Advantages: Expertly directed, shot, acted, written and edited. A vital, scathing message Disadvantages: Frequently overlooked by modern audiences
With a film career spanning nearly fifty years, director Stanley Kubrick is often considered one of the great figures of modern cinema. He is also the perhaps the most consistent; his lean catalogue of thirteen features (his first, 'Fear and Desire' was near enough wiped off the face of the planet at the director's request) is choc-a-block with classics from the dystopian 'A Clockwork Orange' to the cerebral '2001: A Space Odyssey' to the ultra black ... ...mention, each one unique and brilliant in its own right. Even films that tore the critics like his final work 'Eyes Wide Shut' bode the same flair and overarching themes that make it quintessential Kubrick. 'Paths of Glory' from 1957, although not lesser known per se (on the contrary it is a film that is greatly admired), is definitely one of his more overlooked works, much like his other films of that early period in his career. A shame really as ...
Markula 23.03.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Paths Of Glory (DVD)
Advantages: A masterpiece! Meaning everything contained in the film is superb! Disadvantages: None, nada, nicto! Don't let the fact it was made in 1957 put you off!
PATHS OF GLORY
When a director of the stature of Stanley Kubrick dies unexpectedly, film critics and audiences are forced, even if many were critical of what they considered a cold and unemotional filmmaking style, to recognise how much modern-day cinema owes to him. Whilst he only made 11 feature length films in 33 years, each bestows an undeniable quality in style, story-telling, impact and imagery which few other director’s today, or even beforehand, ... ...of Hollywood studios. Paths of Glory is one of Kubrick’s lesser known works, although it is perhaps one of his greatest cinematic achievements. An undeniable classic about the barbarity and ridiculousness of war, it is very much the equal of his similarly themed Full Metal Jacket, and knocks the spots off most recent offerings featuring anti-war motifs (usually stuffed down the audiences throats with their overt imagery and symbolism) such as Platoon, ...
clownfoot 20.02.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Paths Of Glory (DVD)
Advantages: Excellent story with a strong performance from Douglas Disadvantages: Very few - maybe not as much action as you might expect
...earlier and lesser known films, Paths of Glory is a powerful anti-war film starring Kirk Douglas. Whilst it did not receive any awards at the time, it has since become a classic, and is currently rated #44 on the IMDb chart - Kubrick's second highest film.
Set on the French frontline in 1916, Douglas plays Colonel Dax - an idealistic man who is ordered to lead his French troops on a seemingly impossible mission. Although he reluctantly does so, ... ...a very good film.
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You can buy Paths of Glory from www.amazon.co.uk for £3.98. I'm reviewing the film only, not the DVD.
Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
Classification: PG
Running time: 87 minutes
Year: 1957
My Rating: 9/10 ...
l-m-n-o-p 14.01.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Paths Of Glory (DVD)
Advantages: Simply stunning and emotionally loaded. Disadvantages: Lack of special features on current DVD release.
...In many ways Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory is a pre-emptive strike in the investigation of core themes, themes that would feature prominently in all subsequent Kubrick pictures until his death. Though it can be argued that his earlier heist feature The Killing displayed a certain clinical panache in its dissection of an unsuccessful robbery (and the subsequent fall of the hoodlums) it is with Paths of Glory that the real work begins. The film ... ...distant character studies, Kubrick loads Paths of Glory with excruciating pathos. Without consciously thinking the audience is drawn into the cold construct of the plot, gripped by the tight anticipatory drag of the story and the heartrending fate of the central characters. The dialogue is sparse, another trademark, but more than merely functional. This sparseness increases towards the climax of the film robbing the characters of their essential ...
everyplatewebreak 05.04.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Paths Of Glory (DVD)
This film is perhaps not as well known as it should be! - It perhaps deserves to be more famous than it is with a Director Like Stanley Kubrick at the helm - who also wrote the screen play.
The film is set during world war one and stars Kirk Douglas as Colonel Dax a French Commander who is ordered by his General on a suicide mission to try and capture one of the German occupied hills.
Although the orders are followed the mission goes quite wrong ... ...forward for court martial for the crime of cowardice.
When this film was released in 1957 it was an unfortunate flop - although the critics liked it! - I think that the audiences just weren't ready for this harrowing style of film - which sits nicely amongst todays Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red line to name a couple.
Although at times depressing this film is worth a watch the acting is of a good standard with a good supporting cast and as ...
martin2048 21.10.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Paths Of Glory (DVD)
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The pity of war has been a much-favoured film topic; the treachery of war much less so, ... more
though never more persuasively than inPaths of Glory, Stanley Kubrick's breakthrough feature from 1957. Kirk Douglas gives one of his finest screen performances as ...
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The pity of war has been a much-favoured film topic; the treachery of war much less so, ... more
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down a direct order to Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas): take the Ant Hill at any cost. A blatant suicide mission, the attack is doomed to failure. Covering up their fi...
Safe in their picturesque chateau behind the front lines the French General Staff passes ... more
down a direct order to Colonel Dax: take the Ant Hill at any cost. A blatant suicide mission the attack is doomed to failure. Covering up their fatal blunder th...
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