Glória Feita de Sangue

I saw this movie for the first time on television today, after being persuaded by the reviews I read beforehand praising it. Also I like Kirk Douglas. Although I am not directly familiar with Kubrick's work, a shameful admission I know. Out of what I have seen so far I loved Dr Strangelove and despite only seeing it once while flicking through channels liked The Shining too. Anyway back on target, Paths of Glory was brilliant in my opinion!

Winston Churchill famously claimed that it was this movie that was closest to evoking the atmosphere of WW1 and the military mind. And you know what, he is right. For one thing, Paths of Glory is gorgeously filmed, with relentlessly beautiful cinematography and nice costumes and scenery. The screenplay is sometimes humorous, sometimes moving and sometimes even haunting, either way it was some fine writing. The efficiency of Kubrick's direction is proof of a great man at work.

The performances were superb. As the general who orders the hopeless attack on the German position, Adolphe Menjou's character is perceived as a villain not because of being an officer adhering to the letter, but that he is seen as "the arrogant aristocrat" because of his fear of the working classes than his hatred of the enemy. Among the cast, Timothy Carey and Kirk Douglas especially were outstanding. And the music? That is one rousing score I can tell you. Great movie. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Paths of Glory is one of the best movies ever made, and possibly the best "war" movie, period. Paths of Glory does not portray war as conflict between armies or individual soldiers arrayed against one another on the battlefield. Nor does it portray the acts of great leaders and heroes of war. No this film takes a different tact.

The setting is the Western Front of 1916 in the trenches with French soldiers faced off against an invisible German force across a barren No Man's Land. The German's are never seen and the dramatic "combat" is between vain French officers as they vie for prestige and honors. The victims are the innocent French soldiers under their command who suffer miserably because of their arrogance and ignorance.

Brilliant, gripping, and definitely a "must see".

You've been posted to the front, to serve your country in the war, now they want you to go over, and face the enemy once more, only problem that you have, is you know it's certain death, there'll be no gains made here today, but there'll be, almighty mess.

As powerful a film as ever existed against those who pursue war as a solution, painting a portrait of the incompetence of command and the futility of armed conflict, as French soldiers on the front during WW1 discover the penalty for disobedience, the consequence of insubordination and that everyone is accountable, and that nothing's fair, there is no love in war.

Top performances all round, especially from Kirk Douglas, and a director that went on to make his mark quite significantly in the world of film.

Although Kubrick's films are marked by their massive variation of genre and tone, one theme that crops up again and again is a strong anti-war sentiment, and this was never stated more strongly than in Paths of Glory. A relatively early Kubrick picture and, despite coming before what is considered his classic period, it is one of his best.

In contrast to his previous picture, The Killing, a definite Kubrick style is beginning to emerge now. One notable example is the scene in which General Mireau tours the trenches, walking towards the audience with the camera retreating away from him. This technique would be repeated years later in Kubrick's other war film, Full Metal Jacket. There is also something about the arrangement of objects in the frame, as well the tracking and dollying which hints towards his more familiar later style. His recurring chess motif appears as well, albeit subtly. At the court martial the floor is chequered, and the soldiers on trial are seated with guards standing behind them as if they are pawns about to be sacrificed.

The light and contrast in this picture is put to good effect. The palatial officers' headquarters is light and airy with few shadows. The trenches are gloomy and cramped. Kubrick was becoming a real master at contrasting locations and getting the look of a place just right.

The use of music in Paths of Glory is bold and brilliant. The pre-recorded score is almost entirely percussive – all rhythmic sounds with no melody. A weird kettle drum track is used to help build tension in the night patrol scene, while in the climactic scene the funeral march drumming instills a sense of dread, further heightened by having the shots edited in time to the beat. In the emotional final scene we get the complete opposite – a beautiful vocal melody. This has all the more impact after hearing nothing but militaristic drums for the rest of the film.

The casting is absolutely flawless. While there are no big names apart from leading man Kirk Douglas and the now elderly Adolphe Menjou, there isn't a single weak performance. The despair and resentment of the condemned soldiers feels so absolutely real. In contrast the smugness and fake sympathy of the upper class officers is brilliantly portrayed.

Throughout his career Kubrick never seemed to be particularly keen on blatantly emotional moments. Paths of Glory is the exception. The later scenes are incredibly poignant and moving, and the final moments in the soldier's bar are what makes it a masterpiece more than anything else – the icing on the cake. However it's quite probable that Kubrick regretted this as an overly sentimental approach, as woolly sentimentalism was a major gripe of his when he worked on Spartacus. Whatever the case, he certainly reined in the stirring stuff considerably after this, to the point where his later films became characterised by their understatement of emotions.

I consider Paths of Glory as one of the most memorable of Kubrick's entire output. The most remarkable aspect of this pioneer anti-war film is the complete absence of any persons depicting the "real" enemy. Therefore, the significance of the film lay not so much in its anti-war message, but in its brilliant expose of the "monsters within" the general staff, superbly acted by Adolphe Menjou and George Macready. The message here is that the enemy lurks much closer to home. In most war films, whether they glorify or condemn the carnage, there is rarely any venturing at all into the darker side of the politics. This film is a tour de force in its unabashed depiction of just how misguided is the quest for glory as an end in itself; and in the portrayal of the leaders who would shamelessly sacrifice others for their own self aggrandizement. Truly, one of my all time favourite movies.