Cheap Paths of Glory (B&W) (Video) (Stanley Kubrick) Price

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Customer Reviews of Paths of Glory (B&W)

Overrated? I fear so
Kubrick is one of the really great film auteurs of the 20th century, and Path of Glory is admired by many as a work of early maturity. Indeed, there is much to admire. The clinically sharp black and white photography; the use of long tracking shots; fine performances, particularly George Macready as an ambitious general and Adolphe Menjou in perhaps his finest work in a career filled with portrayals of reptilian manipulators; crisp editing; effective use of sound. Indeed, it bears many of the hallmarks of Kubrick's more mature (from Dr. Strangelove and Lolita onwards) style. One particularly uncanny stylistic element: the tracking shots and interiors in some ways prefigure Resnais's great Last Year at Marienbad--which in turn seems to be the source of much of Kubrick's style from 2001: A Space Odyssey onward. <
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>And yet this film feels flat. It's arguably the emotionally chilliest of all of Kubrick's films. Its unending succession of military stupidity and venality (even for the French army) is oppressive. It is a classic war-is-hell-and-the-commanders-are-the-ninth-circle polemic--and all its technical polish cannot disguise its formulaic hollowness. It lacks the most distinctive thing characteristic of all of Kulbrick's mature films--sardonic humor. Even the most touching moment in the film--the café scene--is somewhat forced. <
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>Kubrick was obviously fascinated with war, from his very first film, Fear and Desire (which is even flatter and more formulaic then Paths of Glory)to Spartacus to Dr. Strangelove to Full Metal Jacket, with growing maturity and mastery. Of Kubrick's early films, The Killers stands out; but it is not until we reach Dr. Strangelove and Lolita that his full genius is apparent. <
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>The DVD transfer is fine. The film--well, to this reviewer there are three films in Kubrick's body of work that just don't fly. First, Fear and Desire--looks good, completely formulaic in a kind of Twilight Zone manner. Second, The Shining--an example of a great director making a great looking film with fine performances that eliminates the vulgarity of the source material--and completely drains the life out of it. The third is Paths of Glory. Its technical prowess and fine performances can't hide the hollowness inside. One suspects that many who praise it are knee-jerk responsive to its sentiments, and ignore its chill bloodlessness. <
>For the Kubrick fan, see this film to understand the arc of his career. I can't really recommend it to others.

Cruel War and Shameless Politics
Stanley Kubrick directs this film based on a novel by Humphrey Cobb. A great film exploring human nature and the fallability of institutions when shamelessly used for self-interest by their leaders. The story is somewhat a variation of Emille Zola's 'J'accuse' regarding the Dreyfuss affair in which an innocent French Jewish officer was tried and condemned as a scapegoat for the incompetence of his superiors in an espionage scandal. <
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>This story concerns the decimation of Colonel Dax's regiment after they failed to take a heavily fortified hill during WWI. Colonel Dax is forced to order his officers to choose three men to be randomly tried and executed for cowardice. However, the only reason Dax's regiment didn't move forward was because it was a suicide mission that was impossible to achieve with the scant forces of his regiment. When some of his regiment's batallions fail to leave their trenches during the assault, his division's general orders the artillery units to fire upon them. The assault was a failure and the general is now sure to blame someone besides himself for this failed attack. He obtains the succour of his fellow generals who quickly arrange a court-martial against men of Dax's regiment for cowardice. Fearing dishonor, the generals choose to conspire in condemning some innocent enlisted men instead of admitting the error of their inept colleague. Dax, an attorney by profession, chooses to defend his men and expose the injustice of this kangaroo court. What follows is a powerful and moving speech by Dax on the injustice he sees taking place before him. The only downside to this film is in its setting of France in 1916 but having the only French things in it being the soldiers' uniforms and an American actor with a French name. The tight script, performance, and direction of the film however more than make up for this practical oversight. <
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>This is not an anti-war film per se, it is rather a study of human nature and injustice in its most cowardly form. It details the situation when it is the cowards who pose as the brave and persecute the brave as cowards to hide their shameful deeds. The film is also an attack on the rigid 19th century aristocratic class structure which was essentially in its last years of political supremacy in Europe but still dominant in political and military circles among the officer corps. Such aristocratic officers often had no qualms with ordering hundreds of thousands of lower class men senslessly to their deaths to appear bold and courageous at an upcoming brown-nosing ceremony attended by the Kaiser or King. Such blue-blooded aristocrats officers often competed for decorations in having 'bravely' penetrated a one mile section of the 500 mile front by a few hundred yards for the Fatherland only at the cost of only a few ruffians, peasants, street merchants, and cheap laborers. A sad is thing that, because of technology redendering the 19th century social, military, and political paradigms obsolete, this war was really nothing more than a futile four-year excercise in pursuing moot political objectives through pointless attrition and infinite decimation. It was a truly pointless slaughter that would in Germany and France alone kill or permanently maim 75% of the young adult male population in the course of four years: this movie portrays the mentality behind such butchery rather well from its perspective. This is a great film with a touching script and a powerful message on human injustice. All of this is of course complemented by the great direction of Kubrick and intense acting of Kirk Douglass who unquestionably presents one of the finest performances in his career: don't miss it!