François Truffaut famously said it would be impossible to make a true anti-war film, but Stanley Kubrick’s 1957 masterpiece Paths of Glory proved him wrong. Kubrick dabbled in a lot of different genres throughout his career, from crime to science fiction to haunted-house horror, but he kept coming back to the war picture.

He satirized the Vietnam War in Full Metal Jacket. He highlighted the hopelessness of mutually assured destruction with his nuclear farce Dr. Strangelove. None of Kubrick’s war movies have openly glorified war, but his most aggressively anti-war film — the one that proved Truffaut wrong — remains a beacon of righteous fury.

François Truffaut Famously Said It’s Impossible To Make An Anti-War Film

François Truffaut, one of the forefathers of the French New Wave, and one of the most influential filmmakers who ever lived, had some very strong thoughts about the war genre. He famously said (via the BBC) that it was impossible to make a war movie that takes a truly anti-war stance.

Truffaut argued that the inherent spectacle of cinema was bound to make any portrayal of warfare exciting, which would glorify the bloodshed and undermine any critical message about war. Audiences will root for whichever characters they’re following, so they’ll undoubtedly take a side in the on-screen conflict and root for them to win, missing the point of an anti-war message.

You don’t have to look very far to find war movies that are guilty of this. Black Hawk Down openly venerates its protagonists and vilifies the troops on the other side. American Sniper has an absurdly jingoistic, simplistic view of the Iraq War. But not every war movie falls into the trap of glorifying war with the innate thrill of action cinema.

Stanley Kubrick’s Paths Of Glory Was The First True Anti-War Film

In 1957, Kubrick released what is still remembered as one of his greatest movies, Paths of Glory. It was based on the 1935 novel of the same name by Humphrey Cobb, which was based on the real-life Souain corporals affair, which took place during World War I.

Kirk Douglas stars as Colonel Dax, a veteran in the trenches of WWI, whose commanding officers order him to plan an attack on “The Anthill,” a well-guarded German position. Seeing that it’s a suicide mission doomed to fail, Dax refuses to send his men out into no man’s land to get themselves killed.

It’s a noble judgment call, but it gets Dax and his men into a lot of trouble with the higher-ups. The military brass, sitting comfortably in their war room, are miffed that Dax didn’t send his men on this futile mission. They pick three men at random to be court-martialed to make an example, and Dax — who was a defense attorney before the war — is determined to defend them.

Paths of Glory is a classic story of one heroic individual standing up to a corrupt institution, like Bunny Colvin in The Wire or Randle McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Despite Dax’s best efforts to make sure justice is served, the trial is a farce. There’s no written indictment, no court stenographer present, and the court rejects evidence that would help the defendants’ case.

Kirk Douglas Gives One Of His Greatest Performances As Colonel Dax

Douglas gives one of the finest performances of his career as Colonel Dax. He really captures the righteous indignation of this man’s admirable but ultimately futile fight against corruption. He can’t stop the court from making a mockery of the justice system, but he can call them out in a passionate speech, and Douglas nails the fiery delivery.

Throughout his career, Douglas gave many great performances that could be called his best. Just three years later, Douglas reunited with Kubrick to play the title role in Spartacus, and he was brilliant in that movie, too. He was also fantastic in Ace in the Hole, Seven Days in May, and Lust for Life.

But Dax might just be Douglas’ all-time greatest performance. His anger at his commanding officers, his devastation at the treatment of his men, and the bittersweetness of the final scene all feel totally real.

Other Anti-War Films Have Disproved Truffaut’s Theory

Paths of Glory was the first movie to disprove Truffaut’s theory, but plenty of other staunchly anti-war films have come along in the decades since to bolster that counterargument. The Battle of Algiers captures the horrors of warfare and the cost of revolution with an almost documentary-like sense of realism.

The Deer Hunter shows the devastating psychological toll of battlefield experiences by dedicating the bulk of its runtime to the aftermath of the characters’ military service. The film only spends about half an hour in Vietnam, but the trauma stays with these guys for the rest of their lives.

Come and See and Grave of the Fireflies both explored the horror of war through the eyes of children — and, in doing so, highlighted the true tragedy of warfare. Paths of Glory may have been the first true anti-war film, but it wasn’t the last.

Source: BBC