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Paths of Glory is a 1957 feature film directed by Stanley Kubrick, in which a French general seeking a promotion during World War I orders a small number of soldiers on a suicidal mission to take a hill. Kirk Douglas portrays Colonel Dax, who leads the attack and defends his men in the aftermath.
The original 1935 novel by Humphrey Cobb was a minor success at the time, with a film planned. However, it was soon forgotten until Stanley Kubrick decided to adapt it to the screen, remembering the book from his childhood.
The title comes from the ninth stanza of the famous Thomas Gray poem Elegy in a County Church-yard:
The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow'r,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,
Awaits alike th'inevitable hour.
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
In October and November of 2004 the Film was shown at the London Film Festival by the British Film Institute. It was carefully remastered over a period of several years since much of the original audio and visual tapes were damaged. However with the aid of several modern digital studios in Los Angeles the film was completely restored and remastered for modern cinema. In addition, Stanley Kubrick's wife made a guest appearance at the start of the performance.
Trivia
- The only female character in the film was portrayed by German actress Susanne Christian Harlan. She later married director Stanley Kubrick, and the couple remained married until his death in 1999.
- Production took place entirely in Bavaria, Federal Republic of Germany.
- The movie was banned in France until 1975.
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