PATHS OF GLORY (Masters of Cinema) (BLU-RAY)

Unarguably one of the finest anti-war diatribes ever to hit the screens. Yet, more than 50 years have passed after its making, it is still powerful and immortal film in its own league. Stanley Kubrick, even at the age of 28, showed that he would be the master of visual creation and ingenious camerawork. Apart from story, what I specially liked here is the trenches which are dark, foreboding and dreadfully real. Also, long close-ups, reverse tracking shots through the trences and lateral shots during attack scenes are absolutely brilliant, courtroom sequences harrowingly poignant. On first viewing "Paths of Glory" appears to be a corrosive anti-war movie about the brutal portrayal of military injustice; but it is far more complicated, delivering some universal social messages. In its very depths, the film is about strong class conflict, indomitability of human spirit, hypocrisy, and how the privilege class cares only about themselves and how their use of power could be so much corrupting. While enjoying the safety and luxury of their chateaux far off enemy lines and sipping their expensive wines, self-righteous as well as Machiavellian generals see no harm in sending their exhausted and underequipped albeit "expendable" soldiers in a suicide mission of taking an impregnable German position where nothing but death is awaiting. Yes, obey your master. Otherwise you'll taste the icy bullets of the firing squad. Yuck... Thankfully, Kirk Douglas' angry and mighty performance as Colonel Dax, who valiantly defends three French soldiers (who picked arbitrarily and charged unjustly with cowardice because they refused to run to imminent death) perfectly confronts this contradiction. This is one of his finest performances combining his aura of intellectuality and physicality with strong moral idealism. Last world: Despite having a pretty simple framework and short running time (~89 minutes), its powerful story, great performances, impeccable cinematography and Kubrick's deft directorial touch make "Paths of Glory" an universal and topical film even 50 years after its making.

Very good and great service

This review will be about the quality of the transfer by Masters of Cinema, and not so much the film itself. I will give a brief review of the film, and say this film is one of the most audacious early films of any filmmaker’s career. Stanley Kubrick took us to World War 1 in France and took us through the trenches of war and demonstrated hypocrisies of the high ranking commanding officers who sentence three men to death for supposed cowardice in the face of the enemy during a battle against Germany to claim ownership of their anthill that was proving impossible to achieve because of enemy fire. This film was so impactful that it wasn’t released in France until 1975 due to its attack on the French authorities. And it was banned in Switzerland and Spain until the 70’s as well. But this film couldn’t be more authentic in presentation, brutal, and Kirk Douglas’ acting just wonderful. The ending is the most poignant scene of Kubrick’s filmography next to Bryan’s death in Barry Lyndon. If you haven’t seen it, you definitely should! As a Stanley Kubrick fan, it is a no-brainer to have this in your collection. Now onto the transfer. I have yet to see the supplements on here, but usually Masters of Cinema nail it, and it is often a lot of material you could find on any Criterion edition of a film or brand new material altogether. Either way, they aim to add a sufficient amount of special features. The film transfer itself is stunning. Black and white often translates very well to 4K due to the depth of colour that can be applied to the blacks and whites, and the deeper contrast. Kubrick, with his masterful photographic techniques, lit the interiors with cavernous lighting, and many scenes on the battlefront were shot at night, and the battle for anthill shot in deep sunlight. Every scene feels brimming with life, using sound effects of explosions that feel more real than ever, and the grittiness of war being presented with the explosions that are completely grey across the screen as you watch the troops go across the field. The scenes in the court chamber just look absolutely stunning with picturesque figures of soldiers standing tall, and every accused soldier (Private Ferrol, Private Paris, and Private Arnaud) who get called up to the stand with their face perfectly contrasting against the background of commander generals passing judgement in full view. The shots have the right amount of light and dark for every moment, and the 4K transfer looks so pristine. You would be hard pressed to find a better looking version of Paths on Glory on the market, and it restores a little bit of my faith in the future of physical releases. Maybe one day Criterion will release the much anticipated Lolita, Barry Lyndon or Eyes Wide Shut 4K releases? Then the full collection of major Stanley Kubrick films in 4K will be complete.

It was colourful and well acted, but suffered a little from the American problem of always seeking to glamorise events to the extent of making them somehow less credible. Action sometimes a bit non-sequitor as if it had been cut. Nevertheless, a good film and enjoyable to watch.

Kirk Douglas is exceptional in this vital Kubrick film. Ably supported by an excellent cast and well-shot, it is essential viewing both stylisticly an thematically.

A magnificent film revealing the hidden-from view history of misguided, premeditated, gruesome yet legalised slaughter during WWI. All those politically-inspired generals (on both sides) who, without regret, remorse or articulated thought, collectively authorised and promulgated the slaughter of human life within the water and rat-filled trenches and the kill-zone of no-man's land. Further, they did so without the least spark of genuine or humane interest in the real-life human carnage they were creating. And for what? Often, to simply advance a few hundred yards. Stanley Kubrick directs. Kirk Douglas stars & produces. The supporting cast are splendid as they create the very essence of the foolishness and hubris of many of the higher officers, mostly living out their war in a privileged and safely-miles-behind-the-lines position. All appear as realistically as they first did in Humphrey Cobb's novel; a book originally banned in France - as it came way too close to revealing the malevolent and pointless nature of what all the politically-inspired misfit leaders planned to do with their armies; that is to say, to send millions of ordinary enlisted men and junior officers to their certain deaths. It's now exactly 100 years since The Somme and Verdun during 1916 bled the British, British Imperial, French and German nations halfway to death. The hypocrisy of assembling a kangaroo military court to visit ludicrous charges of cowardice, accompanied by the certain verdict of the death sentence, upon randomly-selected soldiers who had failed to 'take an objective,' is bitter to watch, even now. A timeless masterpiece from Kubrick and a timeless lesson for all that demonstrates the overwhelmingly pyrrhic 'victories' of WWI. A must-have for your collection. I thoroughly recommend this film classic.

I discovered this film by accident and it’s a genuine hidden gem. Set in 1816, it’s a First World War story to,d from a French perspective. Douglas may seem an unlikely candidate as a French officer, but he plays the part well. It’s black and white and this remastered version is crisp and clean, so great viewing. It’s based on a true and genuinely shocking story. Three soldiers are charged with cowardice and the story shows the build to the events and subsequent ‘trial’. Douglas is their defending officer. I’m genuinely surprised that this film hasn’t received wider acclaim. It’s an early Kubrick and it remains fresh and relevant some 75 years after it was made. There’s anger, compassion, duplicity, loyalty, bravery and treachery from commanding officers. A remarkable film and one I’ll watch again.

Kubrick is perhaps best known for his genre defining masterpieces of the 60's and later on in his career but too few people know that he was doing the same in the 50's too. Paths of glory and the killing both remain titles which stand at the summit of their genre almost 70 years on. And if there's any measure of a pieces of arts merit, it's how it holds up over time. And boy does this film hold up. Firstly the transfer has breathed new life into the film and those tracking shots have never looked better. The audio is simply brilliant too. As for the film itself, well, you have to just watch it and see for yourself. You won't be disappointed.

Que la imagen es buena, se nota que está remasterizada. En cuanto al sonido ,es malo y muy brillante.el sonido no esta remastizado,la imagen SI

Kult

Good movie at a bargan price

Cómo siempre una garantía de calidad en todos los artículos de Criterion Collection con excelente remasterización de la película y con geniales suplementos extras compuestos de entrevistas, documentales y demás materiales informativos para dar más disfrute a la experiencia con uan de las películas antibelicas más preciosistas y mejor logradas de la historia y con uno de los directores más destacados del cine mundial. (Nota: sólo subs en inglés para la película y suplementos extras no subtitulados)

This review is for Paths of Glory (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] Paths of Glory (The Criterion Collection Spine #538) [Blu-ray] obtained April 2013. A really good film showing Kirk Douglas at a younger age than I have seen him before. He was an excellent actor even back then. The film is gripping and suspenseful. I highly recommend this film for anyone over the age of 16, because it is not a straight forward war film. I worry WWI battlefield office politics (to put it plainly) would confuse many boys under that age (and bore most girls). The restoration is excellent. To me, the reason to buy a blu-ray is to get the full length film (even theatres run cut versions, so they can get more showings in) and to get the commentary, interviews and extras -- and this is something that Criterion Collection normally excels at. This version of this film is like that. Lots of extras. You'll be able to watch the film over and over again over the year with new insights and new appreciation. (If you watch the extras, there is a secret about the guy who sobs and how much he affected production. I had to chuckle at the hoops Kubrick and team had to jump through after him -- and you would never guess watching the film what happened and what needed to be done. It makes the film double the accomplishment.) From the Criterion Collection product information: New high definition digital transfer made from 35 mm film elements restored by UCLA Film & Television Archive in cooperation with MGM Studios, with funding provided by the Film Foundation and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition) New audio commentary featuring critic Gary Giddins Excerpt from a 1966 audio interview with director Stanley Kubrick Television interview from 1979 with star Kirk Douglas New video interviews with Kubrick’s longtime executive producer Jan Harlan, Paths of Glory producer James B. Harris, and actress Christiane Kubrick French television piece about a real-life World War I execution that partly inspired the film Theatrical trailer PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film scholar James Naremore I highly recommend buying this film.