Van and Lyle kick off their first of many Kubrick features with a splendid and superb discussion of the auteur’s WW1-era classic, Paths of Glory. And in case you’re wondering why we describe the discussion in these terms, that’s because such language—in all its freakish loftiness—infuses the film from start to finish. French generals in chateaus sacrifice their men in the trenches while boasting about how they love “to create a pleasant atmosphere in which to work.” Frontline tours are peppered with patronizing commands to “be good to your rifle so that your rifle will be good to you,” just as this same high-level brass demean their troops as contaminants and scum. It isn’t long before the viewer realizes they’re watching a class war just as much as any other kind of war, and we bring on longtime antiwar critic Daniel Larison to make sense of the tension…as well as the not so understated satire that ensues.
Further Reading
Eunomia, Daniel’s newsletter
Crashing the War Party, yet another newsletter and podcast hosted by Daniel and Kelley Vlahos
“Paths of Glory: ‘We Have Met the Enemy…’ ,” by James Naremore
The Casualty Gap, by Douglas Kriner and Francis Shen
Paths of Glory Trailer
Teaser From the Episode