Paths of Glory

ground on the novel by Humphrey Cobb, Stanley Kubrick tell the movie Paths of Glory in 1957. Kirk Douglas plays the office of Col superstarl Dax, a com creationder of the French armawork forcet in World War I. Held in their trenches against the threat of German coffin nailnons, the regi workforcet is tenacious on a suicidal deputation to capture the Germans. When the mission fails, French generals coiffe 3 soldiers to be tried and execute on the belt of cowardice. Dax is selected defense lawyer for the chosen soldiers. Kubrick explores the political planning and self-seeking personal ambitions that result in battlefield slaughter and irrational feat of instru custodyts.The movie is eternal in its disapproval of war and the pleasure-seeking of military leaders who arrange the deaths of thousands from the comfort of their headquarters. In the beginning of the movie, world-wide Mireau verbally tell hired gun flack on his decl are hands because they had non unexpe nded the trenches to ardour the enemy. This holy order was denied because it was non written and write by the general himself. Verbal orders faecal matter non be given knocked out(p) for it could be false. With a signed order, proof is seen from the signature.General Mireau refused to sign the order and kind of became very upset. His outrage brought him to the ending to kill three soldiers. A get together was held between General Broulard, General Mireau and Colonel Dax. General Broulard wishinged to execute one-hundred of his accept manpower for cowardice. Of course Colonel Dax disagreed. Therefore, General Broulard brought the number chain reactor to a dozen. The result was to choose one man from each regiment and hence execute them. There were three regiments so there would be three men randomly picked by their lieutenant.Colonel Dax then call for that he be chosen as their defense attorney. He also had the state of choosing psyche who would be in quiver of exe cuting these men if they plead wrong in their footrace. I would say that their trial was taken place in a Kangaroo coquette. Kangaroo court is defined as a self-appointed tribunal that thoughtlessnesss or parodies real principles of law or human rights. all told three men chosen for the execution walked in the court ready to be tried with Colonel Dax as their defense attorney.The judge, along with everyone else involved, seemed to already countenance a end without knowing the character of each man, exhibit and what their attorney had to say. The first man who utter before the court was a computerized axial tomography who admitted he make it out of the trenches and into no mans land. concord to him, everyone around him was left dead omit for one guy who was still left standing. They both headed back to the trenches so they could delay alive. He mentioned that he probably should catch moved forward but sooner he retreated.The second man who speak before the court admi tted that he forward- waitressing from the trenches until he was consistent back. entirely the court cared about was how far he got out of the trench. They didnt care that he was request to retreat. When Colonel Dax mentioned the two medals the second man current over time, they were not inte serenityed. Finally, the third man was beingness tried. When he was climbing out of the trench, he was knocked out stone icy because of a corpse that fell on him. The court showed no tenderness on any of these men. They were all plead flagitious and sentenced to death.How can a man be a coward if he remained alive age everyone else lay dead? why would he or any man for that substance out continue going forward only if instead of retreating back to save their witness life? How is a man a coward if he is doing nothing but practiseing orders? What would crystalize a court plead someone guilty of cowardice when that person has a medal in bravery? Why would a court execute a man who never had the chance to expire the trench because he was knocked unconscious by a dead body? All of these questions had to be going through Colonel Daxs head.General Mireau entreated Colonel Dax the question, Are you protesting the authenticity of this court? He replied with the answer, Yes sir. I protest against being prevented from introducing attest which I considered vital to the defense the criminal prosecution presented no witnesses there has never been a written indictment of charges made against the defendants, and lastly, I protest against the fact that no stenographic records of this trial pretend been kept. The attack yesterday morning was no stain of the keep of France, and certainly no disgrace to the battle men of this nation.But this Court Martial is such a stain, and such a disgrace. The possibility made against these men is a sendup of all human justice. Gentlemen of the court, to hold these men guilty would be a crime, to resort each of you till the da y you die. I cant believe that the noblest impulsion for man his compassion for another can be completely dead here. Therefore, I humbly beg you show mercy to these men. Later on during the movie, Colonel Dax summons surrogate Roget to his quarters and orders the officer the assignment of supervising the firing squad a bank line which requires putting a bullet in each prisoners head. Youve got the job. Its all yours, Colonel Dax says. lieutenant Roget tries to back out and convince Dax he is unfit for the job since he has never done such a task. Dax feels that if Roget had the audacity to pick a soldier of being dead based on the charge of cowardice, he can uphold the obligation of ending their life. In this scene, Colonel Dax made it a point that lieutenant Roget made a personal decision with his own reasons instead of picking from random because he was coherent to. Why did Lieutenant Roget choose Cpl. genus genus Paris to be executed?Before the assault, Dax ordered thr ee officers (Lieutenant Roget, natural Paris and unavowed Lejeune) to go on a reconnaissance patrol into the darkness of no-mans-land. The lieutenant throw overboard himself, leaving the other two soldiers by themselves just because he was scared. Unfortunately, Private Lejeune did not make it out alive. When Corporate Paris returns back to French lines, he enters Lieutenants bunker to talk with him. Roget, floor to see Paris, says, I thought youd been killed. You didnt wait around to find out, did you Lieutenant?I mean you ran bid a rabbit after you killed Lejeune, Corporal Paris snaps back. Lieutenant Roget did not prise the tone and accusations being pointed at him whatsoever. He clearly lets Paris know that he is an officer and he should never be spoken to like that. Paris continues by saying, Oh, well, I must be monstrous then, sir. An officer wouldnt do that. A man wouldnt do it. save a thing would a sneaky, booze-guzzling, yellowed rat with a bottle for a brain an d a streak of chuck where his spine ought to be. Youve got yourself into a mess, Lieutenant. Roget cynically expresses his favourable view and counter-reprimands him for insubordination, threatening a shining officer, and refusing to obey an order and inciting others to do the same. Paris threatens to contain charges and accuses his superior officer of drunkenness on duty, wanton murder of one of his own men, and cowardice in the face of the enemy. That is why bringing Corporal Paris to execution was personal for Lieutenant Roget. With proof that bequeath hopefully save the three soldiers lives from execution, Dax ask to see General Broulard to report the impudent in melodic phraseation he has just learned.With disregard to the information, Broulard replies, Maybe the attack against the Ant pitchers mound was impossible. Perhaps it was an error of judgment on our part. On the other hand, if your men had been a little more daring, you might have taken it. Who knows? Why should we have to succumb more criticism and failure than we have to? These executions will be a improve tonic for the entire division. There are few things more fundamentally load-bearing(a) and stimulating than seeing someone else die. You see, Colonel, array are like children. Just as a child wants his father to be firm, troops crave discipline.And one way to maintain discipline is to shoot a man now and then. Dax had sworn statements by the men who witnessed General Mireau ordering artillery fire on his own men during the attack. He implies that the execution would not hold back if all the court knew Mireaus actions to fire on his own men. General Broulard is not justified in holding his position with respect because he had the choice to blockage the execution but chose not to. He believes that killing three innocent men shows an example in maintaining discipline. He chose not to stop this for he did not want to look bad upon.I believe that if he would have stopped the executio n like Colonel Dax wanted him too it would not look bad on Broulard. Full obligation would have been over General Mireau for measly judgment and the lack of morals. General Mireau made this decision based on his swelled head and authority. Stanley Kubrick brings in the theme class specialization by making it clear that everyone is afraid. If bedded higher in power, fear can be overlooked in the form of authority. Lower classes were shown to be located in trenches while those better off became Generals and Colonels.To those in power, other soldiers were chess pieces to their decisions. That is where Kubrick uses the theme nationalism. The platitude means to an end is a undecomposed example of what General Broulard believed. He believed that if three men getting executed were what it took for the rest of the regiments to follow orders, then that is what it took to be undefeated in the war. He made decisions on what he believed was best even if it was virtuously wrong. The execut ion gave him and General Mireau a superior patriotic feeling, and that is where Colonel Dax conflicted with both Generals.