Paths Of Glory (1957) (English Language)

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88min

Cast: Kirk Douglas, Ralph Meeker, George Macready… and more

Writers: Stanley Kubrick, Calder Willingham, Jim Thompson … and more

Kirk Douglas stars as Colonel Dax of the French army in the trenches of World War I, forced to defend his men’s lives from overzealous military generals when they refuse to carry out orders for an impossible and suicidal attack on the German front line.

Directed by Stanley Kubrick and featuring much of the visual style that would signify his later masterpieces, this is one of his earliest films and a true anti-war masterpiece touching on themes of the futility and often madness of war, the bureaucracy of the chain of command and the low value of the common soldier’s life in pursuit of glory.

Filmed in black and white, don’t expect a bloodbath of relentless action but a more measured approach with great acting performances and you will enjoy one of the greatest World War I films made to date.