Paths of Glory (1957)
Paths of Glory is a 1957 war movie directed by Stanley Kubrick, with a running time of 1h 28m. It stars Kirk Douglas, Ralph Meeker and Adolphe Menjou.
Kubrick films World War I as a trial, not a battle. In 1916, French Colonel Dax is ordered to send his exhausted men across open ground toward a German position no one can take. The attack fails. Rather than accept the loss, the generals pick three soldiers, more or less at random, and charge them with cowardice. Dax, a lawyer in civilian life, steps in to defend them before a military court. Kirk Douglas plays him with a cold, controlled fury. The trenches are mud and the officers' chateau is marble, and the film never lets you forget the distance between them.
Quick answers
What is Paths of Glory about?
Kubrick films World War I as a trial, not a battle. In 1916, French Colonel Dax is ordered to send his exhausted men across open ground toward a German position no one can take. The attack fails. Rather than accept the loss, the generals pick three soldiers, more or less at random, and charge them with cowardice. Dax, a lawyer in civilian life, steps in to defend them before a military court. Kirk Douglas plays him with a cold, controlled fury. The trenches are mud and the officers' chateau is marble, and the film never lets you forget the distance between them.
When was Paths of Glory released?
Paths of Glory was released on 25 October 1957.
How long is Paths of Glory?
Paths of Glory runs 1h 28m.
Who made Paths of Glory?
Paths of Glory was directed by Stanley Kubrick.
Where can I watch Paths of Glory?
Paths of Glory is available on Tubi TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home, Google Play Movies and YouTube.
Where to watch Paths of Glory
Watch free with ads: Tubi TV
Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Cast
- Kirk Douglas as Col. Dax
- Ralph Meeker as Cpl. Philippe Paris
- Adolphe Menjou as Gen. George Broulard
- George Macready as Gen. Paul Mireau
- Wayne Morris as Lt. Roget/Singing man
- Richard Anderson as Maj. Saint-Auban
- Joe Turkel as Pvt. Pierre Arnaud
- Christiane Kubrick as German Singer
- Jerry Hausner as Proprietor of Cafe
- Peter Capell as Narrator of Opening Sequence
- Emile Meyer as Father Dupree
- Bert Freed as Sgt. Boulanger
Similar movies
Explore Paths of Glory guides
Paths of Glory in our writing
- Companion guide: World War One
A few thoughts on Paths of Glory
For the same view from the mud, read Le feu journal d'une escouade, Henri Barbusse's front-line account of a French squad written from inside the war. Or play Valiant Hearts: Coming Home, which walks the same 1916 battlefields as a hand-drawn story rather than a shooter. Both trade spectacle for the ordinary soldier.
Life and death in the World War One trenches, on the page
Paths of Glory sees the Great War from the mud, where soldiers are spent like ammunition by men far behind the line. These firsthand and fictional accounts put you in the same trenches: the waiting, the shelling, and the gulf between the officers and the men who die on their orders. Unsparing about what the war cost.
Sweeping wartime dramas about ordinary people crushed by the machine
Kubrick frames Paths of Glory as small lives caught in a vast, indifferent system. These screen dramas take the same wide view, following ordinary people through war they did not choose and cannot control. Handsome, human-scale storytelling that keeps its eye on the people the history books tend to skip.
When the institution is the real enemy
The villain of Paths of Glory is not the Germans but Dax's own command, staging a trial to save face. These share that fury at unjust systems: military courts, wrongful punishment, and men ground down by the people meant to lead them. Stories where the fight is against your own side as much as any foe.