Stanley Kubrick’s anti-war film Paths of Glory was released in 1957.
The film is set during the First World War and follows French Colonel Dax, played by Kirk Douglas. After an attack fails, French commanders select three soldiers to face a court-martial as a public example, despite evidence that the men were not responsible for the defeat.
Paths of Glory is based on Humphrey Cobb’s 1935 novel of the same name. Its fictional story draws on real cases in which French soldiers were executed for alleged cowardice during the war. The film’s final scene, involving a young German woman singing to soldiers in a tavern, became one of its best-known moments.
The film was not commercially shown in France until 1975, partly because of controversy over its portrayal of the French Army. Kubrick later made other films about violence and institutions, including Dr. Strangelove and Full Metal Jacket, but Paths of Glory remains his first major anti-war statement.