Information Conveyed in the First Minutes of Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory Before the Battle Begins
Against a black background we see the United Artists logo in blue with the name in white in a sans serif font. This fades and then the words Bryna Productions present in a serif font appear. The name Kirk Douglas replaces that, with a very large font, followed then by Paths of Glory, with a fine line of print beneath that reads: © COPYRIGHT MCMLVII HARRIS-KUBRICK PICTURES CORPORATION.Co-stars and other featured stars are listed, followed by other staff, art director, screenwriters and the novel it is based on, "Paths of Glory" by Humphrey Cobb.
The opening shot appears at one minute and nineteen seconds into the film. We see what appears to be a scene on the order of Versailles. There are officers on horseback near the foreground, a man on a bicycle to the left, and a few clusters of persons both in the foreground and further away. The scene is black and white, and the words France 1916 are superimposed over it.
Voiceover: "War began between Germany and France on August 3, 1914."
The camera follows the bicycle to the foreground which turns to the left. Soldiers bearing arms are marching by as the narrator states that "the German army, five weeks later, had smashed its way to within 18 miles of Paris. There the battered French miraculously rallied their forces at the Marne River, and then a series of unexpected counter attacks drove the Germans back. The front was stabilized, and shortly developed into a continuous line of heavily fortified trenches zigzagging their way 500 miles from the English Channel to the Swiss frontier."
During this narration soldiers line up in front of this stately French estate which may be the equivalent of our Capitol. A jeep approaches, the men present arms as a person of importance disembarks and strides into the building, accompanied by his aides.
Narrator: "By 1916, after two grisly years of trench warfare, the battle lines had changed very little. Successful attacks were measured in hundreds of yards and paid for in lives numbering hundreds of thousands."
The person of importance is General George Broulard who has come to call on General Paul Mireau. After a little small talk, Gen. Broulard cuts to the chase. "Paul, I've come to see you about something big." General Mireau has already heard rumors of what is coming. The Ant Hill has been the key to the whole sector. The Germans have held it for a year and will hold it for another if they want.
"Paul, I have formal orders to take the Ant Hill no later than the tenth. That's the day after tomorrow," General Boulard says.
"That comes pretty close to being ridiculous, don't you think?" General Mireau replies.
"I wouldn't be here if I thought that," Gen. Broulard says. He then begins his pitch. "If there's one man who could do this it would be you."
Mireau expresses frankly, "That's out of the question. Absolutely out of the question. My division has been cut to pieces. What's left of it is in no condition to hold the Ant Hill, let alone take it. I'm sorry, but that's the truth."
Gen. Broulard brings out his carrot, dangles a promotion and another star before him, but Mireau remains realistic. It can't be accomplished and he asserts that for him, "My men come first of all, George, and those men know it." And furthermore, "The life of one of those soldiers means more to me than all the stars and decorations and honors in France."
"So, you think this is absolutely beyond the ability of your men at this time," Broulard replies.
General Mireau, tilting his head and making direct eye contact, says, "I didn't say that, George."
And so it begins. The cat and mouse dialogue ends with a decision to make it happen, not for personal glory, but for France.
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SPOILER ALERT
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At six minutes, eight seconds, we cut to the battlefield. Or rather, we see a desolate view of no man's land with the Ant Hill as a backdrop. The camera pulls back and we see that this is a view from an observation window. There's a bomb crater, naked trees stripped of leaves by artillery fire, a dank mist hovering across the blasted terrain.
The camera pulls back to reveal that we are in a concrete bunker, with a soldier standing there viewing the scene through a horizontal notch. He wears a grim expression as he turns away.
Cut to: General Mireau and his chief aide are walking through the trench, Mireau cheerful and with smug purposefulness as he greets the soldiers he passes. The soldiers bolt to attention as he approaches. At intervals he stops to engage in what he imagines to be an inspirational chat. It's not a real dialogue because he is clueless as to the interior condition of these men In point of fact he cares nothing for their welfare, as will become apparent later.
The first two men he stops to talk with will be unjustly placed before a firing squad by the film's end. The third soldier he stops to exchange banter with is clearly shell-shocked. When another soldier standing at this man's side says he's shell-shocked, the general declares that there is no such thing as shell shock. One more signal indicating how removed and out of touch the generals are.
The general, outraged, slugs the shell-shocked soldier in the face, then orders him removed from the regiment. As they continue on their way his aide says, "General, I'm convinced that these tours of your have an incalculable effect on morale. In fact, I think the fighting spirit of the 701st derives from it."
That scene is devastating.
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Kubrick is doing something subtle in these opening scenes. Before the battle even begins, he is already making a visual argument about war.
The first technique is camera movement. When General Mireau walks through the trench, Kubrick places the camera in front of him and tracks backward as he advances. The shot lasts far longer than most directors would allow. As the general strides forward confidently, soldiers snap to attention one after another, the muddy trench walls pressing in on both sides.
What makes the shot powerful is the contrast it creates. The general moves smoothly through space, confident and purposeful. The soldiers cannot move at all. They are wedged into the trench like parts in a broken machine. The camera forces us to look directly into their faces—tired, anxious, hollow. Mireau sees soldiers. We see human beings.
Kubrick used variations of this technique throughout his career. In The Killing, for example, the camera follows characters through corridors and racetrack passageways in long, deliberate movements that quietly build tension and reveal character. The motion of the camera itself becomes part of the storytelling.
The second technique in Paths of Glory is architectural contrast. The film opens in a grand French chateau where generals discuss strategy beneath high ceilings, polished floors, and ornate walls. War here is calm, civilized, almost elegant. Maps are studied, promotions hinted at, decisions made over polite conversation.
Then Kubrick cuts to the trenches.
The world changes instantly. The ceilings disappear. The sky is gray. The ground is muck. The soldiers live like burrowing animals in narrow corridors carved into the earth. The contrast is unmistakable: the war planned in the palace is fought in the mud.
Kubrick doesn’t have to say what he thinks about war. The camera has already told us. But as anyone knows who has seen this film the dialogue is priceless, especially the manner in which the lines are delivered.
Near the film's conclusion, Kirk Douglas as Colonel Dax delivers this indictment of what was is and does:
"Gentlemen of the court, there are times when I am ashamed to be part of the human race, and this is one of them... I can't believe that the noblest impulse of man, his compassion for another, can be completely dead here."
At this instant my mind goes immediately to the people of Gaza, and the common people of all the other failed states that have been dismantled by imperialist aggression.
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