So this is Stanley Kubrick’s WW1 movie; it’s one of his earlier pictures, made in 1957, three years before Spartacus. And I think it shows; this is not the mature Kubrick, and it feels a lot more conventional than his more iconic pictures.

But that doesn’t mean it’s boring. It’s tautly paced (under 90 minutes!), there are tense action scenes, and it is breathtakingly cynical in its portrayal of the casual inhumanity of the generals — in particular there’s one scene where it seems like Kirk “Michael” Douglas has gotten his hands on information that could stop a travesty of justice from happening… but it doesn’t, and in fact it goes on to set up another travesty shortly afterward.

“War is bad” isn’t some kind of novel statement, but this isn’t just doing the standard “what a waste of human lives for nothing” thing; it’s much more vicious in attacking the amorality of military commanders and the way that they dehumanize soldiers. Plus, this is 1957 — before Vietnam, before MASH, seven years before Kubrick’s own Dr. Strangelove. It was apparently banned in France until 1975, in Spain until 1986, and in US military bases.

Really, as much as I don’t love war movies in general, I think this one fits the general pattern of WW1 war movies being head and shoulders above ones set in later wars. Recommended.