Paths of Glory, written by Stanley Kubrick, Calder Willingham, Jim Thompson, based on the novel by Humphrey Cobb, 9 out of 10

Paths of Glory, written by Stanley Kubrick, Calder Willingham, Jim Thompson, based on the novel by Humphrey Cobb

9 out of 10

Notes and thoughts on other books are available at:

-              https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVa4_CsRStSBBDo4uJWT8BSWtTTn0N1E and   http://realini.blogspot.ro/

Paths of Glory is a…glorious film.

The audiences have places it at number 58 on the list of top rated films, on IMDB and The New York Times has included it on its list of 1,000 Best Movies Ever Made:

-          http://www.listchallenges.com/new-york-times-best-1000-movies-ever-made/checklist/17

Stanley Kubrick is one of the best five directors ever, with achievements such as:

-          2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Dr. Strangelove or How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, Lolita, Barry Lyndon

And in the leading role we have the phenomenal Kirk Douglas- Spartacus, The Bad and The Beautiful, Lust for Life being just some of his memorable performances, after we include his role as Colonel Dax in this masterpiece.

From the introduction to this chef d’oeuvre the audience learns about the World War I and the situation on the front, where the battle lines have stayed in the same place for about two years, moving with only few hundred yards.

The cost of any maneuver, for any centimeter of advancement towards the enemy lines was measured in hundreds of thousands of lives lost.

General George Broulard is talking with another general, Paul Mireau about an operation that the commanders have in mind, which would be dangerous- actually will mean the death of many- but would gain a promotion for the latter officer.

In the first place, Gen. Paul Mireau talks about the eight thousand men that he is responsible for and that he would rather not let them down than gain honors, decorations, but pretty soon changes his speech and talks about artillery support.

On a visit in the trenches, this general meets with the effects of war, talking with a soldier who is evidently absent and unaware of what is going on and his comrades explain that he is shell shocked, an explanation refuted by Paul Mireau.

He has a conversation with Colonel Dax, who is the officer responsible for the planned attack that will result in more than half of his men being killed, according to ruthless estimations made in advance of the reckless manoeuver.

The Colonel appears to be the only superior officer that really cares for his men and does everything he can to protect them, throughout the battle and then in the court martial trial, quoting Samuel Jackson to his superior: “patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel”.

Lieutenant Roget is on a reconnaissance mission when he gets too scared to continue and abandons one man and is responsible for the death of another, sending the surviving soldier to be executed in the aftermath of the ill-fated attack.

The plan to attack the enemy was destined to be a catastrophe right from the start, the only reason for launching such a mass suicidal mission being the vainglory, desire for fame, power and applause that generals had.

When the vicious, murderous general sees that the some of the soldiers cannot even go out of their trenches, faced with a terrible barrage of artillery, he orders repeatedly that his own guns fire upon their own troops.

In a vicious manner, after the failed attack, instead of having the superior officers that designed the catastrophic “advance” taken to task and trialed, innocent soldiers are selected, most at random, to face a court martial.

Some of these “accused” have had to draw a ticket at a “death lottery”, since there was no way to distinguish between combatants, they had all acted with bravery in previous battles and now they all had to wait when faced with imminent death from a curtain of enemy fire that made it impossible to take a step ahead.

The inhuman general, when faced with the result of his orders wants ten men from each company to be executed for the fiasco that was his and his superiors responsibility and he talks about insubordination and their refusal to attack which his contradicted by Colonel Dax who says that they obeyed orders but could not make any headway.

A flash court martial is organized to demonstrate that the accused did not advance but retreated when fighting the enemy, which was the only possible thing to do, short of committing suicide and walking straight into exploding projectiles.

Colonel Dax is the only honorable, just, compassionate, positive, brave, decent, responsible officer and he is right when he expresses his disgust in court, as he defends the accused, a task that he had asked for:

“Gentlemen of the court, there are times that I'm ashamed to be a member of the human race and this is one such occasion…The attack yesterday morning was no stain on the honour of France, and certainly no disgrace to the fighting men of this nation. But this Court Martial is such a stain, and such a disgrace. The case made against these men is a mockery of all human justice. Gentlemen of the court, to find these men guilty would be a crime, to haunt each of you till the day you die. I can't believe that the noblest impulse for man - his compassion for another - can be completely dead here. Therefore, I humbly beg you... show mercy to these men.”