If there was ever a quintisential anti-war film, it would be Paths of Glory. Stanley Kubrick doesn’t leave much to the imagination, deciding to faithfully adapt Humphrey Cobb’s novel of the same name. Based on a true story of four French soldiers during World War I who were executed as an example to the rest of the men, there’s no doubt whose side Kubrick is on. Kurt Douglas stars in the leading role as a colonel with a conscience.
Mired down in trench warfare, General Georges Broulard (Adolphe Menjou) persuades his ambitious subordinate General Mireau (George Macready) to send one of his French divisions on a suicide mission to take the heavily defended German position known as the ‘Anthill’. Despite his protests, Colonel Dax (Douglas) is left to finalise the details and lead the charge. When it fails, Mireau looks to shift the blame by court marhsalling a hundred men.
Paths of Glory is one of Kubrick’s best films. It’s also one of his most controversial. Its anti-war stance drew a lot of controversy upon release and it wasn’t released until the next decade in France. Douglas demonstrates exactly why he was arguably the biggest star of the era with a captivating and compelling performance. Paths of Glory is an important work, but more than anything else it’s one of the greatest anti-war films ever made.
Special Features:
- High-definition digital presentation
- English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
- New video interview with Kubrick scholar Peter Kramer
- New video interview with filmmaker Richard Ayoade
- Original theatrical trailer
- Isolated music & effects track
- PLUS: A booklet featuring the words of Kubrick, and more!
Paths of Glory is released on Blu-ray by Eureka Entertainment as part of their Masters of Cinema collection on Monday.
