THE BEST MOVIE I PREVIOUSLY NEVER HEARD OF

"Paths of Glory" (1957) -- 9/10

By Martin Zabell
(Wrote April 13, 2007)

I watch about 100 movies per year, but I NEVER heard of "Paths of Glory" until I recently saw it on a list of great movies.

It is the BEST movie that I have never heard of and one of the best movies I have ever seen!! I'm stunned that I knew nothing about it.

As an anti-war movie, "Paths of Glory" rivals "All Quiet on the Western Front" and "Dr. Strangelove." It has one great scene after another. Most of the scenes consist of two- or three-person conversations that include very smart dialogue, sharp character portrayals, and conflicts that induce viewers to root for some people and root against others.

During the movie, I became depressed when something bad happened to the good guys and happy when something bad happened to the bad guys. I can't think of too many movies that were written so well that I reacted this way.

I know many people, including myself, don't like military movies with so much action that you can't follow who has been killed and who is winning. This movie wisely has only about 10 minutes of (World War I) battlefield scenes and the result is crystal-clear.

Instead of scenes of mass killings, the writers and director Stanley Kubrick focus on the confrontations between high-level and low-level officers, an unfair court martial, and a farcical trial. The results of the action convey vividly how military leaders care more about themselves than the heroes who fight for their nation.

The movie also wisely has one central character played by Kirk Douglas. He is outstanding as a very principled and strong mid-level officer who essentially represents the perspective of viewers like ourselves. Like Douglas, we want to express moral outrage as the plot unfolds.

I almost gave this movie a 10, but I thought the ending was too sudden. I wanted it to continue. I'm also on the fence about whether I preferred this movie to either be about English soldiers or French soldiers with French accents or left as is with French soldiers who are clearly not French.

I swear I'm not normally a cheerleader for movies. In fact, I think I gave a movie that came out at about the same time a 1. The fact that Gigi won a Best Movie Oscar and "Paths of Glory" received zero nominations is a stain on Academy Award voters.

I gave "Paths" a 9.