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Title: Paths of Glory
Review: I am not a great fan of Stanley Kubrick's most popular movies. But I very much enjoyed Paths of Glory. The impactful moments of treachery and defence of justice in the face of tyranny were more genuinely human than the more typical emotional distancing of Kubricks more celebrated works. Kirk Douglas turns in one of his strongest performances as the tough and gutsy commander Dax who knows as much at how to make an impact in a military board meeting as on the battlefield. He is the voice of compassion and reason in what is a very dark and cynical film about the politics of war. Some of the posturing of the evil French officials might seem over the top and cartoonish, but it works somehow because of the odd interplay of politeness mixed with the cavalier willingness to trade outrageously on human lives to score morale points with the men.
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