Harry Potter The Moives

Paths of Glory was originally written as a novel by Humphrey Cobb, a story which would turn into one of the greatest war movie classics made in the 50's. Considered to be one among the most potent movies directed by Stanley Kubrick, this black and white close up at the politics of war has had audiences cringing for nearly half a century. Based on the French army's efforts against the Germans during World War I, the movie takes a different turn then most war stories, examining the enemy from within, rather than those outside.

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.

Despite the colonel's best efforts to rally his troops and fulfill the order given by the general, everyone in the company feels a looming sense of failure. Made concrete by the quick slaughtering of just about every man who leaves the trench, many stay behind, positive there is no way to win. The observing general then accuses the regiment of cowardice, and three men are chosen to take the blame for the French failure. The judgment that ensues is the main motivation for the story, and just like the attempted attack, takes the characters down a dark journey in which no one can see a light at the end.

As with all black and white films from the time, use of lighting and color gradient (how dark an object appears when turned into gray instead of color) are the most important aspects to creating the visual experience. Even without the modern use of CGI effects, let alone color, good directing and cinematography can depict a range of emotion just as deep in black and white film as any other medium. Kubrick uses the dense blackness of the trench scene at night to instill fear, and the spotty lighting of Colonel Dax's bunker to present doubt when the General delivers the order.

One technical issue that many in today's audience may notice is the tendency of the characters to pace around the room during thoughts and speech, sometimes to an unrealistic extreme. The reason for this is to keep the feeling of motion alive while characters are set in lengthy conversations. With the limited ability to move the camera itself due to the touchy nature of lighting at the time, shot diversity depended on the actors' theatrical movements and gestures to stay interesting.

Because the movie's sentiments leaned toward the pointlessness and politics of war, it was considered controversial and even taboo in some European countries. It was the first of its kind to depict the antagonist of a war story as those in higher power from one's own side, rather than the advancing enemy forces. Though anti-war movies and cultural viewpoints did not become popular until after the war with Vietnam, the actors and crew involved with the film took an artistic risk and moral standpoint that will be remembered for all cinematic history.

Though Paths of Glory did not become a wild success in the box office, film critics claim its inclusion with the great classics of storytelling history. The message behind the film remains potent, even today, as the conflict with death and the value of a life still burden us today. Though the director himself believed it was impossible to create an anti-war movie directly, he did manage to create a fantastically deep gaze into the judgment of how wars are run, and what sacrifices should be justly made.