Paths of Glory Essay Example

Let me start off by stating that this was my first viewing of Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory. The movie also enlightened me of how the French army command of World War I acted and carried out their policy of cowardice. This film was banned in France for 18 years after its 1957 release for anti-militarist sentiments. As for being Kubrick's first major studio flick, he re-creates realistic, historical conditions of what went on during the pre- to post- battle scene, along with the contrast in the condition of settings between the soldiers on the front and the French High Command back behind the lines. As for its time (1957), the director with his use of cinematography and special effects made me envision what it must of been like to live in the trenches, or to sit back and sip cognac in a magnificient chateau. Paths of Glory is a film that deals with not only the conflict which was World War I, France versus Germany, but also conflicts of power between the French high ranking officers and its soldiers. For much of the movie it depicts man at his worst, but gives way to a change of humality at its end. Kubrick also gives us an insight of how politics are conducted in the military. The storyline in Paths of Glory is based on a novel by Humphrey Cobb. Kubrick is interested in exploring the events that precede and come after one particular battle. For the French army, this impending battle is an impossible one, a charge from the trenches to take the “Anthill”. Kirk Douglass plays Colonel Dax, the highest ranking officer to actually fight in the battle. Dax tries to persuade his superiors that the plan is suicide but his Generals, Broulard (Adolphe Menjou) and Mireau (George Macready) are adamant that the orders must be followed. The first wave attack commences and the French forces are slaughtered not only by the enemy but also by friendly fire from their own artillery. Knowing it was going to be a futile attempt in the first place, and seeing what was