The film, Paths of Glory directed by Stanley Kubrick, is a 1950s war drama highlighting the immense absurdity of the First World War. The use of vivid images of corpses, trenches, and inept leadership, prove to be one of the best portrayals of the actual war. During the First World War, ordinary soldiers and officers fought bravely in the face of the enemy, but inept leadership from the top brass proved deadly and incredibly deficient of any real concern for human life. Paths of Glory, follows a French General named Mireau, his subordinate Colonel Dax, the ensuing attack on a German defense, and the court marshal that followed. The film, in black and white, portrays dialogue between the characters in a Shakespearian manner. Decisions that were
It depicted the war how it actually was and how it was lead. The film demonstrates trench warfare as a winding labyrinth of muddy blood soaked holes that men fought and died in. It illustrates the industrialized manner of the war, with the sounds of machine guns firing and artillery shells falling and exploding. The inept leadership appears in an almost comical manner. The generals were looking for personal gain and tried to hide their incompetence under the veil of blaming the men for their lack of courage. This portrayal of World War One was as accurate as one could be without actually fighting in the war itself. Kubrick did an excellent job at highlighting the drama through lighting and complimented the multitude of characters, as they developed into their
Kubrick highlights this schism as a moral dilemma, and to have his audience to question the validity of war and the men who lead them. General Minreau’s actions would be comical if it was not an accurate description of World War One leadership. Kubrick does, however, over dramatize each characters actions and reaction to really make each character stand out. There are clear distinctions between who the audience is supposed to hate and the characters the audience is supposed to
Lewis Milestone’s “All’s Quiet on the Western Front”, based on Erich Remarque’s novel, is an incredibly disturbing and effective anti-war film. The grainy black and white film is still not outdated and carries a breathtaking initial impact. The prologue that introduces the film gives its anti-war intentions immediately and beautifully.
Right after reading this paragraph, I knew that none of this book was to be comical or heroic. It was not going to be one of those stupid stories romanticizing war and making heroes out of men who killed more of the enemy than anyone else; this book was about destruction. These few lines before chapter one set the whole tone for the rest of the book. Glory does not exist in this story, only death and sadness.
... out of a 1950s woman's film. The melodramatic influences of the film continue to manifest themselves in the newer release, just as Apocalypse Now continues to influence the epic movies of contemporary filmmakers. The unison of operatic spectacle and personal conflict spawned an original genre in the 1970s that remains an effective method of addressing social concerns. As we enter another period of political unrest and social change, it is likely that a new wave of melodramatic films is beginning to form on the horizon; there are certainly parallels between a government that declares war on terrorism and the U.S. army in Vietnam, who "knew everything about military tactics, but nothing about where they were or who the enemy was" (Cowie 143). From Conrad to Coppola, nuclear family to nuclear terrorism; never get off the boat, unless you're willing to go all the way.
Kubrick’s derisive attitudes about war and the military are influential to the style of Dr. Strangelove. The setting locations contribute to Kubrick’s sexual allegory. The male-dominated B-52 bomber represents a phallic symbol that is eager to complete its mission and empty its precious load. The circular “War Room” is illuminated with low-key lighting, with a gleaming center of attention besieged by darkness. This represents a dark, enclosed, cave-like environment, where the men conceive their major, independent decisions. In General Ripper’s office, ...
...o thought to restraint. The tried to show us what happened exactly has the soldiers saw it. The opening scene on D Day was very gruesome. It was extremely hard to watch the violent death of all those men. In the early movies they had to try to convey the same emotions with our all the filming technologies that were available for the last one.
Because All Quiet on the Western Front is about among soldiers fighting on the front lines of battle, one of its main focuses is the disastrous effect that war has on the soldiers who fight in it. These men and women are subject to constant physical danger, as they are well aware that they could literally be blown to pieces at any given moment. This intense, physical threat also serves as an unceasing attack on their nerves, forcing soldiers to handle difficult situations with initial, instinctive fear during every waking moment. Additionally, the soldiers are forced to live in deplorable conditions—in filthy ditches full of rats, decaying corpses and lice. They frequently go without food and sleep, decent c...
In All Quiet on the Western Front, it becomes very apparent that some of the soldiers do not feel as if World War I was their fight, when comrades begin discussing the origin of war. One comrade, Albert states that a war is initiated by “one country badly offending the other” (204). This lead to a discussion over why the soldiers are fighting when truly it is one person or a small group of people that are directly offended by an opposing group in a similar position of power. Therefore, why must they discover the true horrors of war while simultaneously putting their lives on the line, when the ones who began the predicament, propelled false advertisement with propagandas that romanticized and glorified war don’t have to live as if the next second may be their
All Quiet on the Western Front, directed by Delbert Mann, is based on the novel written by Erich Maria Remarque. It tells the story of a German schoolboy, Paul Baumer, and a group of his classmates, who journey from fantasies of heroic glory to the real horror of actual soldiering. Their journey is a coming of age tale that centers on the consternation of war and emphasizes the moral, spiritual, emotional, and physical deterioration suffered by the young soldiers.
Have you ever thought about what it was like to live during World War 1, or what it was like to fight at war? At first glance of any war piece, you might think the author would try to portray the soldiers as mentally tough and have a smashing conscience. Many would think that fighting in a war shows how devoted you are to your country, however, that is not true. According to All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, the reality of a soldier's life is despondency, carnage and eradication at every bombardment. Living every day is not knowing if they will eat, see their families, or even if they will awaken the next day. Demeaning themselves from heroes to barely men without their military garment or identity. Remarque conveyed how
“All Quiet on the Western Front” is a novel by Erich Maria Remarque, published in 1928 about Paul Baumer, a 19 year old student, who is persuaded by his schoolmaster to join the Imperial German Army. He goes to the western front where he and his comrades witnesses the horror and brutality of war through a series of deadly, meaningless battles that left an entire generation traumatized. The book was adapted to a movie in 1930 as well as 1979. Having recently viewed the latter, I would strongly recommend that anyone read the novel rather than watch the 1979 film. To clarify, I am not immediately against a film remake just because it is not the original; at times it is interesting to see how a book is interpreted, however books are often difficult to make into a film and unfortunately, “All Quiet on the Western Front” was no exception. Not only was the film an poor adaptation, but it also was not visually appealing, the acting was somewhat poor, the wrong parts were emphasized and the atmosphere of the movie was inferior to that of the novel.
The Nazis are not portrayed in a good or friendly manner throughout the entire movie, especially during the La Marseillaise scene. When the German soldiers, led by Strasser, begin to sing their patriotic song, ?Die Wacht am Rhein? in French territory, it does not sit well with the French patriots. This singing represents the German invasion of France in their government, culture and territory because the Germans come into foreign land with their military and control all aspects of society. The movie depicts the soldiers as drunk and tone-dea...
...s, demonstrated through the author's talent, are denouncing the authority figures who were supposed to guide his generation into adulthood but instead turned the youth against each other in the pursuit of superficial ideals. The soldiers were simply the victims of a meaningless war.
... horrors of war such as, his parents who still view war as glamorous and idealistic. War takes a heavy toll on soldiers who fight in it and in these dangerous moments anybody would have gone insane. It takes a very special type of soldier to be able to handle both the psychological and physical challenges that a soldier has to face in everyday battle. A soldier such as this must be capable of handling the sight of a mutilated comrade and not immediately chatter to pieces. The author conveys this message in his extreme use of words with negative connotation such as shells, typhus, dysentery, and trenches. In this portion of the novel a great deal of emphasis is placed on the word death which is repeated several times and standing on its own it holds a great deal of negative connotations. Therefore, due to the severity of the situation and the extensive use of words with negative connotations the overall tone of the novel appeared to be very depressing or serious. This selection also demonstrates just how mythical the character of war that many individuals who have not experienced the tragedy of battle believe to be true by illustrating just how appalling and grim war is in reality.
The Battle: The Story of the Bulge is not a book about how the American’s used sheer numbers and force to overcome the Germans. It is a story of how the GI, who was independent, cocky, and had poor garrison etiquette, overcame the odds and became an unlikely strong adversary thus winning the battle. I can relate to the GI because I find myself at times to be cocky and not always wanting to take orders I don’t agree with. I think this relation helped me to understand some of the emotions the soldiers expressed throughout the
Director Peter Berg based this movie off of Marcus luttrell the survivor of Operation Red Wings. This powerful war film features actor Mark Walberg who portrays the real life situation of Marcus Lutrell. The movie is centered on patriotism and the struggles that the soldiers faced. Peter Berg displays the mental and physical suffering that soldiers go through during battle. The film begins with troops training preforming exercises, drills, and tests that regular individuals could not imagine. The beginning of the film is an important part in setting the tone that is seen throughout the movie. The producer sets the film up in a realistic manner that showcases morality, brotherhood, and honor.