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| PATHS OF GLORY (1957) | |
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Two
years into the First World War close to the French-German front in a
well-kept château used as head quarters, General Paul Mireau (George
Macready) receives an order to attack the Ant Hill at all costs. At
first General Mireau resists the order as he knows it will costs a large
amount of lives, but he gives in as General Broulard (Adolphe Menjou)
gives him a choice of dishonorably accepting another post together with
one more star. General Mireau visits the front where he informs
Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas) about the upcoming assault. General
Mireau puts Colonel Dax under a similar stressful situation as he was put
in the previous evening. Consequently, Dax confirms that he is ready
for the assault, which ends up in a suicidal massacre. However,
General Mireau views the failure as an result of cowardly behavior and
wants to set an example by executing a few chosen men from the battalion.
Paths of Glory is an anti-war film that depicts a cold atmosphere experienced by men at war where officers are deciding the value of life and emotion is deemed as weakness. The officers arrogant and neglectful attitude stands out in several scenes throughout the film. For example, the initial scene where two Generals enter a magnificent room one of the General displays his preoccupation with self-importance and pride while men are dying on the front. Another example is how the officers address the death of a few men by saying, "They died well.", which displays their own arrogant beliefs. Overall, Paths of Glory is a brilliantly directed film as it presents logical reasoning supported with strong visual examples that are enhanced by great performances from the cast. |
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| REVIEWED | |
| 4/27/2004 | |
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The Internet Movie Database. |
