“Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence.” — Robert Frost
There are many avenues available that will lead travelers to that moment in a special realm where they receive praise and honor for their efforts. Yet as we are reminded in the last scene of Patton, that moment is always fleeting. Sometimes that moment is marked by heroism, bravery, or some Herculean accomplishment. Other times, actions are remembered as having shown cowardice in the face of the enemy. No other form of human endeavor provides more opportunities for both than war.
The Criterion Collection will release Paths of Glory on DVD, October 26, 2010, adding to their already impressive inventory of classic and contemporary films. The transfer from film to disc was supervised by Leon Vitali, who was Kubrick’s technical assistant. Vitali’s efforts are detailed in a sixteen-page booklet that accompanies the DVD and features an interesting and informative essay by James Naremore about the movie’s plot and action.
Stanley Kubrick started out as an apprentice photographer for Look magazine in 1946 and later became a full time staff photographer there. He did three documentary films in the early fifties and in 1957 did Paths of Glory, his fourth feature film. Even the casual viewer can see the influence of his still photography experience in almost every scene.
Never one to shy away from controversial topics, Kubrick embraces execution for cowardice (by firing squad) here — as well as the arrogance of officers. Private Eddie Slovik was the last American executed by the United States for cowardice and that happened in Word War II about the time of the Battle of the Bulge, as Hitler’s panzers attacked in the Hurtgen Forest. Slovik was arrested for his actions. In Paths of Glory, the French soldiers executed were chosen to die, one by drawing lots, as representatives of their inadequate unit.
Article comments
1 - Reese McKay
Thanks for reminding me of this movie. I still haven't seen it yet. It's on my long (getting longer it seems all the time) list of movies to see and books to read. I have seen the other movies on your "greatest war movies" list, and I would agree with those two picks. "All Quiet on the Western Front" would be one of my choices, but it has been a very long time since I saw it. For TV series I would include "Twelve O'clock High" which I believe is better than the movie, even though some people consider the movie to be a real classic. For me it is not so easy to watch these kinds of movies. Maybe most people can keep it in their minds that it is "just" a movie. For me, I think too much about "what if I was really in that exact situation?" And having known a number of men who were in the heat of battle and lived through it, it is quite obvious that no one ever really "recovers" from it. Combat changes a man for ever.
2 - Boeke
An excellent movie. Still, the best ever war movie is "All Quiet on The Western Front".