault is over, he looks for somewhere to cast blame. He states: “one way to maintain discipline is to shoot a man now and then.” Three soldiers are selected to go on trial for cowardice, and if they are found guilty, the punishment is execution. Colonel Dax defends the men against the accusation that the assault was lost as a result of their cowardice.
This early Stanley Kubrick film was made in 1957, and the film was banned in several countries for its controversial anti-war stance. This is a very tight little film with no frills or wasted scenes. The subject matter could so easily have been overdone with excessive sentimentality, but the sentiment here is sparse. But in spite of its low budget and low sentimentality factor, the film manages to create extremely powerful battle scenes. The black and white photography really lends itself to the gloom of the trenches and to the assault against the Ant Hill. Scenes depicting the horror of the trenches are compared to the lives the Generals lead in opulent chateaus, full of exquisite and delicate furniture. The generals still have time for balls and banquets while their men die unnoticed in the trenches. Kubrick does a good job of showing the class differences between the enlisted men and the officers. The enlisted men are viewed as sub-human and quite expendable. While the bullets fly, the generals, safe in their luxurious palaces, send men down the Paths of Glory (war and death) with the same old rhetoric and flag-waving. These same generals are ready with criticism against those who give life and limb for a piece of dirt. Paths of Glory is one of three great anti-war films from Stanley Kubrick–the two others are Full Metal Jacket and Dr Strangelove. It’s good to see Kirk Douglas in these early roles, as it’s very easy to see his power as an actor. I recommend Paths of Glory for those interested in Kubrick’s career or for those wishing to watch an intensely powerful antiwar film.
