Paths of Glory is a 1957 war film about the fallibility of human judgment and questioning the value of a life. Stanley Kubrick directed the film, prompted by his vivid memories of reading the novel written by Humphrey Cobb for school. The film turned out to be a controversial affair, nationally, and on foreign shores. Coupled with the tale's moral itself, this cultural prejudice against the movie's depiction of war proved to be the greatest irony of all.
The movie starts with the proposition by the French General Staff to take a stronghold of the German forces on the nearby battlefield. The General in charge does not believe this to be a wise decision at first, realizing his troops that would be assigned such a duty would be far underpowered in comparisons to the enemy. However, the General above him makes the suggestion that such a victory would guarantee a promotion in rank, and suddenly the task becomes far less impossible.
The film takes a subtle, and realistic by today's standards, approach to the telling of a war story. The characters drive the plot forward without prompt from the external enemy, but rather from the inhumane judgments and justifications of their own seats of power. A depth exists in every private, general, and rank in between, along with the interactions between them. This is why the movie is a popular choice for teachers to assign their students to analyze and write about it for critical thinking.
The attack is inevitably a failure, as every character besides the delusional generals fueled by arrogance sees coming, and the remaining troops who refuse to leave the trenches for a lost battle are blamed. The entire regiment takes the fall for the loss, and three men are selected at random to punish the entire group of soldiers for their supposed cowardice. Colonel Dax, the man in charge of the regiment, tries to defend his soldiers at any cost against the unfair trial, but has little hope against the united forces against him.
Though black and white footage may simply appear to be a technical limitation of the past to many who see an older film, it is still a respected medium for its drama and contrasting power. The emotional pull of the scenes in Paths of Glory are masterfully integrated with the lighting, darkness playing into the emotion of fear and anger, patchy light mixed with dark to portray doubt and suspense, and bright white to reveal the overly clean and opulent.
What may stand out to today's audiences that may not have captured so much attention at the time is the physical motion and gesticulation the characters perform throughout the film. To create diversity in the way scenes were shot without a large budget, a single camera would often track the pacing of a character during thought or speech about the set. This pacing punctuates the mental process the actor is portraying, and keeps the audience moving with them, although the camera is set from a single point.
By following the story of three soldiers doomed to death by their superiors for unjust causes, the French and many other European countries banned the movie for many years before cultural policies on such material loosened. Film critics acclaim it as the first challenger to the idea that war is completely honorable and glorious. The ironic and emotional journey the plot takes leave audiences with both warnings and questions about those in power, and the motives behind making enemies out of those who should be allies.
Paths of Glory was highly critically acclaimed, though its box office profits were minimal. The moral behind the story lingers on with relevance as questions of human sacrifice for the sake of political war is more heavily disdained as generations pass. The movie is often used today as a critical thinking and discussion tool for English classes and Film classes alike, sharing the universal challenge of fate and orders for a long time to come.
The movie starts with the proposition by the French General Staff to take a stronghold of the German forces on the nearby battlefield. The General in charge does not believe this to be a wise decision at first, realizing his troops that would be assigned such a duty would be far underpowered in comparisons to the enemy. However, the General above him makes the suggestion that such a victory would guarantee a promotion in rank, and suddenly the task becomes far less impossible.
The film takes a subtle, and realistic by today's standards, approach to the telling of a war story. The characters drive the plot forward without prompt from the external enemy, but rather from the inhumane judgments and justifications of their own seats of power. A depth exists in every private, general, and rank in between, along with the interactions between them. This is why the movie is a popular choice for teachers to assign their students to analyze and write about it for critical thinking.
The attack is inevitably a failure, as every character besides the delusional generals fueled by arrogance sees coming, and the remaining troops who refuse to leave the trenches for a lost battle are blamed. The entire regiment takes the fall for the loss, and three men are selected at random to punish the entire group of soldiers for their supposed cowardice. Colonel Dax, the man in charge of the regiment, tries to defend his soldiers at any cost against the unfair trial, but has little hope against the united forces against him.
Though black and white footage may simply appear to be a technical limitation of the past to many who see an older film, it is still a respected medium for its drama and contrasting power. The emotional pull of the scenes in Paths of Glory are masterfully integrated with the lighting, darkness playing into the emotion of fear and anger, patchy light mixed with dark to portray doubt and suspense, and bright white to reveal the overly clean and opulent.
What may stand out to today's audiences that may not have captured so much attention at the time is the physical motion and gesticulation the characters perform throughout the film. To create diversity in the way scenes were shot without a large budget, a single camera would often track the pacing of a character during thought or speech about the set. This pacing punctuates the mental process the actor is portraying, and keeps the audience moving with them, although the camera is set from a single point.
By following the story of three soldiers doomed to death by their superiors for unjust causes, the French and many other European countries banned the movie for many years before cultural policies on such material loosened. Film critics acclaim it as the first challenger to the idea that war is completely honorable and glorious. The ironic and emotional journey the plot takes leave audiences with both warnings and questions about those in power, and the motives behind making enemies out of those who should be allies.
Paths of Glory was highly critically acclaimed, though its box office profits were minimal. The moral behind the story lingers on with relevance as questions of human sacrifice for the sake of political war is more heavily disdained as generations pass. The movie is often used today as a critical thinking and discussion tool for English classes and Film classes alike, sharing the universal challenge of fate and orders for a long time to come.
About the Author:
Movie trailers are coming out earlier and earlier these days. Online Movie Downloading Support independent film and add this feature to your DVD collection. I'm of the opinion that West Coast Coolin' is certainly Norman Brown's best work in a few years.
No comments:
Post a Comment