That scene has been changed. They got a pretty, somewhat older young woman singer, and the scene was longer. The original scene was 1000 times better...
Paths of Glory is, in my opinion, the most antiwar movie ever crafted. It illustrates the absurdity of Valor and hypocrisy of those in charge. It ultimately succeeds in making the viewer angry at unjust results of one's actions and how war is just unnecessary.
Stanley always said that he would much rather film something interesting than something real. I have always thought of him as the most realistic abstract film maker that ever was. Cheers.
I always say it's his first masterpiece, the only Kubrick film I've never heard a bad thing about, and sits right next to "2001" and "Clockwork Orange" and "Strangelove" and all of his "major" masterpieces. Which, to be fair, is most of 'em! But it's no wonder Orson Welles said that he saw Kubrick as some kind of "giant"......and this was BEFORE he saw "2001"!
I love the film and the ending. I think what that final scene portrays is the humanity of the soldiers. The female German singer is supposed to be the enemy so they jeer and demean her at first. But once they hear her delicate voice, they suddenly realize she is just a frightened young woman. They soon become ashamed of their behavior.
I have been hoping for your review of this great film--thank you so much. In regards to the ending, I have a feeling that it's as if she were singing a lullaby to a child, and the hardened soldiers are inspired to think of their own mothers and a time of innocence when they were safe at home. Hence they were for a moment disjointed from war --which parallels your point that the scene feels disjointed from the rest of the film.Yet we find out at the end they will soon all return to the harsh reality of war. There is so much more one can comment but just from a cinematic viewpoint I feel Paths of Glory was when Kubrick truly emerged a 'director with a cinematographer's eye' with his masterful use of spatial perspective, lighting and camera techniques which became signatures features in his later films. Again, thank you for reviewing this often overlooked Kubrick film.
This is such a powerful film. I watched it for the first time about a month ago and it's easily one of my favorite Kubrick films. The cinematography is superb, and really nails you to your seat being almost as physically uncomfortable as the act would really be. It's also noteworthy in that it was banned in France due to it's poor depiction of the military. While not the intent, it really is the polar opposite of films like Sargeant York.
"Man isn't a noble savage, he's an ignoble savage. He is irrational, brutal, weak, silly, unable to be objective about anything where his own interests are involved - that about sums it up. I'm interested in the brutal and violent nature of man because it's a true picture of him. And any attempt to create social institutions on a false view of the nature of man is probably doomed to failure" - STANLEY KUBRICK I respect this man, and that quote (which summarizes Paths of Glory) is why I love the movie
James B. Harris talked about his initial skepticism of the final scene and being won over by it when they shot it in an interview you can find on UA-cam. As well as being producer he was an extra in the scene. I have always been fond of PATHS and my appreciation grows with every viewing. I find all of Kubrick's films grow in power and resonance with subsequent rewatches, except FEAR AND DESIRE.
In light of the fact that years later Kubrick sought to destroy all copies of his first feature film, I'm sure he would agree.But Fear and Desire can serve as an inspiration in that one can have a very sub-standard start but go on to do great things.
I'd say this would be in the top 3 of my Kubrick list. I was shocked when binging his filmography to find that even this early on and at such a young age, this was one of the most gripping films he made for me personally. It's funny that Spartacus is Kirk Douglas's more popular role from his collaborations with Stanley, but I will always remember Col. Dax much more. Also the cinematography, just wow. 5/5
"Paths of Glory" is where I feel Kubrick become the master. It does plenty of things, but as you point out, it's all contained within a sliver of runtime and physical scope. It's an American depiction of the French Army, and I cut it slack the same way I do for Disney's "Pinocchio" (as in the 1940 version) for how it depicts northern Italy. The storytelling is what's front and center, and Kirk Douglas (who also bore the responsibilities of a producer) anchors it with the maturity it needs. "Paths of Glory" is exactly 30 years apart from "Full Metal Jacket", and they're both one film short in his feature oeuvre of being the bookends to his career. The temptation is to treat them like a Before and After of the way Kubrick saw the world, but I don't think it's that simple. He was always building toward something. Maybe "The Killing" and "Paths of Glory" are the foundation level, and everything else is an extra floor. The unsung hero to me is Gerald Fried, a little under a decade before he scored TV series like "Gilligan's Island", "Mission Impossible" and the first season of "Star Trek". There really isn't much music in "Paths of Glory", and when it does show up, Fried doesn't do too much with it. But the less-is-more attitude is so important to the mood.
Something that Kubrick made a tradition of his own, and that I think really comes out first in this movie, is the ritualistic and ceremonial nature of humans as they go about the tedious movements of meting out cruel justice. It is a bureaucratic, machinelike motion that he dips back into again and again in his movies. Really chilling.
To anyone that loves paths of glory, it’s my favorite Kubrick personally, check out the movie the ascent. It’s kind of like the WW2 version of this movie
Speaking of 1957 can you review The Seventh Seal please? I just watched this for the very first time recently and it really stood out to me and stayed with me! Loved it! And would love to hear your thoughts on it!
Wow I Just rewatched this yesterday morning. Really stands out just how naturally funny it manages to be despite being probably the single most emotional war/anti-war film to come out of the States
@@CEWIII9873 I doesn't sound like you have any sense of nuance if you need the instances of humour in a Kubrick film explained to you but the superior at the end saying he didn't mean to imply any biological relation by calling Kirk Douglas "son" and the cocroach scene stick out as overtly very clearly funny
Interesting film. When i first saw it i didnt like it. However ive watched it more and more and grown to really love it. I have it on dvd. The camera work in the trenches. The way the story was told the acting. The powerful scene with his wife when she sang. It is a great film. Great review Maggie we both love Kubrick my fav of his has to be 2001 then Dr Strangelove
I just saw this after hearing about it for quite some time Kubrick just provides every scene which is basically a master class and the ending is just unbelievable
Top 5 Kubrick movie for me. It didn't resonate that much the first time I saw it around 20yo, but now with more perspective on life and history I find it's like a fine wine, it aged beautifully and gets better with each viewing. The 4k UHD released by Kino Lorber last summer has an incredible new transfer that shows the movie in all it's subtle glory and the included commentary track by Novelist and Critic Tim Lucas is super insightful. Very much recommended for those who have a proper 4k setup.
This film has some of the greatest battle scenes. My personal favorite is when the soldiers go out on night patrol, and nothing - not even shadows hardly - is seen of the battlefield until flares go up and the viewer sees all of the debris of the war - replete with a downed aircraft and skeletal pilot.
It's been so long since I've seen it, but your critique fascinates me, especially when you question the ending. Guess I'll have to check it out soon. Pulp Fiction was my first love, but soon after the stiflingly white Kubrick video box set from the 90's followed for Christmas. Dr. Strangelove (my favorite Kubrick), 2001, A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon (another favorite), The Shining (a 3rd favorite) and Eyes Wide Shut (my final favorite) are all immortal in my opinion. I watched The Killing sometime in the last three years and found it lacking. Like you said, Kubrick was always more interested in ideas. He treats characters like chess pieces, and his earlier films tend to come off as too overt or almost strangled in a lifeless doll kinda way. Then he discovered the sublime.
Just started checking out your vids, but I have a somewhat different recommendation for a movie in comparison to what you upload in Puss in Boots 2. Definitely surpassed my expectations and blew me away. It's the movie that just got me into film these past few months believe it or not and now I'm watching a wide variety of movies. Also, I just watched Paths of Glory and it was phenomenal. I personally enjoyed that last scene, with the camera panning across all the faces of human people coming into their own realization of what they were indulging in just moments before. Definitely earned my subscription 👍🏼
It's probably Kubrick's first movie where all of the Kubrick elements we know come together in a single movie. I'm not sure what I think of the ending. Actually, I'm not sure that I love most of Kubrick's endings in general.
It is another of Kubrick’s great adaptations of a book, in this case Humphrey Cobb’s novel of the same name, based on a real fact. The book takes away importance from the character played by Douglas and focuses more on the three soldiers who face death. Both the novel and the movie are great in their own way. I love Kubrick’s personal interpretations of literary works. The Clockwork Orange is very loyal to the source material, apart from the famous missing last chapter of the book, but I prefer his versions of the novels by Stephen King and Thackeray than the novels themselves, as good as they are.
The contrast of the ending is meant be jarring; throughout the film we're seeing everything from the POV of the officers and 'higher-ups' - the people with power. Even in the battle scene when Dax chooses to lead the attack we're seeing from his point of view. What's disconcerting about the end is that Dax's despair shakes the balance towards the powerless German girl, and her taking control by committing to her song affects us in the same way as the soldiers, with discomfort, then reflection, then empathy. And then we are ready to look back at Dax, who regains and strengthens his balance. It's ingenious and elegant as well as emotionally powerful.
Kirk Douglas was a major mover-and-shaker -- see his involvement with "Spartacus," which broke the Hollowood "blacklist". (Another was Henry Fonda -- see as one example "12 Angry Men". He also made three films, two based on fact, about men falsely accused of crimes, one as TV movie "Gideon's Trumpet".)
Have to admit, Kubrick's war and historical films are something of a blindspot for me. Having watched this interview, I wonder how much this influenced Nolan's Dunkirk?
At 84 minutes long, it is tight for a Kubrick film similarly to The Killing. Early in the film the camera tracking Kirk Douglas inspecting the trenches opened my eyes wide open,,, such a good sequence. Overall it touches the many lies and subsequent horrors of war, especially shining the French in a negative light. No wonder it was banned in France until 1975.
Interesting, I found a lot of what you said about this Kubrick film to apply just as well to "The Killing" despite the vastly different subject-matter. Taut, minimalist and yet so rich.
the contrast between this and modern war films like dunkirk and 1917 (which stole so much of its visual style from it) is immense. i spent a lot of the latter especially thinking of kubricks movie. And while Douglas is great ive always felt like theres something lacking in having such an american star playing a french soldier (a similar feeling i have w/ Frankenheimer's the train).
A great great film which illustrates the absurdity of war and how the generals thought only of themselves .. madness expressed as valour and honour with no thought of human life or the desperation of the troops merely attempting to survive . I never tire of watching it
Kubrick said that Paths of Glory was his anti-war film (as you say, pretty straight forward) and Full Metal Jacket was his war film. But, I believe, what he meant by war film was a dissection of war and the mindset(s) it takes to be involved.
FMJ was shot in England. Minor quibble, the three soldiers being tried were not officers. That’s part of what the film is about - how officers have this power over those under them. The final scene can be seen as very cynical. The soldiers are going back to the Front very shortly thereafter.
Movies like paths of glory are a stark reminder to us not to store up treasures on earth, but to store up treasures in Heaven. "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Matthew 6, 19-21
I think that it's remarkable that in both this film and Full Metal Jacket, the only 'enemy' we meet at the end is a woman! If Kubrick laid on the sentimentality by having his future wife sing a sweet song that brought the French to tears, he atoned for it with the execution of the sniper in FMJ.
This and Battle of Algiers are the war movies that stick with me--the exceptions that prove Truffaut's sentiments that you can't make an antiwar movie.
Those first kubrick films i can asociate with a cinephile/drawing artist friend who i'm still trying to convince to help me make a shortfilm i wrote. It's nice not to have seen those early stanley movies, so he and i and the friends have another 2 hours to share
Gonna have to disagree with you on the final scene, Maggie - that one always gets me. Funny story, though. I watched this with my father, who doesn’t always “get” movies and is very much not the sort of person to sympathize with an anti-war film, and when that final scene rolled, as I am tearing up with all the soldiers who are tearing up, my father blurts out, “I don’t get it, why are they crying?” 😂😂😂 Never thought that scene would make me laugh, but here we are! Anyway, great review as always 👌
Always Brilliant … Kubrick, even his few, imperfect movies provide enough genius to retain great value … Kubrick is always a subversive film maker, he was clever in barely veiling his bitting social satire to allow him to continue to create movie masterpieces
It is a great film. In one of his hissy fits over Kubrick because he "ruined" his crappy book, Stephen King wrote in The Outsider (badly trying to hide his feelings behind dialogue), that Paths of Glory is better than The Shining or Barry Lyndon because Kubrick stopped taking risks. It is very obvious he only likes Paths of Glory only because of the ending, which certainly appeals to his sentimental & manipulative taste. I like the ending to Paths of Glory, but it is easy to see why it can be viewed as sentimental. Its not manipulative like The Shining book (which is the most overrated book I've ever read), but I do like his later films more. It is still a brilliant film though.
I like how deepfocuslens is going back into the cinema school cinema canon. Human is right. Kubrick's work other work is less about personal performance. Perhaps it is Kirk Douglass just raises himself from the Kubrickian Felini circus and the director Kubrick just has to watch and let him do his thing.
a kubrick movie under 90 minutes is a miracle. only thing i dislike is the antagonist, who is pretty cartoonish compared to the very somber tone and grounded performances
Superb movie in my opinion. Surprising that it got released with such a "subversive" message. The last scene...maybe men and women perceive it differently? Don't know. As you say, a must see film.
I think you would like Breaker Morant (1980), another 'war movie' but has the (true) story set as a court room drama in the midst of the Boer War in South Africa. Interesting story, excellently acted by mostly British and Australian cast, and free to watch on YT. Would also recommend The Hill (1965), set in a British prison camp in North Africa during WW2, an acting tour de force by Sean Connery, Harry Andrews, Ossie Davis et al.
I don't think she actually watched the movie, or if she did she didn't watch it very closely. It's like she's reading cliff notes. Btw, the three individuals who were executed were not officers. They were just grunts, enlisted men. That was an important aspect of the film.
I love the movie, and it's just unbelievable how Kubrick was able to make great anti-war films while focusing on totally different aspects of war, and presenting it in different ways, but always with the same conclusion - that it is more or else farcical, I'd say. And I agree with you, it's definitely Kubrick's most humane work. Btw. the film was released the same year as another masterpiece "The Bridge on the river Kwai"
@@markkavanagh7377 Absolutely Even as a child I thought it was overdone and did not feel right...and then I tried rewatching as an adult and could not get past the scene where all the enlisted men are running amok, jumping from the bridge in the river and having fun while the Japanese guards do not intervene. Then I read some memoirs of Allied POWS in the hands of the Japanese and I spit on this movie.
Have you seen “Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (1966)? I feel like this movie does not get the recognition it deserves. Nominated in every category & won 5 Oscars. I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts. This movie kept me on my toes throughout. I didn’t want to miss one line.
Your problem is that you and most people think this is an anti war film. Kubrick said something you should examine very closely. " I have never made an anti war film"
For me the final singing sequence is one of kubrick’s great sequences, maybe his best. I cry every time!
That scene has been changed. They got a pretty, somewhat older young woman singer, and the scene was longer. The original scene was 1000 times better...
Paths of Glory is, in my opinion, the most antiwar movie ever crafted. It illustrates the absurdity of Valor and hypocrisy of those in charge. It ultimately succeeds in making the viewer angry at unjust results of one's actions and how war is just unnecessary.
Maybe the strongest statement in film that war is about the willingness of both sides to order the death of their plebians.
My personal favorite Kubrick picture. Blew me away with this movie. There isn’t a wasted moment in this film.
Stanley always said that he would much rather film something interesting than something real. I have always thought of him as the most realistic abstract film maker that ever was. Cheers.
Oh get you ain't you full of yourself.
My favourite Kubrick film. Still incredibly powerful and haunting after all of these years.
I always say it's his first masterpiece, the only Kubrick film I've never heard a bad thing about, and sits right next to "2001" and "Clockwork Orange" and "Strangelove" and all of his "major" masterpieces. Which, to be fair, is most of 'em! But it's no wonder Orson Welles said that he saw Kubrick as some kind of "giant"......and this was BEFORE he saw "2001"!
It’s a great film for sure, but i feel there’s better Anti-War films that do the same thing. I prefer Kubrick’s other earlier films
Kirk Douglas has a top 10 acting performance in this for me
I love the film and the ending. I think what that final scene portrays is the humanity of the soldiers. The female German singer is supposed to be the enemy so they jeer and demean her at first. But once they hear her delicate voice, they suddenly realize she is just a frightened young woman. They soon become ashamed of their behavior.
The actress, Christiane, and Stanley married!
He was married to her. And I believe stayed so. Best and most honest film about militaristic arrogance. Adolph Menjou and the cast very brilliant.
I have been hoping for your review of this great film--thank you so much. In regards to the ending, I have a feeling that it's as if she were singing a lullaby to a child, and the hardened soldiers are inspired to think of their own mothers and a time of innocence when they were safe at home. Hence they were for a moment disjointed from war --which parallels your point that the scene feels disjointed from the rest of the film.Yet we find out at the end they will soon all return to the harsh reality of war.
There is so much more one can comment but just from a cinematic viewpoint I feel Paths of Glory was when Kubrick truly emerged a 'director with a cinematographer's eye' with his masterful use of spatial perspective, lighting and camera techniques which became signatures features in his later films.
Again, thank you for reviewing this often overlooked Kubrick film.
This is such a powerful film. I watched it for the first time about a month ago and it's easily one of my favorite Kubrick films.
The cinematography is superb, and really nails you to your seat being almost as physically uncomfortable as the act would really be.
It's also noteworthy in that it was banned in France due to it's poor depiction of the military. While not the intent, it really is the polar opposite of films like Sargeant York.
"Man isn't a noble savage, he's an ignoble savage. He is irrational, brutal, weak, silly, unable to be objective about anything where his own interests are involved - that about sums it up. I'm interested in the brutal and violent nature of man because it's a true picture of him. And any attempt to create social institutions on a false view of the nature of man is probably doomed to failure"
- STANLEY KUBRICK
I respect this man, and that quote (which summarizes Paths of Glory) is why I love the movie
James B. Harris talked about his initial skepticism of the final scene and being won over by it when they shot it in an interview you can find on UA-cam. As well as being producer he was an extra in the scene. I have always been fond of PATHS and my appreciation grows with every viewing. I find all of Kubrick's films grow in power and resonance with subsequent rewatches, except FEAR AND DESIRE.
In light of the fact that years later Kubrick sought to destroy all copies of his first feature film, I'm sure he would agree.But Fear and Desire can serve as an inspiration in that one can have a very sub-standard start but go on to do great things.
I'd say this would be in the top 3 of my Kubrick list. I was shocked when binging his filmography to find that even this early on and at such a young age, this was one of the most gripping films he made for me personally. It's funny that Spartacus is Kirk Douglas's more popular role from his collaborations with Stanley, but I will always remember Col. Dax much more. Also the cinematography, just wow. 5/5
"Paths of Glory" is where I feel Kubrick become the master. It does plenty of things, but as you point out, it's all contained within a sliver of runtime and physical scope. It's an American depiction of the French Army, and I cut it slack the same way I do for Disney's "Pinocchio" (as in the 1940 version) for how it depicts northern Italy. The storytelling is what's front and center, and Kirk Douglas (who also bore the responsibilities of a producer) anchors it with the maturity it needs.
"Paths of Glory" is exactly 30 years apart from "Full Metal Jacket", and they're both one film short in his feature oeuvre of being the bookends to his career. The temptation is to treat them like a Before and After of the way Kubrick saw the world, but I don't think it's that simple. He was always building toward something. Maybe "The Killing" and "Paths of Glory" are the foundation level, and everything else is an extra floor.
The unsung hero to me is Gerald Fried, a little under a decade before he scored TV series like "Gilligan's Island", "Mission Impossible" and the first season of "Star Trek". There really isn't much music in "Paths of Glory", and when it does show up, Fried doesn't do too much with it. But the less-is-more attitude is so important to the mood.
Something that Kubrick made a tradition of his own, and that I think really comes out first in this movie, is the ritualistic and ceremonial nature of humans as they go about the tedious movements of meting out cruel justice. It is a bureaucratic, machinelike motion that he dips back into again and again in his movies. Really chilling.
One of my favourite cine-literate channels on UA-cam. I could listen to you talk about film for hours
To anyone that loves paths of glory, it’s my favorite Kubrick personally, check out the movie the ascent. It’s kind of like the WW2 version of this movie
I agree with you. There's nothing to really complain about but I don't think it's particularly near the upper echelon of spectacular Kubrick films.
My favorite Kubrick film for sure. Incredibly powerful. Douglas is perfect for it.
Still one of the all time greatest war films.
Anti-War, but i agree :)
Are there Pro-war films?
The soldier crying, “but I fought in the battle!” Is what got to me most.
Very deep and rich analysis of the film. No fluff, no salesmanship, wonderfully observant and considered.
After having served in the military this movie was more enjoyable, because you kind of understand the complex political dynamics.
It's crazy to think Kubrick made this when he was in his 20s. One of my favorites of his along with Eyes Wide Shut and The Shining.
Agree 100%
Would love to hear your thoughts on The Killing at some point. One of my favorite Kubrick films.
Speaking of 1957 can you review The Seventh Seal please? I just watched this for the very first time recently and it really stood out to me and stayed with me! Loved it! And would love to hear your thoughts on it!
I’ve watched this movie 10 times and you described it incredibly well. Great acting and directing. Thank you.
Personal favorite WW1 flick next to the first live action adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front.
Wow I Just rewatched this yesterday morning. Really stands out just how naturally funny it manages to be despite being probably the single most emotional war/anti-war film to come out of the States
Please describe the humorous scenes in this movie?
@@CEWIII9873 I doesn't sound like you have any sense of nuance if you need the instances of humour in a Kubrick film explained to you but the superior at the end saying he didn't mean to imply any biological relation by calling Kirk Douglas "son" and the cocroach scene stick out as overtly very clearly funny
@@lukess.s in a sense, yes, I agree.
Otherwise, a very bleak affair.
I was thinking of re-watching this film recently. I think you’ve convinced me!
Interesting film. When i first saw it i didnt like it. However ive watched it more and more and grown to really love it. I have it on dvd. The camera work in the trenches. The way the story was told the acting. The powerful scene with his wife when she sang. It is a great film. Great review Maggie we both love Kubrick my fav of his has to be 2001 then Dr Strangelove
I just saw this after hearing about it for quite some time Kubrick just provides every scene which is basically a master class and the ending is just unbelievable
Top 5 Kubrick movie for me. It didn't resonate that much the first time I saw it around 20yo, but now with more perspective on life and history I find it's like a fine wine, it aged beautifully and gets better with each viewing. The 4k UHD released by Kino Lorber last summer has an incredible new transfer that shows the movie in all it's subtle glory and the included commentary track by Novelist and Critic Tim Lucas is super insightful. Very much recommended for those who have a proper 4k setup.
This film has some of the greatest battle scenes.
My personal favorite is when the soldiers go out on night patrol, and nothing - not even shadows hardly - is seen of the battlefield until flares go up and the viewer sees all of the debris of the war - replete with a downed aircraft and skeletal pilot.
It's been so long since I've seen it, but your critique fascinates me, especially when you question the ending. Guess I'll have to check it out soon. Pulp Fiction was my first love, but soon after the stiflingly white Kubrick video box set from the 90's followed for Christmas. Dr. Strangelove (my favorite Kubrick), 2001, A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon (another favorite), The Shining (a 3rd favorite) and Eyes Wide Shut (my final favorite) are all immortal in my opinion. I watched The Killing sometime in the last three years and found it lacking. Like you said, Kubrick was always more interested in ideas. He treats characters like chess pieces, and his earlier films tend to come off as too overt or almost strangled in a lifeless doll kinda way. Then he discovered the sublime.
Pulp Fiction is soooooo overrated hahahaha
Just started checking out your vids, but I have a somewhat different recommendation for a movie in comparison to what you upload in Puss in Boots 2. Definitely surpassed my expectations and blew me away. It's the movie that just got me into film these past few months believe it or not and now I'm watching a wide variety of movies.
Also, I just watched Paths of Glory and it was phenomenal. I personally enjoyed that last scene, with the camera panning across all the faces of human people coming into their own realization of what they were indulging in just moments before.
Definitely earned my subscription 👍🏼
It's probably Kubrick's first movie where all of the Kubrick elements we know come together in a single movie.
I'm not sure what I think of the ending. Actually, I'm not sure that I love most of Kubrick's endings in general.
It is another of Kubrick’s great adaptations of a book, in this case Humphrey Cobb’s novel of the same name, based on a real fact. The book takes away importance from the character played by Douglas and focuses more on the three soldiers who face death. Both the novel and the movie are great in their own way. I love Kubrick’s personal interpretations of literary works. The Clockwork Orange is very loyal to the source material, apart from the famous missing last chapter of the book, but I prefer his versions of the novels by Stephen King and Thackeray than the novels themselves, as good as they are.
The contrast of the ending is meant be jarring; throughout the film we're seeing everything from the POV of the officers and 'higher-ups' - the people with power. Even in the battle scene when Dax chooses to lead the attack we're seeing from his point of view. What's disconcerting about the end is that Dax's despair shakes the balance towards the powerless German girl, and her taking control by committing to her song affects us in the same way as the soldiers, with discomfort, then reflection, then empathy. And then we are ready to look back at Dax, who regains and strengthens his balance. It's ingenious and elegant as well as emotionally powerful.
Kirk Douglas was a major mover-and-shaker -- see his involvement with "Spartacus," which broke the Hollowood "blacklist".
(Another was Henry Fonda -- see as one example "12 Angry Men". He also made three films, two based on fact, about men falsely accused of crimes, one as TV movie "Gideon's Trumpet".)
Have to admit, Kubrick's war and historical films are something of a blindspot for me. Having watched this interview, I wonder how much this influenced Nolan's Dunkirk?
At 84 minutes long, it is tight for a Kubrick film similarly to The Killing. Early in the film the camera tracking Kirk Douglas inspecting the trenches opened my eyes wide open,,, such a good sequence. Overall it touches the many lies and subsequent horrors of war, especially shining the French in a negative light. No wonder it was banned in France until 1975.
Interesting, I found a lot of what you said about this Kubrick film to apply just as well to "The Killing" despite the vastly different subject-matter. Taut, minimalist and yet so rich.
I love the final scene and the fact that Kubrick met his wife there
the contrast between this and modern war films like dunkirk and 1917 (which stole so much of its visual style from it) is immense. i spent a lot of the latter especially thinking of kubricks movie.
And while Douglas is great ive always felt like theres something lacking in having such an american star playing a french soldier (a similar feeling i have w/ Frankenheimer's the train).
Ted bell was a enlisted soldier. He worked at ABC radio as a director. Quite a character
A great great film which illustrates the absurdity of war and how the generals thought only of themselves .. madness expressed as valour and honour with no thought of human life or the desperation of the troops merely attempting to survive . I never tire of watching it
That final sequence can be seen as very cynical. One imagines Kubrick chuckling
Best line in the movie: "Wherein have I done wrong?"
Kubrick said that Paths of Glory was his anti-war film (as you say, pretty straight forward) and Full Metal Jacket was his war film. But, I believe, what he meant by war film was a dissection of war and the mindset(s) it takes to be involved.
FMJ was shot in England. Minor quibble, the three soldiers being tried were not officers. That’s part of what the film is about - how officers have this power over those under them. The final scene can be seen as very cynical. The soldiers are going back to the Front very shortly thereafter.
Movies like paths of glory are a stark reminder to us not to store up treasures on earth, but to store up treasures in Heaven. "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Matthew 6, 19-21
I think that it's remarkable that in both this film and Full Metal Jacket, the only 'enemy' we meet at the end is a woman! If Kubrick laid on the sentimentality by having his future wife sing a sweet song that brought the French to tears, he atoned for it with the execution of the sniper in FMJ.
One of my all time favorite films!
Did you deliberately not mention that the girl in the last scene became Mrs. Christiane Kubrick?
And the little girl in "2001" is their daughter.
Shot in glorious B&W. I, at times, found this film to be visually impactful.
This and Battle of Algiers are the war movies that stick with me--the exceptions that prove Truffaut's sentiments that you can't make an antiwar movie.
My favorite black white film
Very good film of a controversial incident during WW1,(the mutiny was actually much more widespread).Next to 'Barry Lyndon',my fav Kubrick film
Been hoping you'd do this one!
if it's Kubrick, even if it seems like he is wrong he is right ... man was mega genius
The greatest movie ever made, in my opinion.
Those first kubrick films i can asociate with a cinephile/drawing artist friend who i'm still trying to convince to help me make a shortfilm i wrote.
It's nice not to have seen those early stanley movies, so he and i and the friends have another 2 hours to share
The final scene absolutely landed with me.
been waiting for this one....his first one that was great!!
I love Timothy Carey, and so did Kubrick!
Gonna have to disagree with you on the final scene, Maggie - that one always gets me. Funny story, though. I watched this with my father, who doesn’t always “get” movies and is very much not the sort of person to sympathize with an anti-war film, and when that final scene rolled, as I am tearing up with all the soldiers who are tearing up, my father blurts out, “I don’t get it, why are they crying?” 😂😂😂 Never thought that scene would make me laugh, but here we are!
Anyway, great review as always 👌
I love this film. But I would say it isn’t my fav Kubrick work but regardless leaves all its contemporaries of the genre in the dust.
Always Brilliant … Kubrick, even his few, imperfect movies provide enough genius to retain great value … Kubrick is always a subversive film maker, he was clever in barely veiling his bitting social satire to allow him to continue to create movie masterpieces
Why are all of her videos backwards?
It is a great film. In one of his hissy fits over Kubrick because he "ruined" his crappy book, Stephen King wrote in The Outsider (badly trying to hide his feelings behind dialogue), that Paths of Glory is better than The Shining or Barry Lyndon because Kubrick stopped taking risks. It is very obvious he only likes Paths of Glory only because of the ending, which certainly appeals to his sentimental & manipulative taste.
I like the ending to Paths of Glory, but it is easy to see why it can be viewed as sentimental. Its not manipulative like The Shining book (which is the most overrated book I've ever read), but I do like his later films more. It is still a brilliant film though.
I just watched this movie for the first time yesterday, and it is excellent!
I’m surprised you didn’t talk about how it’s also a riveting courtroom drama.
Saw this in the drive-in as a kid on first release. Still a great film -- has the edge over "Strangelove," which is too much enjoyed as a "comedy".
I like how deepfocuslens is going back into the cinema school cinema canon. Human is right. Kubrick's work other work is less about personal performance. Perhaps it is Kirk Douglass just raises himself from the Kubrickian Felini circus and the director Kubrick just has to watch and let him do his thing.
Beautiful fluency of language, Maggie. Compare Breaker Morant.
Barry Lyndon Is Kubrick's most underrated film.
So appreciate you reviewing these older films. Thank you. Oh, and for not saying, "Hey guys" at that start.
Samuel Johnson said that patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. Trump, Chaney, Rumsfeld, Kissanger all qualify as scoundrel's. Thanks GOP.
The novel is fantastic as well
a kubrick movie under 90 minutes is a miracle. only thing i dislike is the antagonist, who is pretty cartoonish compared to the very somber tone and grounded performances
Superb movie in my opinion. Surprising that it got released with such a "subversive" message. The last scene...maybe men and women perceive it differently? Don't know. As you say, a must see film.
I think you would like Breaker Morant (1980), another 'war movie' but has the (true) story set as a court room drama in the midst of the Boer War in South Africa. Interesting story, excellently acted by mostly British and Australian cast, and free to watch on YT. Would also recommend The Hill (1965), set in a British prison camp in North Africa during WW2, an acting tour de force by Sean Connery, Harry Andrews, Ossie Davis et al.
My favorite Kubrick film
I don't think she actually watched the movie, or if she did she didn't watch it very closely. It's like she's reading cliff notes. Btw, the three individuals who were executed were not officers. They were just grunts, enlisted men. That was an important aspect of the film.
Paths to glory is a film made in the 1950's watching it now it looks like it was made in the mid 1980's . A film before it's time .
Please Review dolor y gloria from Almodovar!
I love the movie, and it's just unbelievable how Kubrick was able to make great anti-war films while focusing on totally different aspects of war, and presenting it in different ways, but always with the same conclusion - that it is more or else farcical, I'd say. And I agree with you, it's definitely Kubrick's most humane work.
Btw. the film was released the same year as another masterpiece "The Bridge on the river Kwai"
Recently rewatched River Kwai, thought it has aged badly, wonder if others feel the same.
@@markkavanagh7377 Absolutely
Even as a child I thought it was overdone and did not feel right...and then I tried rewatching as an adult and could not get past the scene where all the enlisted men are running amok, jumping from the bridge in the river and having fun while the Japanese guards do not intervene.
Then I read some memoirs of Allied POWS in the hands of the Japanese and I spit on this movie.
Great film. World War 1 was one suicide mission after another.
One of the greatest anti war movies.
Great film. Interesting and engaging review.
Have you seen “Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (1966)? I feel like this movie does not get the recognition it deserves. Nominated in every category & won 5 Oscars. I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts. This movie kept me on my toes throughout. I didn’t want to miss one line.
Funny...I watched it a couple of week ago, and hadn't seen it in years. Loved it more than I did initially.
I found this movie funny. I see it as a dark comedy.
A masterpiece….
I also think the ending is little over-sentimental. Still, great film
I much prefer this film to Full Metal Jacket
I gave it a 4/5.
I would even watch Maggie do a review video of bottled water.
One look at the thumbnail, and I could immediately spot my "path to glory"!
How about reacting to it...?
This isn't much of a war movie in the end. More of a failure-of-justice-when-you're-up-against-the-ruling-elite-sorta-movie.
Your problem is that you and most people think this is an anti war film.
Kubrick said something you should examine very closely.
" I have never made an anti war film"