Paths of Glory is a movie about World War I by director Stanley Kubrick who is one of my favorite directors.
The movie shows the futility of the trench warfare in the Great War. When a French attack fails, the general decides to execute 100 soldiers as an example. He is then convinced by another general to reduce the number to three. The soldiers are tried in a trial without any evidence and then executed.
According to Wikipedia, the movie is based on a novel by Humphrey Cobb and loosely based on the true story of four French soldiers who were executed for mutiny in World War I but their executions were later ruled unfair. Also, the book and movie title comes from the following:
The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow’r,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave,
Awaits alike th’inevitable hour.
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
Overall, it is a great antiwar movie. I rate it 8/10.
I tagged you.
This is probably the most accessible movie Stanley Kubrick ever made, next to The Shining. What I recall being so great about it is that there’s no outpouring of sentimentality. The deaths are just as plain as you can get, which makes an even stronger indictment against the officer class for sacrificing the lives of their own men in a pointless cause. I believe that Israel, Spain and a couple of other countries banned this film for 20 years for those reasons. Good capsule review, Zack.
Marigold: Hopefully, I’ll get to it soon.
Joe: Thanks. I agree it is one of the most accessible plots in a Kubrick movie.