Paths of Glory – Eureka Video (4k UHD)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1957
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Writers: Stanley Kubrick, Calder Willingham, Jim Thompson
Cast: Kirk Douglas, Ralph Meeker, Adolphe Menjou, George Macready, Wayne Morris, Richard Anderson, Joe Turkel, Christiane Kubrick, Jerry Hausner, Peter Capell, Emile Meyer, Bert Freed, Timothy Carey, Fred Bell, John Stein

Release Date: February 26th, 2024
Approximate Running Time: 87 Minutes 23 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: PG (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: £22.99 (UK)

"In the French front lines of World War I, after giving the order for an impossible and disastrous mission to capture a nearby stronghold, the upper ranks move to save face by having three randomly selected soldiers held and tried for cowardice under pain of death. Their leader, Colonel Dax (in a powerhouse performance by Kirk Douglas), a former lawyer in civilian life, handles their defense against overwhelming odds." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "presented in Dolby Vision HDR from a 4K scan of the original camera negative".

Paths of Glory comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD

Disc Size: 61.8 GB

Feature: 59.3 GB

This new release takes the solid foundation that Kino Lorber used for their 2022 4K UHD release, tightens everything up, and once again delivers a superior encode from Fidelity in Motion. That said, image clarity, contrast, and black levels are solid, and the image retains an organic look.

Audio: 4.75/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in English, and included with this release are removable English SDH. The audio is in great shape; dialog comes through clearly; everything sounds balanced and robust when it should.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 1 second, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an archival interview with film critic and author Richard Combs (9 minutes 58 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with Stanley Kubrick scholar Peter Kramer (14 minutes 33 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with filmmaker Richard Ayoade (23 minutes 34 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an isolated music & effects track, an audio commentary with film scholar Adrian Martin, an O-card slipcase (limited to 2,000 copies), and a 36-page booklet with cast & crew information, an essay titled Kubrick’s Path, and “Paths of Glory” written by Glenn Kenny, an essay titled The Hollywood War of Independence written by Colin Young, and information about the transfer titled Notes on Viewing. 

Summary:

Looking back at the beginning of Stanley Kubrick's career, it is astounding that for a filmmaker who would often take years from the origins of a film to its final product, he was able to make three films in three years. Though Killer’s Kiss and The Killing can be seen as modest film productions, the same cannot be said for Paths of Glory, a film that at the time was Stanley Kubrick’s most ambitious film.

Stanley Kubrick’s growth as a filmmaker is noticeable with each new film. And though it was impressive how much he was able to grow from Killer’s Kiss to The Killing, it is hard not to understate just how much of a leap it was from Killer’s Kiss to Paths of Glory.

One constant throughout Stanley Kubrick’s filmography is just how diverse a filmmaker he is. Though he returned to recurring themes in most of his films, he rarely worked in the same genre. That is, except for war, which played a role in many of his films.

With Paths of Glory, Stanley Kubrick delivers a damning statement on the atrocities created by wars. The narrative revolves around an impossible military objective that Brigadier General Paul Mireau is determined to carry out, even at the expense of all of his soldiers' lives. When his planned attack does not go off the way he envisioned, Brigadier General Paul Mireau labels the men as cowards, and he demands a court martial to hold the cowards accountable for his leadership failures. From there, a preordained trial of three men is held, followed by their executions.

Though the cinema of Stanley Kubrick is most remembered for his striking visuals, one must not undervalue the performances he was able to get from his cast. And in the case of Paths of Glory, there are no performances that do not rise to the occasion. Of course, Kirk Douglas (Ace in the Hole), in the role of Colonel Dax, delivers another superlative performance. Other notable performances include George Macready (Seven Days in May) in the role of megalomaniac Brigadier General Paul Mireau, and Timothy Carey (One-Eyed Jacks) in the role of Private Maurice Ferol, one of the three men randomly chosen to be executed.

From a production standpoint, it is mind-blowing just how much Stanley Kubrick was able to achieve with the resources he was given for Paths of Glory. The utmost detail in the scenes of carnage as soldiers try to advance upon The Anthill, a position being held by German soldiers, is unflinching in its portrayal of the horrors of war. An iconic moment in Paths of Glory is a tracking shot through the trenches that has all the hallmarks that are synonymous with the cinema of Stanley Kubrick. Another memorable moment is the scene that ends Paths of Glory, in which a German woman sings a poignant song to a hostile crowd, who are eventually won over by the song she is singing. This moment provides a perfect coda to the events that preceded it. Ultimately, Paths of Glory is an extraordinary film that stands firmly as one of cinema’s best anti-war films.

Paths of Glory gets a definitive release from Eureka Video that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a wealth of insightful extras, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer