Wow, just saw this Kubrick movie for the first time. What a great movie. I’ve always respected Kubrick, but somehow I hadn’t seen this one. No real reason, just hadn’t.
Were my wife and I the only ones that thought Kirk Douglas’ character really missed a good opportunity at the end? He chooses to chew out the horrible head-guy instead of taking Broulaud’s job. He could have done a huge amount of good in Broulaud’s position, but loses that chance by chewing out the head-guy.
Great movie, though, and one of the better war movies I’ve seen.
Wikipedia says it’s The Faithful Hussar. I don’t think the French soldiers knew it, they just picked up the tune after she’d sung the first few verses. Actually what’s a German woman doing behind French lines in 1916 anyway? The French were quite a way from Germany’s borders at that time.
It is a great movie isn’t it? What strikes me about it is the pacing, it seems to be a lot faster paced than most movies of that era.
I definitely see the inspiration for some of the elements in Series 4 of Blackadder. Blackadder just took the drama and exaggerated it to the point of comedy…then crashed it back down upon us as wrenching drama again.
I took it that they knew about the song, and probably were familiar with French lyrics telling the same story. And, while they were all hooting like a bunch of chimps at the beginning at this terrified German girl, who suspected all the worst, they realized that they had this much in common with her, that they, too, were just frightened participants in war, a long way from home.
ETA: Powerful scene in a great movie.
Also note Kubrick’s placement of the filthy soldiers, huddled in trenches, with the clean, spacious commander’s abode.
The real events of that War were absurd enough to inspire Blackadder Goes Forth.
Alas, not so amazing.
Ford Madox Ford used his war service in writing the Parade’s End tetralogy. He got blown up & shell shocked, but spent a good bit of his time wading through idiotic red tape–as does Christopher Tietjens in the book(s). The next episode of the BBC/HBO series airs this Friday in the UK–& wherever Giant Bears dwell. Advance word said it will remind some of Blackadder Goes Forth. A constant refrain in the book: “Thank God we’ve got a navy!” I believe the saying remained current through the next war…
(Adding Paths of Glory to my list. Why haven’t I seen it before?)
Good choice. Haven’t seen that one in a long time – kind of harrowing. The highlight was always Timothy Carey, though, even though you can’t go wrong with the Kirk man.
My favorite part is when Adolph Menjou gets the news about the generals actions as he’s about to hit a party and suddenly SLAMS the door, instantly transforming from jollity to rage.
My unfavorite part is listening to the thoroughly american accents of some of the characters. The priest, in particular, really brings me out of the movie.
The first time I saw it I thought the exact same thing. You can’t blame him for wanting to stick to his principles, it’s kinda what the whole movie is about, but I thought, ‘Hey, at least he’d be one less incompetent French General’.
Rumor has it that the entire film is based on at least one real case of innocent, randomly picked French soldiers tried & executed in a military kangaroo court (with no official records kept) in response to a General frustrated by his men’s failure at an impossible task. So much so that the film was banned in France for decades.
Um, I don’t quite understand. Except for Kubrick’s wife at the end (she’s actually German BTW) *everyone *in the film speaks in American English. Here’s the entire film on YouTube…
Yes, but the priest has what I think is a serious New York (or thereabouts) accent. He sounds like Mel Blanc doing a construction worker voice in a cartoon. Really jarring.
I’ll be just as helpful in backing up my point and post a link to the entire film.
