 Onward to the Paths of Glory are, in some cases, the Executioner's Walk. Hey guys, this is my review for Paths of Glory. This was a film that was released in 1957, directed by Stanley Kubrick. It stars Kirk Douglas. It is about the First World War. This is another criterion film that I've found at the library. And immediately after finishing it, I've already put it on my to buy list. This is a film I want to own. This is an incredible display of anti-war speech for a film that was made back in the 50s. We're just a little bit over 10 years over the ending of the Second World War. And this is a pretty big and impactful film. And even though both Kirk and Stanley knew this movie wouldn't make money, they wanted to make it regardless because of the film's message and they deliver it incredibly so. The film follows Kirk Douglas' character who is a colonel who is given the task of taking a hill, even though he has absolutely no support. The attack unfortunately fails, but it isn't because of his incompetence or anything to do with his men. It's because it's a completely impossible situation, but his incredibly incompetent, higher commanding general doesn't see it that way and he wants someone punished. This was a commonplace thing for the beginning of the First World War, especially with the French Army. Eventually this would be kind of pushed out because the absolute negative effect on morale as well as the press would just look terrible. And also it wasn't really a good idea considering so many people were dying already in the trenches. To have your own men be killed by your own firing squad did not really help the matters. But before I talk about the trial that happens, the battle sequence in this movie is insane. Apparently they got this field from a German farmer and they worked with three weeks around the clock to make it look like a battlefield. They widened the trenches so that they can move the camera back through which I love 1917. And 1917 definitely takes a lot of notes from this movie. A film over 60 years it's senior influenced 1917. There is a long steady cam shot as the incumbent generals walking through the trenches as they're going backwards through it. It is a long take. It's like two to three minutes long and to have been able to do that back then is incredible as well as the battle sequence. The battle sequence is insane. It's a very literal representation of the First World War for a film of its time. I'm very impressed. It's something to see. It's on level with certain films of now because of the time obviously they couldn't fake any of it. So those are all people running across this field. Those are actual explosions going off and hopefully not hurting anyone. But then going on to the trial Kirk Douglas appoints himself as the defense for his own men because it's just three random guys who were chosen to essentially take the blame for something that is not their fault. The whole trial, the whole action of it all is just showing the hypocrisy of such a statement, such an action to have with any army. As well as just how generals look at each other and how everyone is more so about their favor or their status rather than actually trying to win a war or actually trying to be a good leader, be a good general. It's more about face value. Kirk Douglas, I've never actually seen him in a movie before. I've always heard of him. I know about all the Spartacus stuff. But this is the first time I've ever seen him in a movie in full and he's incredible. No wonder this guy made buckets of money back then. The guy is incredibly talented and he delivers such a good performance as well as everyone else does in this film. You can see Kirk's very close attention to detail, his obsession with multiple takes. For instance, there's a scene where the guys are kind of having their last meal. And because of the scene, they had to cook a fresh duck every three or four takes and they did 67 of them. And even at the end, I kind of was like, all right, that's it. That's the one. But that was just Kirk's mentality and his obsessiveness. To see him put this film together at the time and at his age shows that he really had the chops behind all of that crazy credentials and all those crazy stories he had. Paths of Glory is a fantastic film. It is a definite must see. I would highly recommend it if you have any sort of interest in the history of the First World War, even a little bit. I would say you should watch this film. For anyone who agreed with me and enjoyed 1917, I would definitely say you should watch this movie. It has the establishing kind of ground base for the camera techniques that we use in that film, but also it's just the First World War from a different angle. So for my rating, I will obviously be giving this a seven out of seven. This is going in my favorite movies. And like I said, I will be buying this movie once one of those criteria in Flash Sales happened because I'm not spending $40. I love movies. I love going and finding criteria in films. But admittedly the fact that they're like $40 to $50 to $60 is just absurd. So I just wait for those Flash Sales because I can't go down to the States and get something from the Barnes and Noble Flash Sales that happens in November. So anyways guys, I hope you enjoyed this review. If you did, leave a like and if you're interested in more subscribe. Otherwise, see you guys next time. I'm happy to say the click is finally getting back together in an all new movie thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign. 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