By Thomas M. Puhr
Stanley Kubrick’s near-flawless WWI drama concerns three French soldiers sentenced to death after a botched, suicidal assault against the German forces embarrasses their superiors. As Colonel Dax—who defends the men during their absurdly unjust trial—Kirk Douglas sometimes undercuts Kubrick’s scathing irony with self-righteous theatrics (at one point, he pounds a table mid impassioned speech). The final scene—in which a terrified German woman sings to a group of French soldiers—would have been perfect if it ended with her performance silencing the drunken, rowdy men; instead, we’re subjected to single-tear-running-down-the-cheek closeups of the troops as they hum along.
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