Paths of Glory (1957)
96%RT Audience Score: 95%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award
7 wins & 4 nominations total
Paths of Glory is a transcendentally humane war movie from Stanley Kubrick, with impressive, protracted battle sequences and a knock-out ending.
If you’re in the mood for a war movie that’ll make you feel all the feels, then Paths of Glory is the flick for you. Stanley Kubrick really outdid himself with this one, delivering some seriously epic battle scenes that’ll have you on the edge of your seat. And let’s not forget about that ending – it’s a real knockout! But what really sets this movie apart is its humanity. You’ll be rooting for the soldiers every step of the way, and feeling all the emotions right along with them. So grab some popcorn and settle in for a wild ride – Paths of Glory is a must-see!
Production Company(ies)
Bryna Productions,
Distributor
Criterion Collection, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., United Artists
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Schleißheim Palace, Oberschleißheim, Bavaria, Germany
MPAA / Certificate
Approved
Year of Release
1957
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:1h 26m
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Language(s):English, German, Latin
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 25, 1957 Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 1, 2001
Genre(s)
War/Drama
Keyword(s)
War, Drama, Stanley Kubrick, Kirk Douglas, Adolphe Menjou, George Macready, Humphrey Cobb, Calder Willingham, Jim Thompson, Box Office, Budget, Critic Reviews, MPAA Rating, Criterion Collection, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., United Artists, Mono, Stereo, Flat, 35mm, Col Dax, Cpl Philip Paris, Gen George Broulard, Gen Paul Mireau, Lt Roget, Singing Man, Maj Saint-Auban, World War I, Court-Martial, Trench Warfare, Anti-War, Transcendent, Battle Sequences, Humanist, Satire, Radical, Black and White, Americanism, Disturbing, Masterpiece, Uncompromisingly Grim, French Colonel, Nuance, Layers, English, French Soldiers
Worldwide gross: $5,252
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $62,979
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 3,069
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 6,868
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Ralph Meeker – Cpl. Philip Paris
Adolphe Menjou – Gen. George Broulard
George Macready – Gen. Paul Mireau
Wayne Morris – Lt. Roget, Singing Man
Richard Anderson – Maj. Saint-Auban
Director(s)
Stanley Kubrick
Writer(s)
Humphrey Cobb, Stanley Kubrick, Calder Willingham, Jim Thompson
Producer(s)
Kirk Douglas, James B. Harris
Film Festivals
Venice
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award
7 wins & 4 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (70) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (67) | Rotten (3)
Those who are used to 2001: A Space Odyssey or A Clockwork Orange will initially find this black-and-white First World War drama starring Kirk Douglas rather traditional, until its radical content is revealed.
June 2, 2015 | Rating: 4/5
Kate Muir
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
A reminder both of [Kubrick’s] extraordinary formal virtuosity and his powers as a satirist.
May 2, 2014 | Rating: 5/5
Geoffrey Macnab
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
It is arguably the best film about the first world war, and still has a reasonable claim to being Stanley Kubrick’s best film.
May 1, 2014 | Rating: 5/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
Some kind of corrupted masterpiece.
May 1, 2014 | Rating: 3/5
David Jenkins
Little White Lies
TOP CRITIC
More than 20 years after Mr. Cobb’s novel was first published, Mr. Kubrick reminded us that human folly is rarely checked for long. A half-century on, he is still right.
March 26, 2013
David Mermelstein
Wall Street Journal
TOP CRITIC
Kirk Douglas gives one of his finest performances as the intelligent and courageous Col. Dax.
March 26, 2013
Crosby Day
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
I can’t even begin to imagine how Kubrick made this movie. I was perplexed the entire time. An absolute masterpiece. [Full review in Spanish]
July 7, 2022 | Rating: 10/10
Victor Pineyro
Seventh Art Studio
The directors most humanist film.
March 21, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
At any time, fashionable or not, it is a disturbing plea against the horror and senselessness of war.
December 13, 2021
Jonathan Baumbach
Film Culture
Paths of Glory is finally a captivating work, both weakened and reinforced by its Americanism — but a very diluted, Hollywood Americanism, at that, and therefore something of a positive force in the end.
December 9, 2021
André Bazin
Esprit
The subject matter is fictional, but it has been handled so realistically that one feels as if he is witnessing a real-life occurrence.
November 17, 2021
P.S. Harrison
Harrison’s Reports
Stanley Kubrick brings a controlled power to his direction of the uncompromisingly grim events, and Kirk Douglas, who produced the film, finds a most congenial role as an uncorrupted French colonel fighting for his men.
November 17, 2021
Moira Walsh
America Magazine…
Plot
The futility and irony of the war in the trenches in WWI is shown as a unit commander in the French army must deal with the mutiny of his men and a glory-seeking general after part of his force falls back under fire in an impossible attack.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Kirk Douglas gives one of his finest performances as the intelligent and courageous Col. Dax.
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