Paths of Glory story
Paths of Glory is a 1957 American anti-war film directed by Stanley Kubrick, based on the novel of the same name by Humphrey Cobb. Set during World War I, the film stars Kirk Douglas as Colonel Dax, the commanding officer of French soldiers who refuse to continue a suicidal attack, after which Dax attempts to defend them against a charge of cowardice in a court-martial.
20 total · 3 choice · 15 major · 2 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| compromising one's ethical principles for personal advantage | choice | various but prominently General Mireau choose advantage, and Colonel Dax stuck with his principles |
| coping with disagreeable orders | choice | there was a long string of people who were uneasy when told to attack an impenetrable position, kill comrades, etc. |
| the horrors of war | choice | we saw pitiful soldier dying in droves on the Maginot line |
| courage in the face of death | major | the story centered on ordinary soldiers' ability (or the limits thereof) to face mortal danger with stoicism |
| cowardice | major | the men of the 701st regiment were accused, unfairly, of cowardice as they failed to charge an impenetrable position |
| duty to disobey illegal orders | major | An important component of the story is that an artillery commander was ordered by General Mireau to open fire on their own positions. The commander refused to obey this patently illegal order unless given it in writing, something the general could not do. |
| facing one's own execution | major | we saw three men await their own biased trial and inevitable execution |
| guilt and evidence | major | the court martial stretched the boundaries of how law might be interpreted in 1916, as it convicted three relatively innocent men to set an example |
| loyalty to a leader | major | the question of loyalty in obeying illegal orders permeated the story |
| loyalty to a subordinate | major | Colonel Dax was extraordinarily loyal to his men |