Ray Pride

All sorts of observations have been made about great books being markers if we re-read them over the years, markers that show us the progression of our own emotional and moral perceptions of the world around us. Movies are that way, too, and it's a rare restoration/re-release that holds up such a vivid, fierce reflection of the world after almost four decades as does Stanley Kubrick's 1957 "Paths of Glory." It prompts reflections that journalism cannot--or refuses to--consider. Adapted from a novel with the novelists Calder Willingham and Jim Thompson, Kubrick's script starkly dramatizes the French army's shocking crimes against its own soldiers in World War I. Elegant, angry, visually compelling (especially in its ritualized, Ophuls-like tracking shots in the bombarded trenches), and quirkily acted by a fierce Kirk Douglas as a Colonel (and lawyer) who argues the case of three soldiers who are to be court-martialed for surviving a doomed battle (Ralph Meeker, Joseph Turkel, Timothy Carey). A masterpiece, "Paths of Glory" is terse, blackly witty and in many respects, elusive even beyond the last scene. This restoration draws largely from the original black-and-white camera negative. 86m.

"Paths of Glory" opens Friday at the Music Box/

(2005-02-22)

Also by Ray Pride

Like life
Adult fears, childhood fears: c'mon, one's not so different from the other
(2005-02-15)

Tip of the Week
Kiyoshi Kurosawa is one of the luminaries of the current wave of innovative Asian filmmakers who put Amer-indies to shame
(2005-02-15)

Tip of the Week
Tony Jaa: the world is his trampoline
(2005-02-08)

Kid power
Making a picture is a perilous feat
(2005-02-08)

Tip of the Week
(2005-02-01)

Conspiracy theory
(2005-02-01)

Tip of the Week
(2005-01-25)

The heart is a lonely reader
(2005-01-25)

Tip of the Week
(2005-01-18)

Morpheus descending
(2005-01-18)

Nixon Antagonistes
(2005-01-11)

Tip of the Week
(2005-01-11)

about Newcitychicago | about Newcity magazine | advertising | privacy policy | FAQ | employment